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  • Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show: Here’s some things to expect and what they mean

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    NEW YORK — There are stages, and then there is the Super Bowl halftime show.

    On Sunday, fresh off his historic win at the Grammys for his love letter to Puerto Rico, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Bad Bunny will once again surprise audiences with a performance that is gearing up to be a landmark moment for Latino culture.

    But what can you expect from his set?

    What can viewers expect from Bad Bunny’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance?

    What we know

    Apple Music’s Zane Lowe mentioned that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance is 13 minutes long during an interview with the superstar on Thursday. Historically, they run 12 to 15 minutes.

    In the same conversation, Bad Bunny offered few specifics about what viewers will see Sunday.

    “It’s going to be a huge party,” he said, playfully dodging questions about surprise guests and other details. “What people can expect from me … I want to bring to the stage, of course, a lot of my culture. But I really don’t, I don’t want to give any spoilers. It’s going to be fun.”

    Beyond that: A minute-and-a-half long trailer for the halftime show posted last month set a jovial tone for his performance. In it, Bad Bunny approaches a Flamboyan tree — more on that below — and presses play on his single “Baile Inolvidable” (“Unforgettable Dance”).

    The song is modern salsa, performed with students from the Escuela Libre de Música San Juan. It is a featured single from “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” an album that marries folkloric tradition in local Borinquen genres like bomba, plena, salsa and música jíbara with contemporary styles like reggaeton, trap and pop.

    In the clip, Bad Bunny sways as he’s joined by different dancers across genders, races and ages: Those include a traditional salsa dancer in a red dress, a firefighter, a cowboy and a viejito wearing a pava (“viejito” is an affectionate term for an older man and a “pava” is a kind of straw hat). It’s representative of the superstar’s international appeal; he is currently the most-streamed artist globally on Spotify.

    Will Bad Bunny perform entirely in Spanish?

    All of Bad Bunny’s music is recorded in Spanish, so it seems like a safe bet. Were he to include English into his set, it would likely appear in a spoken interjection — or it would be featured in text.

    In October, Bad Bunny hosted “Saturday Night Live” and said a few sentences in Spanish during his opening monologue. When he concluded, he joked in English, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” a reference to the Super Bowl and his critics.

    On Thursday, he joked that fans didn’t actually need to learn Spanish to enjoy his set — but they should be prepared to dance.

    What symbols can we expect?

    There’s no way to know for sure, but here are a few educated guesses.

    Puerto Rican flags: In his song “La Mudanza,” Bad Bunny sings, “Aquí mataron gente por sacar la bandera / Por eso es que ahora yo la llevo donde quiera.” In English: “Here they killed people for showing the flag / That’s why I bring it everywhere I want now.” It appears to be a reference to Law 53 of 1948, better known as the Gag Law, a ruling by the Puerto Rican Legislative Assembly which attempted to suppress the independence movement on the island and criminalized displaying the Puerto Rican flag. It was repealed in 1952. It is also one of many reasons Puerto Ricans are known for waving their flag with pride for their island.

    It is almost certain the flag of Puerto Rico will appear in some form on the Super Bowl stage. But its colors are worth noting. If it is shown in red, white and blue, that is the current flag of Puerto Rico and has been since 1952. If there are flags that feature light blue, that is reflective of the Puerto Rican independence movement. A black and white version of the flag has become synonymous with Puerto Rican struggle and resiliency. And if there is a flag that more closely resembles the Dominican Republic’s flag, that is the flag of the Puerto Rican mountain town Lares. It was used in the Grito de Lares, the first short revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico in the 19th century.

    Puerto Rican expressions: There may be a few Puerto Rican expressions uttered on stage, beyond just those found in Bad Bunny’s music. That could be anything from “Wepa!” which is used in moments of excitement, not unlike exclaiming “Wow!.” It grew in popularity after the release of Alfonso Vélez’s 1974 salsa song “El Jolgorio (Wepa Wepa Wepa).” Or “Acho, PR es otra cosa,” a phrase that became a fan chant during Bad Bunny’s performance of “Voy a llevarte pa’ PR” during his residency. It translates to “Damn, PR is something else.”

    Casita: At Bad Bunny’s residency in Puerto Rico last summer, he performed across two stages. One was built to resemble a casita (“little house”), for the pari de marquesina, a house party. These structures are synonymous with Puerto Rico and the Caribbean at large.

    Pavas: A symbol that is likely familiar to Bad Bunny fans everywhere, a pava is a straw hat traditionally worn by jíbaros, or Puerto Rican rural farmers. It has become a symbol of pride for the island. The singer even wore a leather version of the hat on the red carpet at the 2025 Met Gala.

