Bad Bunny scored a touchdown before either team did during Super Bowl LX<\/a> on Sunday, marching down the field during his halftime show before spiking a football at the end zone.<\/p>\n His metaphoric touchdown culminated a 13-minute Latin-fueled performance<\/u><\/a> and was an homage to the countless artists that came before him, said Harriet Cuddeford, the creative director behind the performance.<\/p>\n The Puerto Rican singer became the first Latin artist to take on music\u2019s biggest stage alone, performing at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara just a week after his historic Grammy win<\/u><\/a> for album of the year.<\/p>\n Bad Bunny wanted his performance to center on this \u201cidea of honoring all the people that ran the yards before him that got him to where he is, and then the idea of paying that forward into future generations,\u201d Cuddeford said. \u201cThat was really represented by the idea going from one end to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n The creative team behind the show, led by Cuddeford and stage designer Julio Himede from Yellow Studio, had about two months to develop the show before rehearsals began in early January, a fast-paced and \u201cfairly wild\u201d process, Cuddeford said.<\/p>\n The actual show \u201cwas the best run we\u2019d had of all the rehearsals,\u201d Cuddeford said. \u201cThe universe just smiled down and was like, \u2018Let\u2019s go.\u2019 I don\u2019t even really have words for that. Just, how that feels in your body is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl halftime show featured more than 300 dancers, according to the creative team behind the performance. <\/p>\n (Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl was not without criticism. Turning Point USA, the conservative organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk, organized an opposing halftime show<\/u><\/a> featuring Kid Rock.<\/p>\n President Trump, who previously said Bad Bunny\u2019s performance would \u201csow hatred,\u201d called the show \u201cone of the worst, EVER!\u201d in a post on his social media platform following the show.<\/p>\n Cuddeford and Himede said the creative team was so deeply immersed in bringing Bad Bunny\u2019s \u201cclear identity and vision\u201d to life that they had no energy to spend on outside criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cIf everyone else is making all of this noise, cool, but like, we know what we\u2019re doing,\u201d Cuddeford said. <\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s halftime show took place just after 5 p.m. Pacific, when the sun was still shining in California. The daylight was a key challenge to the creative team, Cuddeford said.<\/p>\n The West Coast sunlight would disrupt the concert feel that most halftime shows have, Cuddeford said. It was already dark out when Kendrick Lamar took the stage<\/a> for last year\u2019s show in New Orleans.<\/p>\n So the team got creative.<\/p>\n Cuddeford had worked with Bad Bunny on his televised performances throughout 2025, including the Latin Grammys<\/a> and \u201cSaturday Night Live.<\/a>\u201d She knew Bad Bunny was a \u201cshowman,\u201d she said, and leaned into his theatrical skills to build out a halftime show unlike any other \u2014 one that felt more like a movie than a concert.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so many things that you\u2019re used to seeing at the Super Bowl, and certainly on the Super Bowl side, they\u2019re very used to doing things a certain way,\u201d Cuddeford said. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Let\u2019s just try and imagine the space differently. Let\u2019s try and make something immersive. Let\u2019s make a journey.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The team divided the stage into various smaller sections to accommodate the \u201cvignettes\u201d that Bad Bunny would walk through as he told the story of \u201creal people in everyday life that are celebrating the Latin community,\u201d Himede said.<\/p>\n The performance began with Bad Bunny walking through a sugar cane field, interacting with a beloved L.A. taco stand<\/a>, a jeweler, a nail technician and a group of older men playing dominoes. The singer slowly made his way down the stage, stopping by La Casita,<\/a> popularized during the singer\u2019s recent world tour, and even witnessed a couple\u2019s real wedding.<\/p>\n The \u201cDTMF\u201d singer had a vision for most of the show, and it was up to the creative team to bring it to life, Cuddeford and Himede said. The show\u2019s special guests, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, for instance, were chosen by the singer. <\/p>\n The Puerto Rican singer had wanted Martin to perform \u201cLo que le paso a Hawaii\u201d at his Puerto Rico residency, but it didn\u2019t pan out, Cuddeford said, so Bad Bunny made sure he could make the Super Bowl performance. <\/p>\n Toward the end of the performance, Bad Bunny handed one of his Grammy Awards to a young boy. That moment was the singer\u2019s idea, and was planned way before he took home three Grammys last week, Cuddeford said.<\/p>\n The singer grew up watching his idols win awards on television, and eventually, those idols began handing him the awards. The now-viral moment was Bad Bunny\u2019s attempt at inspiring a new generation of younger kids \u201cto believe that they can do it\u201d also, she said.<\/p>\n Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl performance was meant to feel more like a movie than a concert, according to the creative team. The Puerto Rican singer held the island\u2019s flag as he sang \u201cEl Apag\u00f3n\u201d during the halftime show. <\/p>\n (Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\nThe making of Benito Bowl<\/h2>\n
![\"Bad](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/4b51851\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2857x4000+0+0\/resize\/320x448!\/format\/webp\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcf%2F30%2F8de7e8784539aca418bd1287497f%2F1541474-sp-super-bowl-lx-8847.jpg)
<\/picture>\nBringing a vision to life<\/h2>\n