Imagine being so hateful that you can’t hear joy or love just because it’s sung in Spanish.

I currently live in France, and I have never wanted to be back in the States as much as I did for the Super Bowl. I wanted so badly to be there with my best friends—dancing, celebrating love, diversity, and culture the way we always have. When I woke up and watched Benito’s performance instead, I cried. Not out of sadness, but pride. The show was pure storytelling—art, community, history, color, and celebration woven together beautifully.

As a Filipina who grew up immersed in rich Latino culture, this moment is deeply prideful and personal. And as an American-born journalist, I have something to say.

On December 10, 1898, through the Treaty of Paris, Spain sold the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States for twenty million dollars—without the consent of our people or their leaders. One political agreement. One signature. Entire nations reduced to a transaction. The Philippines eventually reclaimed its sovereignty, but Puerto Rico and Guam are still waiting for their full freedom.

It’s important to say this plainly: the U.S. government used Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, and Chamorros as bodies for its wars, as labor without protection, and as populations to control. Our women were exploited, sterilized, and violated. Our people were segregated, silenced, and disposed of. And when we associated with—or fell in love with—white Americans, we were ambushed, beaten, and punished for it. Laws were written to prevent interracial marriage. Love itself was criminalized.

Sound familiar? See the pattern?

These communities have fought and died in American wars for over a century—often without full rights, often without recognition—yet their language is still treated as un-American.

And yet, I’ve watched countless people say his show is going to be the worst halftime show in history. That it’s “stupid.”

Ask yourself why. No—really. Why stupid?

As the person saying, “I don’t get it…” what exactly is it you don’t get?

For those talking about his show who didn’t “get it”—

THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.

What’s to get is love. Diversity. Culture. Community.

What’s to get is HUMAN DECENCY.

So ask yourself this—are you really calling people who have traveled, who speak multiple languages, who are educated, skilled, and culturally fluent stupid? Or are you just uncomfortable with a world that doesn’t center you? Or are you finally going to admit it’s about race?

There is something deeply painful about Puerto Ricans being American citizens who cannot vote for the president who governs them, while their culture is still expected to host, serve, and remain silent. Their land becomes a playground for outsiders as their cost of living rises, their rights shrink, and the rules governing them grow tighter than those on the mainland.

Spanish was spoken on this land before English ever was—before the United States even existed. Florida, California, Texas, New Mexico—these places didn’t borrow Spanish. They were born with it.

As someone who lives in France, I see every day how multilingualism is normal. It’s not exceptional—it’s expected. In the south of France, people speak French, English, and Spanish simply because borders touch and cultures overlap. Language isn’t seen as a threat—it’s a bridge.

Personally, I believe education and travel have neurological benefits—empathy, perspective, critical thinking. I speak English, Spanish, and Filipino, and I’m currently receiving my diploma in French, because language is one of the greatest connectors in this world. It opens doors. It builds humanity. It reminds us that the world—and certainly not any one country—does not revolve around one voice, one accent, or one culture.

I write this as a proud brown woman.

I write this as a proud Filipina, whose bloodline endured the oppression of the very same colonizers. I write this as a representative of my ancestors who were sold on the very same day as the Puerto Rican people and Chamorros.

I write this as a woman who prays that in her lifetime she will see Puerto Rico finally find liberty from a country that does not accept or want them.

And I write this as someone who is American born and has still felt oppression from white American systems—even from people who call themselves friends, often without realizing how deeply racism lives in them because they have never had to experience the other side of it.

I write this as a Spanish-speaking woman.

I write this as a woman who loves salsa dancing, her Puerto Rican best friend, and yes—a woman who loves Bad Bunny and his life’s mission.

I’ve traveled all over the world, and again and again I’ve found home and welcome in diverse communities—especially Latino families. Communities that understand joy as resistance, culture as survival, and love as something you share loudly.

History is written by wars.

Revolutions are written by art.

If that is true, then what we are witnessing is not just a performance.

It is culture reclaiming space.

It is identity refusing oppression.

Bad Bunny isn’t an exception — Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is a revolutionary.

PUERTO RICO LIBRE!

References & Further Reading

1. Treaty of Paris (1898) — Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/treatyofparis.html

2. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World — Juan González

3. Political Status of Puerto Rico — U.S. Census Bureau / Congressional Research Service

4. Beneath the United States: A History of U.S. Policy Toward Latin America — Lars

Schoultz

5. Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico — Laura

Briggs

6. La Operación (Documentary on forced sterilization) — PBS

https://www.pbs.org/video/la-operacion-9mzd3k/7. The Puerto Rican Soldier: A History of Service, Dissent, and Identity — Thomas M. Serio

8. Loving v. Virginia (1967) — U.S. Supreme Court

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1966/395

9. Spanish in the United States — Ana Celia Zentella (ed.)

10. Europeans and Their Languages — European Commission (Eurobarometer)

11. Art on My Mind — bell hooks

12. The Politics of Aesthetics — Jacques Rancière

13. Bad Bunny and the Politics of Belonging — Modern Diplomacy

14. Coverage by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies

(Hunter College)

About the Author

Nessa Rae Apostol is a Filipina American photojournalist, writer, and artist working at the

intersection of culture, anthropology, and history. She is currently based in the south of France.

Read More