There were so many little details to love about the massive Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show. From the street vendors selling Limber to the farm workers and dance numbers, every choice was clearly an intentional one. There was a beautiful pride behind every choice the Puerto Rican singer/rapper made. One choice that went a little under the radar, though, was his outfit. Given the football setting, people might not have looked twice at the jersey. However, the number ’64’ on it holds an even deeper meaning than you might realize.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Bad Bunny explained the choice behind his Super Bowl outfit. Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, he chose his family name and the number 64 as a special way to honor his late Uncle Cutito, his mom’s brother. “What little I know about the NFL is thanks to him,” he told the outlet.
Benito would frequently visit his uncle whenever he and his family visited him in the United States. That would always end up coinciding with the NFL postseason as well. Given that Uncle Cutito was a San Francisco 49ers fan and the 2026 Super Bowl took place at the Niners’ stadium in Santa Clara, it only made sense.
Bad Bunny Pays Tribute to His Uncle Cutito In His Super Bowl Halftime Show Outfit
Sadly, Bad Bunny’s uncle passed away two years ago. Consequently, the 2026 Super Bowl was his way of honoring someone who meant a lot to him and his relationship to football. He ended up choosing the number of his uncle’s birth year.
“I always dreamed of taking my uncle to a Super Bowl, but I couldn’t,” Bad Bunny said. “He left unexpectedly, without warning. So, for my Super Bowl Halftime Show, I decided to have him on my shirt: OCASIO, his last name, the same as my mom’s, and his birth year, 1964. I dedicated my show to him before it started. I’m sure he appreciated it. He saw it, he was there, and he was proud of his nephew.”
It’s this kind of familial and cultural pride that made fellow countryman Ricky Martin embrace him so deeply. In the aftermath of Bad Bunny’s big night at the Grammys, where he won Album of the Year, Martin tenderly wrote about how happy he was to see him succeed.
“I know what it means to succeed without letting go of where you come from,” Ricky Martin said of Bad Bunny. “I know how heavy it is, what it costs, and what is sacrificed when you decide not to change because others ask you to. That’s why what you have achieved is not just a historic musical accomplishment, it’s a cultural and human victory. You won without changing the color of your voice. You won without erasing your roots; you won by staying true to Puerto Rico.”
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