"Together, We Are America"

Pardon the interruption

I first learned about Bad Bunny through my mom. Yes — my mom. About eight years ago, she called me, and somewhere in the middle of a conversation about her salsa class, she casually brought him up. “You know Bad Bunny, right?” she asked. “Bad Bunny?” I replied. I could hear the disappointment in her voice when she realized her son had no idea who she was talking about.

In 2020, when Bad Bunny appeared as a guest performer during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show alongside Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, I finally understood what she meant. After that, I started recognizing him in collaborations with Daddy Yankee and other artists. I may not always know the song titles, but I can recognize his voice almost instantly.

Fast forward to 2026, and now he’s headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime show. I have to admit — I loved it. His creative direction told a story about Puerto Rico and its people: their heritage, culture, struggles, and pride in being American. One moment especially stayed with me — when he wakes a boy sleeping across two chairs. That was me at that age, stretched between chairs while my parents socialized and danced late into the night. It felt familiar and deeply personal.

He celebrated the resilience of people who may not have much but live fully, loving every moment and refusing to take life for granted. His closing message on an international stage struck me with hope: “Together, we are America.”

I identify as Mexican American. Others might say I’m American with Mexican heritage. My mom would probably call me Tejano. Sometimes I feel ni de aquí, ni de allá — not fully from here or there. Like many, I learned to assimilate and embrace Anglo culture. For nearly twenty-five years, I voted Republican because it felt like a way to belong. Recently, though, I find myself questioning whether I align with the party’s embrace of Trumpism.

In the past week, I’ve felt unsettled watching political figures call for investigations into Bad Bunny’s halftime lyrics, claiming FCC violations even after they were properly reviewed. To me, it feels less about decency standards and more about shaping fear and division — suggesting that those who speak differently or look different somehow don’t belong in “America,” when what they often mean is the United States.

But America — the broader America — is a collection of cultures, languages, traditions, and music shaped by many histories. We share oceans, time zones, and a hemisphere, but more importantly, we share people.

That’s why his final message resonated with me.

Together, we are America.