Super Bowl XL’s historic halftime show required 9,852 theatrical pyrotechnics, nearly 400 costumed extras, and one Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny and the longtime producers of the show pulled off a transformation of Levi’s Stadium into an amazing replication of Puerto Rico for 26 minutes.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio’s wish to turn the turf in Santa Clara into a field of palms and sugar cane was a challenge for Bruce and Shelley Rodgers’ company Tribe, Inc., who has worked on previous shows including those of Prince, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga.
Without the drama of nighttime lighting, the colorful stages and dramatic jungle had to be recreated with a limited use of 25 carts, so they turned 380 people into plants.
Bad Bunny performed many hits, danced with Lady Gaga, and with a real couple who were getting married. He gave his Grammy award to a young Latino boy, telling “always believe in yourself,” and no, it was not Liam Conejo Ramos.
The goal of Bad Bunny’s performance, Shelley Rodgers says, wasn’t to be overtly political or to respond directly to the response from the right. “It’s more about unity,” she says.
What “some people are saying” —
And yet —
The winners and losers of Super Bowl XL??
Seattle Seahawks 29 — New England Patriots 13
NFL 1 — Donald Trump 0
Wired has more on the production details.