On a Puerto Rican beach, the setting sun filters through the strands of his "pava" (the island's traditional peasant hat). Perched atop an American football goalpost, Bad Bunny casts a defiant look at the camera. Behind it, one can imagine all the Trump supporters already irritated by the announcement on Instagram. On February 8, the Latin rap and reggaeton star will take the stage at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, in the San Francisco Bay Area, for the iconic Super Bowl halftime show. In doing so, he will propel his native island even further onto the global stage.

"What I'm feeling goes beyond myself," the artist said on Sunday, September 28, after the National Football League (NFL) announced his selection. "This is for my people, my culture, and our history." On a stage previously graced by Madonna, Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny will be the first Latino artist to headline the most coveted 15 minutes in American television – he previously made a brief appearance alongside other artists in 2020.

At 31, all the success in the world has not made Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio forget his roots. His three Grammys have not changed anything. Nor has his status as the most-streamed artist globally on Spotify for three consecutive years (2020-2022). On the contrary: "The bigger he gets, the more local he seem," The New Yorker wrote in September. His latest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, released just a few days before Donald Trump's inauguration in January, felt like a tribute to the history and culture of the commonwealth, battered during the presidential campaign.

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