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The Cuban-American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar joined the conservative voices that criticized the halftime show of Super Bowl LX featuring Bad Bunny.
In a message posted on X, the Republican lawmaker stated that the most-watched sporting event in the country missed an opportunity to unite the nation and, instead, created division.
"The Super Bowl is the most important game of the most iconic sport in the United States. It is a national moment to unite the entire country," wrote Salazar.
In his opinion, that spirit was not reflected in the intermission led by the Puerto Rican artist.
"Let's be honest, it shouldn't be a multicultural fair. Its audience is predominantly English-speaking and deserves an intermission show that they can understand and enjoy."
The congresswoman went further by questioning the fact that the show was entirely in Spanish and without subtitles.
"Having a halftime show completely in Spanish, without subtitles, is not inclusive. It is exclusive," he stated.
From her perspective, the event sidelined a portion of the audience and diverted the conversation from what she believed should have been the main focus.
Salazar added that, although in cities like Miami Spanish music can be heard, the emphasis should be on American national identity.
"In Miami, we listen to Spanish music, but we put the United States first," she wrote.
In that regard, he regretted that the controversy overshadowed what he considers the positive contribution of the Latino community to the country.
"Unfortunately, today, instead of discussing the great contributions that Hispanics make to our country - both legal and undocumented - we are debating how poorly this event went. A great opportunity missed!" he asserted.
The same stance as Donald Trump
Salazar's statements align with the position of President Donald Trump, who reacted strongly following the spectacle.
On his network Truth Social, Trump described Bad Bunny's performance as "absolutely terrible" and "one of the worst in history," claiming it was "a slap in the face to our country."
In his message, he combined criticism of the language used, moral reproaches about the content of the show, and a defense of his view of American identity.
Trump wrote that the show "does not represent our standards of success, creativity, or excellence," and added: "No one understands a word this guy says, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for the little kids watching it from all over the United States and the world."
In closing, he once again lashed out at the media and the NFL, and concluded with his usual political slogan: "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Alternative show
Meanwhile, sectors of the conservative ecosystem pushed for a counter-programming to the official show.
Through an online broadcast, the All-American Halftime Show, organized by Turning Point USA, aired almost simultaneously with Bad Bunny's performance and reached a peak of over six million simultaneous viewers on YouTube.
The performance by the Puerto Rican artist, for its part, made history: it was the first Super Bowl show featuring a completely Spanish repertoire.
Bad Bunny was accompanied by figures such as Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Pedro Pascal, Karol G, and Young Miko.
The setting recreated a Caribbean aesthetic with a Puerto Rican house, palm trees, and sugar cane fields, and it was rich in identity symbols.
Among the most talked-about moments were the simulation of a wedding between a migrant and a U.S. citizen, the appearance of a Latino child who symbolically received a Grammy and, at the end, the phrase "God bless America," the only words in English of the entire presentation.
Then, the artist named each Latin American country as their flags were raised. On the ball he was holding, it read: "Together, we are America."
Bad Bunny vs. Trump
Bad Bunny had just received the Grammy for Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, where he delivered a speech with the message "Out with ICE".
He has been an outspoken critic of Trumpism and has said that he avoided taking his tour to the United States during the Republican administration to protect undocumented followers.
Thus, the reactions of Salazar and Trump to the halftime show are not limited to a musical evaluation. They reflect a broader dispute over what the Super Bowl represents as a cultural and political stage, and about who should occupy the symbolic center of the American narrative.
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