- Shakira and Jennifer Lopez nailed their joint halftime performance at Super Bowl LIV on Sunday.
- The two superstars also shared the stage with Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny and Colombian singer J Balvin.
- Latinx and Spanish-speaking fans were thrilled with the representation on display for such a massive audience.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Shakira and Jennifer Lopez nailed their joint halftime performance at Super Bowl LIV on Sunday.
The two women lit up the stage in Miami with a medley of their bilingual hits, from “She Wolf” and “Chantaje” to “Jenny from the Block” and “Let’s Get Loud.”
The Colombian superstar and the Bronx-born, Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate also shared the stage with two more Latinx artists: Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who performed Cardi B’s “I Like It” with Shakira, and Colombian singer J Balvin, who performed his hit “Mi Gente” with JLo.
https://twitter.com/bIinkaholic/status/1224144845356388354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
OKAY @JBALVIN and @JLo. 🙌 #SBLIV #PepsiHalftime pic.twitter.com/41eNBkInFU
— Complex (@Complex) February 3, 2020
"The halftime show was also a no-nonsense affirmation of Latin pride and cultural diversity in a political climate where immigrants and American Latinos have been widely demonized," Jon Pareles wrote in his review the New York Times.
He also noted that the performance has a special significance in Miami, a city with a Hispanic population of 70 percent.
Fans were thrilled with the triumphant Latinx representation on display for such a massive audience.
latinos literally just won. JLO AND SHAKIRA POPPED OFF!!! AND THAT’S ON WHAT? THAT’S ON LATINX REPRESENTATION 😳😳🧡 #LatinoGang pic.twitter.com/9EYPbpzfzC
— Jackie 🥀 (@jackiesuckz) February 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/Thundergod13/status/1224141231220908032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Jennifer Lopez x Shakira killed the #PepsiHalftime Show and showed America what Latinx Representation looks like #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/CaErPJ8Tal
— Jared Sawyer Jr. (@JaredSawyerJr) February 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/alexxmoraan/status/1224142850423586819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The LatinX halftime show was everything. ❤️ #SuperBowlLIV
— KelleyLCarter (@KelleyLCarter) February 3, 2020
ME BOPPING TO THIS HALFTIME BC LATINX RIGHTS https://t.co/87wyNuaaPT
— dafni (@timmysstats) February 3, 2020
My Latinx heart is so full yall ...such an honor to see mi gente take over the #HalftimeShow stage pic.twitter.com/rQYdd9FK1c
— Diego 👀 (@diegolurks) February 3, 2020
Basketball analyst Rosalyn Gold-Onwude celebrated Shakira and Lopez on Twitter, writing, "they put ON, hella represented!"
🗣 NAHHHHHH JLO AND SHAKIRA DID THAT!!!! 👏🏽👏🏽🔥🔥🔥 they put ON, hella represented!
— Ros Gold-Onwude (@ROSGO21) February 3, 2020
Activist and writer Brittany Packnett expressed a similar sentiment: "I am absolutely here for folks seeing this just part of LatinX broad and beautiful culture on display."
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/1224141749356023808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"Really happy for my latinx fam who feel seen/affirmed/energized by the half-time show," Huff Post's Zeba Blay wrote.
https://twitter.com/zblay/status/1224154001291255809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"When Jlo, Shakira, Bad Bunny AND J Balvin storm into the #SuperBowl with an 'Hola Miami'... and a huge Puero Rican flag in the backdrop, there should be no doubt that Latinos are ready to make their voices heard," wrote journalist Mariana Atencio.
When Jlo, Shakira, Bad Bunny AND J Balvin storm into the #SuperBowl with an ‘Hola Miami’... and a huge Puero Rican flag in the backdrop, there should be no doubt that Latinos are ready to make their voices heard.
Can someone send our politicians the memo por favor? pic.twitter.com/Z26yBcWb0R
— Mariana Atencio (@marianaatencio) February 3, 2020
Many used a popular "cries in Spanish" meme to express their feelings about the performance.
https://twitter.com/eldagarciaaa/status/1224142310868312066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/gabeawaycar/status/1224141546926362626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
No way I just saw Shakira,JLO,Bad Bunny, and J Balvin at the Super Bowl halftime show pic.twitter.com/eYa5UHfbS2
— Oscar (@Oscar__FML) February 3, 2020
However, some were less enthused and less convinced that it was a true triumph for representation.
Writer and music critic Gary Suarez criticized the performance's lack of Afro-Latinx artists, while other skeptics used his words to criticize Shakira and JLo for taking the opportunity in the first place.
"A halftime show with a bunch of Latinx artists is not Latinx excellence," he tweeted earlier on Sunday. "True Latinx excellence at the Super Bowl would have been showing solidarity with the POCs protesting the NFL and declining the offer to perform."
https://twitter.com/noyokono/status/1224141596163264512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/taylorcrumpton/status/1224142675349082113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Many prominent artists, like Rihanna and Cardi B, have declined to perform at the Super Bowl in recent years in order to stand in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. The former NFL quarterback famously knelt during the national anthem before games to protest racism and police brutality and later accused the NFL of blacklisting him over it.
Watch Shakira and Lopez's halftime show below.
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