    Flamboyan tree: The second of the two stages at Bad Bunny’s residency focused on showcasing the island’s natural beauty with its flamboyan and plantain trees. The former are a common feature in Puerto Rican art for its flowers, most commonly seen in brilliant red, orange and yellow hues. The image of the tree evokes Puerto Rico almost as immediately as the sound of its national nocturnal residents, el coquí (a frog with a distinctive sing-song-y call heard only at night.)

    El Sapo Concho: Not to be mistaken with el coquí, el sapo concho is the endangered Puerto Rican crested toad that Bad Bunny has used an animated version of in his visuals for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”

    Traditional Puerto Rican instruments: Because much of Bad Bunny’s music pulls from bomba and plena, it is likely that a few of those traditional instruments will be on stage. Look out for a cuatro (a small, four-stringed guitar), güiro/güira (a percussive instrument made of a hollow gourd), palitos (also a percussive instrument resembling two long, wood sticks), cencerro (cow bell) and maracas. For the bomba songs, specifically, there may be a barriel (a barrel) and for plena, a pandereta (tambourine.)

    Will there be special guests during the halftime show?

    It is impossible to predict, but it would be surprising if Bad Bunny wasn’t joined by other performers — particularly other giants of Latin music, and probably, other Puerto Rican performers. The band Chuwi joined Benito for every night of his San Juan residency; it wouldn’t be out of the question to see them on stage for their collaboration, “Weltita.”

    Other potential guests, if the residency is a framework to follow, could include Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Young Miko, Wisin y Yandel, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Alfonso Vélez. But the list goes on and on.

    Will it be a political performance?

    That is in the eye of the beholder. But there is historical precedent for it at the Super Bowl. In 2020, the NFL asked Jennifer Lopez to cut a segment featuring children in cages during her halftime performance, a critique of U.S. immigration policies. She refused. (Bad Bunny was actually a guest performer during that halftime show, which was headlined by Lopez and Shakira.)

    Last year, Kendrick Lamar’s set was an artful confrontation of American history and racial dynamics through metaphor, as the actor Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, complained of a performance that was “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto” and reminded Lamar to “play the game.”

    Bad Bunny has never steered clear of political messaging. He has criticized President Donald Trump on everything from his hurricane response in his native Puerto Rico to his treatment of immigrants. At the Grammys Sunday, he said “ICE out” while accepting his first televised award of the night. His latest tour skipped the continental U.S.; in an interview he said it was at least partially inspired by concerns that his fans could be targeted by immigration agents.

    Trump, a Republican, has said he doesn’t plan to attend this year’s game, unlike last year, and he has derided Bad Bunny as a “terrible choice.”

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    Maria Sherman

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  • Emmanuel Episcopal brings world class musicians to La Grange for ‘Messiah’ performance

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    About 250 people became the chorus last week as La Grange’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church brought to life George Frederic Handel’s “Messiah” at the church on Kensington Avenue, backing four soloists in the rendition of the Christmas classic.

    Mary Hopper, emeritus professor of Choral Music at Wheaton College, conducted the performance.

    “This is great and such a great experience,” Hopper said before the performance. “People really enjoyed singing last year and I enjoyed that.”

    Hopper described Handel’s most famous work as one that resonates with the American people.

    “It’s the story of Christmas and the story of the Gospel,” she said. “It’s got music that’s familiar, probably the most familiar piece of classical music that anybody has.”

    During her 43 years at Wheaton College, Hopper directed the Women’s Chorale and the Men’s Glee Club. She has toured nationally and internationally.

    Since 2018, Hopper has been director of the Hinsdale Chorale, several of whose members were dispersed through the crowd at Emmanuel Episcopal for the performance, singing along to the choruses.

    The oratorio, written in only 24 days by the German-born master, is considered among the most recognizable pieces of English language music.

    The Messiah was first performed in Ireland in 1741, and quickly became a favorite of music-lovers of the era. While it originally was considered appropriate for the Easter Holiday, over the years “Messiah” has become a Christmas staple.

    Oratorios are typically large-scale music works for orchestra and voices, focusing on religious themes; “Messiah” is no exception, with lyrics taken from scripture.

    Chicago-based soprano Olivia Doig, who has performed in venues throughout the Midwest, also returned after performing in last year’s rendition in La Grange.

    “Last year I was eight months pregnant and this year I’m not,” Doig said after the performance, “But my children are here this year.”

    Doig is a veteran of venues like the Chicago Opera Theater, Ohio Light Opera, and the Haymarket Opera. She is currently a guest lecturer in voice studies at Wheaton College.

