There might be plenty of people up in arms about Bad Bunny being the performer for the 2026 Super Bowl LX halftime show, but Carlos Santana certainly isn’t one of them. Contrary to what several inflammatory posts would have the online community believe, the rock ‘n’ roll guitarist isn’t starting a petition to remove Bad Bunny, nor did he threaten to “walk away as an NFL fan” if the league didn’t find a new performer.
Videos by American Songwriter
In this case, the internet was doing what the internet is wont to do. We tend to respond to negative stories more strongly, and the visceral reaction to Bad Bunny performing at the halftime show spiraled into fake stories to create more rage, more stories, more rage, on and on it goes. Thanks to AI, some of these Santana stories also came with a suspiciously smooth image of the rock ‘n’ roller flipping the camera the bird. (That’s fake, btw.)
Quick to shoot down these false stories that pit two Hispanic artists against each other unnecessarily, Santana released a statement on his website condemning the fake news. “I congratulate and celebrate Bad Bunny’s success and his position right now with the world and with the Super Bowl,” the musician said. “I feel total oneness with what he’s doing because we are here to utilize art to complement and bring the world closer to harmony and oneness.”
Carlos Santana Said Bad Bunny Rumors Highlight Divisiveness
As a pioneering rock ‘n’ roll guitarist who was present at some of the most iconic moments in music history starting in the 1960s, Carlos Santana has seen the music industry (and society as a whole) evolve countless times. He has often talked about his disdain for our cultural tendencies to gravitate toward hate, violence, and fear. “Fear is the flavor right now,” he added in his statement. “Fear is what motivates ignorant people to put words in my mouth—saying that I didn’t want Bad Bunny to be represented at the Super Bowl. I never said that, nor would I ever.”
“We’re living in a time when hostile forces love to create conflict, separation, and division,” he continued. “Because the hostile forces don’t like unity, harmony, oneness, and joy. They want people to be miserable and to spend too much time in their minds. I spend a lot of time in my heart, and in my heart, I celebrate Bad Bunny. I can’t stop playing his song ‘Mónaco’. There’s something really magical about it.”
Bad Bunny released “Mónaco” in October 2023 on his fifth album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana. The track peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the U.S. Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay charts, and hit No. 1 in Mexico and Spain. Given its popularity, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Bad Bunny includes it in his halftime set. We already know that Santana has been listening to it. So, maybe the two artists could stick it to AI and the online rumor mill by gifting us with a halftime collab? We can hope, anyway.
Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.