Puerto Rico stops for 13 minutes to applaud historical past and take pleasure in Unhealthy Bunny’s glow

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Tremendous Bowl lasted all of 13 minutes for a lot of Puerto Ricans in San Juan and past.

Folks turned their backs to TV screens as meals, music and chatter stuffed the primary half of the sport till a hush fell throughout the island. The halftime present was beginning.

This was Puerto Rico’s second, a highlight on a collective son who give up bagging groceries a decade in the past and have become the world’s most streamed artist on Spotify final 12 months. Since then, Unhealthy Bunny has used his platform to applaud immigrants, sing about Puerto Rico’s id and turmoil and denounce U.S. immigration insurance policies.

“He appeared on the proper second within the historical past of Latin America,” mentioned Marielys Rojas, 39, who’s initially from Venezuela however has lived the final 22 years in Puerto Rico.

She was among the many a whole lot who gathered by a grassy knoll close to a seashore in Puerto Rico’s capital to look at the halftime present on an enormous display as waves crashed behind them and the sounds of coquís, an endemic frog, stuffed the salty air.

Amarilys Reyes, 55, arrived on the seaside watch occasion together with her 22-year-old daughter.

She had by no means watched a Tremendous Bowl and didn’t know who was taking part in, nevertheless it didn’t matter. Like many others, she was solely there for Unhealthy Bunny.

“It’s the largest present of his life,” Reyes mentioned.

Power, nerves and pleasure had been constructing throughout Puerto Rico ever because the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation introduced that Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio would headline the Tremendous Bowl XL Halftime Present.

Watch events had been shortly organized throughout the U.S. mainland and the island. Some dubbed it “Tremendous Bori Sunday,” a shortened nod to “Boricua,” which refers to somebody with Puerto Rican ancestry, whereas others referred to it “The Benito Bowl: Morcilla, Sancocho, Mofongo, Reggaetón and a bit of little bit of Soccer.”

One girl wrote on social media that she would watch the halftime present together with her 87-year-old mom in Puerto Rico so they may dance collectively, whereas one other individual posted that they’d ready a PowerPoint presentation for his or her American mates dubbed “Unhealthy Bunny 101.”

Creativity flowed as Feb. 8 approached: One bar in Puerto Rico posted a promo that includes the quarterbacks from the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots sitting on the enduring white plastic garden chairs that grace the duvet of Unhealthy Bunny’s latest album.

Even the Teletubbies acquired in on the thrill, shaking their colourful rumps to Unhealthy Bunny ’s “Baile Inolvidable” a day earlier than the present.

Marvel Girl additionally lent her assist, with Lynda Carter noting on social media that she was a “big fan” of Unhealthy Bunny, whom she famous was an American citizen: “Make no mistake.”

However criticism of the primary all-Spanish NFL halftime present spiked as the primary half ended.

Jake Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer who has property in Puerto Rico and has posted about life on the island, wrote on X: “Flip off this halftime. A faux American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I can not assist that.”

Puerto Ricans shortly responded.

“Don’t you reside the place he’s from?” wrote one individual whereas many others famous that Puerto Ricans are U.S. residents.

Luke Lavanway, a 35-year-old who lives in New York however was vacationing in Puerto Rico to flee the continuing chilly snap, mentioned he had no drawback with a halftime present in Spanish.

“That’s a part of us,” he mentioned. “That’s what makes us nice, and we must always simply take pleasure in it.”

The gang that had gathered for the halftime present started streaming out of the watch occasion as quickly because the second half began, smiling as they mirrored on what they’d simply witnessed.

“I believed it was phenomenal that Unhealthy Bunny introduced all Latinos collectively in a single place and represented all of them equally,” mentioned Carlos Ayala, 36, of San Juan. “It’s an vital second for Latino tradition.”

He additionally thought it incredible that Ricky Martin sang Unhealthy Bunny’s, “Lo que le pasó a Hawaii,” which laments gentrification in Puerto Rico, a worsening concern for a lot of on an island with a greater than 40% poverty fee.

“Transmitting that message is extraordinarily vital in these instances,” he mentioned, including that he additionally appreciated the sunshine posts and exploding transformers featured throughout the present, a nod to Puerto Rico’s persistent outages “so the world can see what we stay by.”

Amongst these beaming after the present was Juliana Santiago, 35, who mentioned her coronary heart swelled with delight on Sunday night time.

She mentioned Unhealthy Bunny proved that “you’ll be able to accomplish issues, that the American dream actually is actual.”