The Many Easter Eggs in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Half Time Show

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Bad Bunny made history at the Super Bowl, becoming the first headliner to perform entirely in Spanish at the halftime show. In just over 13 minutes, the singer packed hits and brought out iconic guests, including Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. But above all, Bad Bunny—who introduced himself with his real name, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—gave a performance that was essentially a love letter to Puerto Rico, the immigrant community, and his own family. The whole show was packed with little Easter eggs and symbols of Latin-American culture. Read on to walk through the performance to learn how every detail was a conscious decision.

The performance began with the singer walking through a maze of sugar cane. This was a nod to an industry that has resulted in the exploitation of Puerto Ricans by powerful American corporations for centuries. In the middle of it all, the singer finds joy, greeting his peers who engage in everyday activities. Among the friendly faces are a group of abuelos (grandfathers) playing dominoes and a group of women getting their nails done at the salon. These are endearing figures that anyone in the Latinx community would recognize.

Bad Bunny also passes by a boxing match, with one boxer donning Puerto Rican colors and one wearing the colors of the Mexican flag. This is a reference to the longstanding rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, home to some of the best Latin American boxers of all time. In fact, the fighters featured in the performance are actual boxers: Mexican-American Emiliano Vargas, who has an undefeated record of 16 wins; and Puerto Rican champion, Xander Zayas.

The singer donned a custom outfit from Zara, topped with a cream colored football jersey with the name “Ocasio” and the letter 64, sparking questions about the unique choice of the number and deciding to go with his second surname rather than his first (in Latin America, people carry both of their parents’ last names, Ocasio being his second and, therefore, his maternal last name). It was later revealed that the jersey was a tribute to his late uncle Cutito, who was born in 1964 and was the one who introduced Bad Bunny to “much of what he knows about the NFL,” according to his publicist.

In between songs, Bad Bunny looked at the camera and said, “If I’m here today at Super Bowl 60, it’s because I never, ever stopped believing in myself. You should also believe in yourself. You’re worth more than you think. Trust me.” This was rounded out with a full-circle moment when a boy dressed up as a young Benito appeared watching TV, with the singer handing him the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which he just won a few days ago.

One of the surprise guests Bad Bunny had was Lady Gaga, who played a salsa version of her song “Die with a smile.” Performing as a wedding singer, the pop star switched her edgy outfits for a custom-made blue dress by Dominican-American fashion designer Raul López. Featuring a triangular neckline that evokes the shape found in Puerto Rico’s flag, Gaga’s stylists Chloe and Chenelle Delgadillo, rounded out the look with a flor de maga brooch, the official flower of Puerto Rico.

In the middle of the wedding scene, a child sleeping across three chairs is woken up by Bad Bunny. Nannies are not a common thing in Latin America, and parents are used to bring their children to gatherings and parties. That’s why a child sleeping on a chair as their parents continue to dance is a common sight in Latin-American communities.

Another character that made a powerful cameo was Toñita, who handed Bad Bunny a shot in the middle of a street party during the song “NUEVAYoL.” Born Maria Antonia Cay, she runs the Caribbean Social Club in Brooklyn, one of the last clubs of its kind in New York and a symbol of people longing for their homeland while trying to make it in the mainland U.S. Later, the singer climbed an electrical substation during the song “El Apagón,” protesting the many blackouts that plague Puerto Rico despite the high power costs.

To send the message home, Bad Bunny said, “God Bless America,” turning the concept on its head by naming all the countries in the Americas, starting from the south. This is reminiscent of the protest artwork Inverted America by Uruguayan artist Joaquín Torres García, who challenged the traditional worldview by saying, “Our North is the South.”

You can relive Bad Bunny’s halftime show below.