‘ICE Out’ to Super Bowl LX: The Hispanic Halftime Stars Who Set the Stage for Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny will headline Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, becoming the first Spanish language-dominant solo act to lead the halftime show. That might be the headline. But the subtext is louder: the NFL is putting a Puerto Rican superstar at the center of the most-watched stage in American sports, knowing it comes with applause and backlash.If you want to understand why this moment is so huge, don’t start with the outrage cycle. Start with the track record. Hispanic artists have been shaping Super Bowl halftime for decades. Bad Bunny is not the beginning. He is the biggest “solo” stamp yet.Going by ESPN’s documentation of the events, Gloria Estefan got there first. In 1992, she became the first Hispanic artist to perform at Super Bowl halftime, closing out the “Winter Magic” show in Minneapolis with “Live for Loving You” and “Get on Your Feet.” She returned seven years later in Miami for a show built around “Soul, Salsa and Swing,” sharing the stage with Stevie Wonder and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and performing “Oye.”Three years after Estefan’s first appearance, Arturo Sandoval and Miami Sound Machine joined a packed 1995 halftime production alongside Patti LaBelle and Tony Bennett. Sandoval’s trumpet featured during Bennett’s “Caravan,” a Duke Ellington classic, inside a show that leaned hard into spectacle.By 2000, the NFL went full pop. Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias co-headlined a Disney-produced halftime show in Atlanta, fronting a millennium-themed set that also included Phil Collins, Toni Braxton, and narration from Edward James Olmos.Then came the “headline” era. Bruno Mars made history in 2014 as the youngest solo headliner at 28, brought his band The Hooligans, and pulled in Red Hot Chili Peppers for a guest moment. He later returned as a special guest at Super Bowl 50.Even Super Bowl 50 leaned into Latin excellence in a different lane. Gustavo Dudamel led Youth Orchestra Los Angeles onstage during Coldplay’s set at Levi's Stadium after Chris Martin invited him.And in 2011, the Super Bowl XLV set included Fergie and Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas, with guest spots from Usher and Slash of Guns N' Roses.Shakira and Jennifer Lopez became the first Hispanic duo to co-headline, with J Balvin and Bad Bunny appearing in the show. Lopez also brought out her then-11-year-old daughter, Emme Maribel Muñiz, for a moment that centered immigration themes and Latin identity.The door was already open. Bad Bunny is the guy walking through it alone and it seems ‘The Right Artist for This Moment’.Super Bowl LX is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The matchup listed in your materials is the Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots, with streaming options including Hulu+Live TV.The NFL is also leaning into Bad Bunny’s visibility after his Grammys moment. In a column by Armando Salguero, he reports the league reposted a congratulatory Apple Music message shortly after Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech, framing it as the NFL amplifying the artist and the message.That speech is the fuel: "Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say ICE out," he said as the crowd rose to its feet. "We're not savage," he continued. "We're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans. Also, I want to say to the people, I know it's tough to know not to hate on these days. "And I was thinking sometime we get contaminados [contaminated]. I don't know how to say that in English. The hate get more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”"So, please we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don't hate them. We love our people, we love our family. And that's the way to do it, with love. Don't forget that, please."Now let’s zoom out. Crystal Bell at Mashable reported Bad Bunny’s past comments about avoiding U.S. tour dates over concerns tied to ICE presence, and noted additional political context around the halftime selection, including criticism from Kristi Noem and Bad Bunny’s Saturday Night Live monologue response. She also wrote that Trevor Noah joked during the Grammys broadcast, prompting Bad Bunny’s correction: "Puerto Rico is part of America."