In the lead-up to the Superbowl Halftime Show, conservative commentators and groups were nearly foaming at the mouth at the thought of a global music artist singing in any language other than English. Throw speaking Spanish into the mix, and they nearly lost their minds.
They even hosted their own alternative “All-American Halftime Show.” But it’s clear President Donald Trump still watched Bad Bunny’s performance, as he later claimed: “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying.”
Well, Mr. President, let me tell you something: I, a Puerto Rican, understood what Bad Bunny was saying. And millions of others did, too. (More than 40 million people living in the U.S. also speak Spanish or Spanish Creole.)
But there’s way more to understand about Bad Bunny’s performance than just the language spoken. His performance was an ode to Puerto Rico’s ongoing fight for energy justice.
A Fragile Grid and Frequent Blackouts
At one point during the performance, Bad Bunny danced on top of utility poles exploding with sparks while singing El Apagón, “The Blackout.” To understand the song, you need to know about LUMA.
LUMA Energy is a private Canadian-American company that manages Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure. It was contracted to work in Puerto Rico to solve frequent power outages and repair the island’s overburdened electrical grid, especially after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017. Maria was one of the largest and most devastating storms that caused nearly 3,000 deaths and triggered the longest blackout in U.S. history. Some were without power for almost a year.
(It’s worth noting that hurricanes have worsened due to climate change, which is exacerbated by the fossil fuel and gas industries, which are intertwined with the NFL. The league as we know it today is the byproduct of a billionaire who inherited an oil industry empire from his father.)
After LUMA began working on the island in 2021, residents protested spikes in electricity costs and its inability to prevent frequent blackouts. In 2024, a massive power outage affected more than 1.2 million people.
This issue stems not just from a faulty electrical grid heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but the centuries-long disinvestment, colonization, and economic exploitation that Puerto Rico has faced from occupying powers like the U.S., keeping the island locked out from its own energy sustenance.
Energy Justice for Puerto Rico & Beyond
Bad Bunny’s performance opened the door for further conversation. But now that the halftime show is weeks into the past, the work for energy independence continues — and it's the communities on the ground who are moving that work forward.
Take Barrio Eléctrico, for example, which works to make solar power more accessible and affordable across the island. The struggle to democratize energy access and ownership impacts Puerto Rican and Latinx communities in the U.S. mainland, too. In New York, Latino organization UPROSE installed a community-owned solar power grid in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, helping lower electrical costs and give working class people the right to own their power, as previously covered in A People’s Climate.
Meanwhile, Team Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just ended its own authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions — which will be consequential for people all over the world, including hurricane-prone areas like Puerto Rico.
So in the weeks to come, as the initial buzz about the Superbowl dies down, remember the people on the ground who are doing the work through it all. Because as long as billionaire executives remain in control, the people will continue to fight for their power. They always have.
Seguimo aqui.
Worth Revisiting
(Solar) Power to the People
Latinos in Brooklyn took energy into their own hands. Here’s how they powered the community.