{"id":130048,"date":"2026-02-11T14:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/130048\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:47:25","slug":"bad-bunny-super-bowl-show-stars-williamsburgs-tonitas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/130048\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Bunny Super Bowl Show Stars Williamsburg’s To\u00f1itas"},"content":{"rendered":"

The actual owner and founder of the beloved neighborhood bar served Bad Bunny a shot from a set partway through the halftime performance.<\/p>\n

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Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday opened with the artist on top of a white truck. Photo via REUTERS\/Jeenah Moon<\/p>\n

by Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper<\/p>\n

Bad Bunny\u2019s much-watched Super Bowl halftime show paid vibrant homage to his home of Puerto Rico and to a sort of home-away-from-home right here in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Partway through the performance, Bad Bunny wound his way through a crowd of dancers toward a set depicting a New York City street and took a shot offered by a beaming woman standing inside a bar.<\/p>\n

The set was a precise replica of To\u00f1itas, the beloved Puerto Rican social club in Williamsburg. Above Bad Bunny\u2019s head, the bar\u2019s address, 244 Grand Street, was visible in reflective letters, just as it looks at the real bar.<\/p>\n

\"aBad Bunny\u2019s performance featured a replica of Williamsburg social club To\u00f1itas \u2014 and a cameo by the bar\u2019s owner. Screenshot via NFL\/Youtube<\/p>\n

And the woman was the bar\u2019s founder and owner, Maria Antonia Cay \u2014 better known as To\u00f1ita.<\/p>\n

To\u00f1itas is the last Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn, a symbol of the Latino communities that have called Los Sures home for generations.<\/p>\n

Cay founded the bar as the members-only Caribbean Social Club in the 1970s, as immigration to New York City from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic peaked.<\/p>\n

A lot has changed since then: Williamsburg has gentrified rapidly, its Latino population has begun to shrink, and many locally owned businesses have shuttered \u2014 but To\u00f1itas remains. Cay cooks and serves up<\/a> Puerto Rican food herself as visitors sip on cheap beers, play dominoes and pool, and chat in Spanish.<\/p>\n

\"lowTo\u00f1ita\u2019s exterior in 2020. Photo by Nicholas Strini for PropertyShark<\/a><\/p>\n

At some point, the bar caught Bad Bunny\u2019s attention. He celebrated the release of his album \u201cUn Verano Sin Ti\u201d at the bar in 2022<\/a> and shouted it out in \u201cNUEVAYoL,\u201d the leading track of his 2025 album \u201cDeb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUn shot de ca\u00f1ita en casa de To\u00f1ita y PR se siente cerquita,\u201d he says on the track, or \u201cA shot of rum at To\u00f1ita\u2019s house and Puerto Rico feels so close.\u201d<\/p>\n

He celebrated the release of that album at To\u00f1itas, too, with a rollicking party attended by U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez.<\/p>\n

He brought Cay along during an appearance on Jimmy Fallon<\/a> last year, dancing with her on stage after a parade through the audience.<\/p>\n

Dozens of Brooklynites took to social media after the show, thrilled to have seen a local icon on the big screen. \u201cDid To\u00f1itas just serve Benito a drink at the Super Bowl?\u201d one person wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cKarol G and Pedro Pascal looked so gorgeous as guests, but the real guest of honor there is To\u00f1itas,\u201d said another<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, the son of Dominican immigrants, wrote simply<\/a> \u201cTO\u00d1ITA!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone who grew up in Williamsburg knows who To\u00f1ita is, and now the whole world is fortunate enough to say the same,\u201d Reynoso told Brooklyn Paper. \u201cShe is a Boricua icon who for more than 50 years has welcomed every single person that\u2019s walked through her doors. She embodies the spirit of hospitality and inclusivity that\u2019s so badly needed in our culture right now, and as a son of the Southside myself, I was beaming with pride to see her share the stage with Bad Bunny in front of one of the largest audiences on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"badBad Bunny\u2019s performance on Sunday was an homage to Puerto Rico. Photo via REUTERS\/Jeenah Moon<\/p>\n

As Cay and the replica To\u00f1itas appeared on screen, dozens of Brooklynites were watching at a party at the bar itself in Williamsburg. After she caught a video of the performance herself, Cay took to Instagram to connect with her supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy I watched. I feel like I\u2019m there with all of you,\u201d she said in Spanish in an Instagram story. \u201cThank you Benito for the shout out. It was so nice to see. And thank you God that I was able to view it and share it with all of you. May God bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here<\/a> to see the original story.<\/p>\n

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