09/02/2026
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
I watched the Bad Bunny performance with excitement. St. Croix is inextricably bonded with Puerto Rico—they are our neighbors, our family, our friends. Even our support in hard times.
The minute he danced out of a sugar cane field, I was moved. I don’t speak Spanish well, but I read his translated lyrics when it was announced he was playing, even learned some in Spanish (admittedly I cannot keep up with his tempo lol). They are powerful lyrics that speak to his love of Puerto Rico as well as the rightful frustrations Puerto Ricans have with their dilapidated infrastructure. He speaks to gentrification, comparing it with the same frustrations of Hawaiians. He gives a voice to the people who don’t feel they have one. I watched him dance through his set, Puerto Rican references everywhere, and felt the energy. The dancers made me want to dance myself—reminding me of every fête we’ve been to in the Caribbean, from Puerto Rico to Grenada. By the time the show ended with the power poles sparking, I was cheering. The analogy of not only their power supply issues, but also the power of the people, was not lost.
That halftime show represented the part of the America that Mike and I now call home. I didn’t need to know a bit of Spanish to recognize the show was about love. It also represented the America I love—multicultural, accepting and compassionate. The only English was “God Bless America” and the words on the big screen, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” Even if that was the only thing people understood, that was enough to get his message across.
Well done!
