![\"Puerto](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TMC-2257307227_258597060-1.jpg\")
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, right, performs Jan. 23, 2026, during his \u201cDebi tirar mas fotos\u201d world tour at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellin, Colombia. (Jaime SALDARRIAGA \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\nExcitement is building in Lehigh Valley\u2019s Latino communities as Puerto Rican artist and international superstar Bad Bunny prepares to take on the Super Bowl halftime show.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to make a history moment for him and for all Puerto Ricans all over the world,\u201d Puertorrican Culture Preservation President Flor Velez said.<\/p>\n
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, shares a Hispanic background with 30% of Lehigh County and 16.6% of Northampton County, according to the Census Bureau. This includes over half of Allentown\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s talking about it,\u201d Velez,\u00a0 66, of Allentown, said.<\/p>\n
While Bad Bunny isn\u2019t the first Latino artist to perform the halftime show, he will be the first solo artist with a Spanish-language dominant set.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expectations within the Puerto Rican community and the Latino community are very, very high,\u201d said Victor Martinez, who owns Allentown-based La Mega radio station.<\/p>\n
When Martinez posted a giveaway for a custom Bad Bunny-themed Super Bowl T-shirt, he received over 100 comments.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a majority Puerto Rican, Latino community here in the Lehigh Valley. There is a sense of pride in the community,\u201d he said. \u201cNot just because of the Super Bowl. I mean, Bad Bunny has been breaking all kinds of records.\u201d<\/p>\n
The artist is known for celebrating his heritage, with his music blending reggaet\u00f3n, Latin trap and more traditional Puerto Rican music styles. Last year, he performed a historic 31-day residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, right, performs Jan. 23, 2026, during his \u201cDebi tirar mas fotos\u201d world tour at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellin, Colombia. (Jaime SALDARRIAGA \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, you know, the rhythm is what connects the people,\u201d said Marcel Bedoya, 52, of Easton. \u201cEither you understand or not, you feel the vibes and you feel like you want to move, no matter what they\u2019re saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 100% American because he\u2019s born and raised Puerto Rican, but he\u2019s also proud of his Latino roots,\u201d Bedoya said. \u201cI believe that the show that he\u2019s going to put on Sunday is going to be an extraordinary show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bad Bunny is expected to bring his culture to the Super Bowl halftime stage. In a teaser video, he sits atop a football goalpost on a beach wearing a pava straw hat, traditionally worn in the Puerto Rico countryside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are getting acknowledged,\u201d said Abel Polanco, 36, who splits his time between Allentown and New York. \u201cOur goals, our values are being noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Polanco said that he believes Bad Bunny resonates as an artist because of his upbringing, going from \u201calmost nobody to this huge superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even those who aren\u2019t big fans of Bad Bunny spoke highly of the show\u2019s cultural impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something good for us Latinos, for them to see we\u2019re important,\u201d Winifer Paulino, 30, of Allentown said in Spanish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a Christian family, and while I don\u2019t personally identify with the values he has in his music, I recognize his impact and popularity within the Latino culture,\u201d said Michelle Vargas, 42, of Upper Macungie Township.<\/p>\n
The performance has drawn criticism from top conservatives, including President Donald Trump, who told the New York Post that all performances from Bad Bunny and pre-kickoff performer Green Day do is \u201csow hatred.\u201d Conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA is planning a counter, \u201cAll-American\u201d halftime show with Kid Rock headlining.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s very brave,\u201d Martinez, the owner La Mega, said of Bad Bunny.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity, because of the world that we live in, with everything that is happening with immigration and ICE and everything else, he set up a very high bar,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Bad Bunny\u2019s album, \u201cDebi Tirar Mas Fotos,\u201d became the first Spanish-language project to win Album of the Year at the Grammys.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this last album, he really just took the Puerto Rican culture and the Puerto Rican music to the next level,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cIt was an album that made any Puerto Rican proud of our heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, La Mega will host its first Super Bowl watch party to celebrate Bad Bunny\u2019s performance with the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to share this with other Puerto Ricans,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWe only wish it was in the summer and during our Puerto Rican parade.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isabella Gaglione is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Excitement is building in Lehigh Valley\u2019s Latino communities as Puerto Rican artist and international superstar Bad Bunny prepares…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,182,139,432],"class_list":["post-106947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}