Bad BunnyS Super Bowl Performance Ignites Right-wing Backlash Rooted in Decades of Anti-Latino Sentiment
GLENDALE, AZ – The proclamation of Bad Bunnyโข as โคthe Superโ Bowl LVII โฃhalftime performer has triggered a wave of criticism and outrage from conservative โfigures, revealing a long history of suspicion and hostility towards latin artistsโ and the Spanish languageโ in โฃthe United States. The backlash underscores a growing trend of โขanti-Latino rhetoric amplified in recent years, notably as the 2016 election.
The controversy echoes a similar incident โฃlast year when singer Nezza was prohibited from performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Spanish at a Los Angeles โDodgers โฃgame. Nezza explained to Rolling Stone that “portrayal matters.” She โฃfurther pointed out that President Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned an official Spanish versionโ of the anthem,”El Pendรณn Estrellado,” in 1945 to honor Latin Americans,stating,”The heart ofโ the anthem does not change with โคthe language. So why was I toldโฃ I couldn’t sing it? Make โคit make sense.”
Throughout music history,Latin artists have โfaced prejudice and doubt. โHowever, this sentiment has intensified โขwith the rise โof increasingly hostile political โdiscourse.โ The current administration has been accused ofโข antagonizing Latino communities, โคspreading anti-Latino rhetoric, and enacting harsh policies towards immigrants, including publicizingโฃ images of arrests and detentions. โ
The politicization of language is โalso central to the current debate. โSpeaking Spanish has โbeen framed by some โconservatives as un-American. Following his election, โformer President Trump issued anโฃ executive order aimed at establishing English as the official language of the U.S., and theโ White โฃHouse removed Spanish translations from its official websites.Viral videos circulating on โฃsocial mediaโ depict confrontations with individuals speaking Spanish, falsely associating theโ language with โขthose deemed not โคto “belong” in the country.โ according to recent data,approximately 18 percent โof โthe U.S. population is bilingual.
Despite the opposition, Bad Bunny is scheduled to perform in February, and is expected to performโ his songs in Spanish.โ This โขact, in โitself, will represent the country’s approximately 20 percentโ Latino population and acknowledge the contributions of Latin โartists who have shaped American music. His performance will be a statementโ of โฃculturalโค identity and self-expression, deeply rooted in American history.