    Other performers included mezzo soprano Janet Mensen Reynolds, who retired after 26 years in the chorus of the Chicago Lyric Opera, made her concert debut at Carnegie Hall, and currently has a private voice studio of 25 students. Baritone Ryan Cox has been a professional member of the Grant Park Chorus and the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and was the baritone soloist in the 2010 recording of Grant Park’s Pulitzer Project. Lyric Opera tenor Joseph Fosselman has been with the Opera since 1992 and has performed many solo roles in Lyric productions.

    The Kaia String Quartet, dedicated to bringing the music of Latin America to the public, provided the instrumentation for the performance. The group has performed at many Chicago-area venues, including the Chicago Jazz Fest, the Studebaker Theatre, the Morton Arboretum, the Chicago Latino Music Festival, and Chamber Music on the Fox.

    But some artists were first-timers for Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s new tradition.

    Harpsichordist Kathy Christian has served on the music faculty of North Central College in Naperville for 26 years. She is the organist and pianist for the First Congregational Church of Western Springs, as well as the accompanist for Hinsdale Chorale.

    Organist Bobby Nguyen, a native of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is the organist at the First United Church of Oak Park. He began his piano studies at Ho Chi Minh Conservatory of Music, continued his education at North Park University and ultimately studied organ at the Juilliard School.

    “At first when Mary contacted me a few months ago, I was a bit worried,” Nguyen said. “The Messiah is a pretty big piece and when I showed up here everything was very casual feeling, a friendly atmosphere, so I said, ‘oh, I can do this.’”

    Dan Mottl, junior warden at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, said bringing the performance back this year was an easy choice.

    “We were pretty confident because of the response from last year,” he said before the performance. “We had a good turnout, the excitement was building and people were saying ‘I hope you do this every year. It was planned to be an annual event and it looks like it’s catching on.”

    Mottl talked about bringing together different artists who normally didn’t work together.

    “We assembled them from all over the neighborhood, some were from La Grange, some from Wheaton, some from Chicago,” he said. “So we assembled the best singers and best musicians that we knew. The Kaia String Quartet was wonderful. So we brought all these people together.

    “Of course Mary Hopper was the key. She knew a lot of the people, but this is independent from anything she had worked on before.”

    After the show, Mottl said “everything was great. It’s probably better than last year.”

    Audience members came away impressed and inspired.

    La Grange resident Nanci Davidson, a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Choir, was also part of the effort to bring the Messiah to the church last year.

    “Oh my gosh this is the best community event this church could be doing,” Nanci said. “It brings everyone together at a very tumultuous time — depending on how you sit — and it sets you off in this wonderful, joyous mood in the holidays.”

    Western Springs resident Janet Helin agreed.

    “It’s just such a thrill,” she said. “Especially when you think of all those who would like to sing it, and especially the text that came up in our sermon this morning. Handel composed this in 24 days. It’s hard to even conceive of this whole thing.”

    Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. 

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    Hank Beckman

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  • Limp Bizkit band members say bass player Sam Rivers has died

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    Sam Rivers, the bass player in the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, died on Saturday, according to social media posts by his band mates.

    The band did not disclose where Rivers died or the circumstances, but praised him as “pure magic” and “the soul in the sound.”

    “From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced,” they wrote in a group Instagram post. “His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.”

    Fred Durst, the band’s front man and lead vocalist, posted a video Sunday morning that recounted how they met at a club in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and went on to music stardom and performances around the globe. Durst said he has shed “gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday.”

    “He really did have an impact on the world and his music and his gift is the one that’s going to keep on giving,” Durst said. “I just love him so much.”

    Rivers, 48, had spoken of heavy drinking that had caused liver disease. He left the band in 2015 and received a liver transplant before reuniting with Limp Bizkit three years later.

    Limp Bizkit has scheduled a tour of Central and South America to begin in Mexico City in late November.

    Durst said he and Rivers shared a love of grunge music, naming the bands Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots.

    “He had this kind of ability to pull this beautiful sadness out of the bass that I’d never heard,” Durst said, calling Rivers “so talented I can’t explain.”

    Limp Bizkit, with roots in Jacksonville, Florida, emerged in the late 1990s with a sound that melds altenative rock, heavy metal and rap.

    Their off-the-wall sense of humor is reflected in the titles of their mega-selling 2000 album, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,” and a single released last month, “Making Love to Morgan Wallen.”

    Originally Published:

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    Mark Scolforo

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  • Today in History: Beatles perform their last public concert

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    Associated Press

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