I did not care for the music, but NOT because of the Spanish. The Spanish didn't bother me at all. It’s a beautiful romance language and I like the sound of it. I once attended an all-Chinese church service and the music was really beautiful even though I didn't understand a single word. I just didn't think Bad Bunny's music had any mmmmph to it. To me, it was boring.
I also think the Spanish was a rebellion again ICE and Trump and all that he stands for and I'm OK with that.
But the set design was pure Caribbean and I think he nailed that 100%. The pink house is exactly what Nassau looks like where (my ex-husband) Adrian grew up. And the table of four men playing dominos – that is a staple of the Caribbean. In fact, directly across the street from Adrian's mom's house in Baintown, Nassau is where all the guys play dominos all day and night. I had told Adrian that if he died I was going to bury half his ashes under the tree at his mom's house and half under the tree across the street where the guys played dominos. He really loved the idea and said yes that was what he wanted. It didn’t happen, but that’s OK.
His mom's house is kind of a neighborhood bar. Everyone gathers there on Friday nights. There's a DJ and they sell beer and there's a big loud party just like on the halftime show set. I attended those events many times. Bad Bunny's set design made me miss all the good times I had in the Bahamas. I really loved it there and still miss it.
The branches that the women were chopping down were probably sugar cane. Sugar cane is used in rum and Puerto Rico is the epicenter of Bacardi Rum. I actually have a photograph of Adrian standing in a sugar cane garden in a friend’s parents' back yard in Mangrove Cay on the island of Andros (Bahamas).
I loved Lady Gaga's song, short though it was. The butt shaking was definitely not my cup of tea, but that's the Spanish culture for you.
Overall, I liked that he put the emphasis on Puerto Rican culture and not on himself. I think he really displayed Puerto Rican culture well and I could see he put a lot of effort into making it feel real. And of course I couldn't help but think of my former Pastor Ruben, who was from Puerto Rico, and how much we miss him.
And the set must have cost a fortune and taken a lot to put together. I've never seen a halftime show set with so many people before. Again, people gathering together and partying together is a big part of Caribbean culture.
I like at the end that Bad Bunny said God Bless America in English. That was very respectful of him.
Overall, I can understand how people who are not familiar with the Caribbean would hate it. The music itself did not do anything for me. But all of the visual elements – the pink house, the men playing dominos, food and drink stands on the side of the road, the sugar cane fields, hundreds of people in the streets dancing and having a good time together – it felt a little bit like going home. It really made me miss the Bahamas.
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