In the final moments of his performance, Bad Bunny was joined by a crowd waving flags of different countries in the Americas, but also “territories of other countries like Bonaire or the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Petra Rivera-Rideau
To better understand some of the significance of Bad Bunny’s historic Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday night, start at the end.
“God Bless America,” were the first and few English-language words uttered by the Spanish-language performer, who then proceeded to list countries in the Americas, including the United States and Canada. Behind him, a screen read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” a direct reference to his speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards where the Puerto Rican superstar took home the top prize.
What happened at the performance
America, he seemed to be reminding his global audience including viewers in the U.S., makes up a number of countries in the Western Hemisphere.
It was a poignant gesture for an artist whose performance was politicized the moment it was announced, labeled un-American by his detractors despite the fact that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. Most recently President Donald Trump described his set as “an affront to the Greatness of America.”
The mystery behind the 64 number
A lot of people are trying to decode the mystery behind the rapper’s 64 number on his shirt, and this is what the theories say:
Mom: “It might be the year the musician’s mom was born,” according to the FortheWin blog at USA Today. “That’s our best guess.”
Album: Another theory is that it’s a nod to his 2020 album El Último Tour del Mundo, which, as the New York Times notes, was the first Spanish-language album in 64 years to top the Billboard 200 chart.
Uncle: The magazine Complex suggests it has the definitive answer. The 64 jersey “is an homage to his late uncle, who previously played football and wore the same number.
Hurricane Maria: One suggestion with traction is that 64 was the initial—and controversial—death toll in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the singer’s native Puerto Rico in 2017.
A roll call of American nations
In the final moments of his performance, Bad Bunny was joined by a crowd waving flags of different countries in the Americas, but also “territories of other countries like Bonaire or the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Petra Rivera-Rideau, associate professor of American studies at Wellesley College and co-author of “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance.”
He was also surrounded by plena musicians — a Puerto Rican genre associated with community and protest — and held a football that read, “Together, we are America.”
With added inputs from the agencies
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