By Bob Gaydos

Bad Bunny pays tribute to Puerto Rico at the Super Bowl.

  So, as I said I would and out of an abundance of curiosity, I watched Bad Bunny‘s halftime show at the Super Bowl.

    Although I didn’t know what to expect, I’m not sure anyone could have predicted what was delivered. I came for the music and got a living history of Puerto Rican culture complete with sugarcane fields, electric utility poles, dozens of dancers, a market and an actual wedding. All in Spanish. With accompaniment by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba and Cardi B.

     Daring and dazzling, with a welcome message of peace and love.

     For me, there was a bonus. I watched the 12-minute performance with closed-captioning on. That meant I could read anything being sung or said also in Spanish. It gave me an opportunity to practice what I’ve been trying to learn on Google’s Duolingo. And I even took the opportunity during the following commercials to sneak in a quick Spanish lesson on the app. It’s a slow process but, hey, you’re never too old.

    Further bonuses: Seattle won the football game (New England looked lost for the most part), the alternative MAGA halftime show was reportedly a flop and Trump  (Who had said of the performance when it was first announced, “In this country we speak English, not Spanish”) was recorded actually watching Bad Bunny on a huge TV screen in Mar-a-Lago, which, by the way, is Spanish for “Sea-to-Lake,” noting its location between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth. The mansion also features Spanish architecture and a considerable number of Spanish-speaking employees.

   Fue un buen dia en el Super Bowl 60.

Bad Bunny and his Grammy

By Bob Gaydos

   I was scanning one of those social media posts about the various generations — The Greatest, Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, Gen Z … — and wondered what mine was and, heck, where it was. Turns out I’m part of the Silent Generation.

     Who knew? Did I miss the memo that I was supposed to focus on my career and hold my tongue for 84 years? Well, live and learn.

      I guess being born into the war years and inheriting the prosperity that came with victory was supposed to make us care only about ice cream sodas and eventually rock and roll. Not a bad deal, but honestly, I gotta say I think we’ve also been pretty vocal about race, Vietnam, Iraq, gay rights, women’s rights, sports betting … etcetera. Life.

    So, in the spirit of the not so silent generation and because as a journalist I’ve unknowingly been violating my generation’s assigned code for 60 years, I’d just like to comment on two recent events. 

    — Don Lemon and three other black journalists were arrested for charges brought against them while covering a demonstration in Minnesota against ICE. In a church. He’s accused of preventing people from exercising their right to religious freedom. The demonstrators were protesting against the church minister for his cooperation with ICE. The demonstration and Lemon’s press coverage were both protected by the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and a free press. Not negotiable. 

    Attorney General Pam Bondi couldn’t find a legal way to arrest Lemon (a judge refused to issue a warrant), so she slapped together a secret grand jury and, undoubtedly, lied.

  This gestapo-like policing to arrest journalists who have been critical of Bondi’s boss is what the Greatest Generation — my parents’ generation — fought to eliminate. No American of any generation should support it. None. Ever.

    — Someone named Bad Bunny is the lead act at halftime of Sunday’s Super Bowl. Full disclosure: Who?

     No, I never heard of the performer until the NFL announced his selection. Then he just won the Grammy for best album of the year. And then, he tore Donald Trump a new one in his acceptance speech live on TV, denouncing ICE tactics and saying the violence is not who we are as human beings. 

     Bad Bunny also happens to be Puerto Rican. Trump hit the roof, typically insulting everything about Bad Bunny and saying he won’t watch the Super Bowl. Who cares?

     I’m now probably going to watch the half time show to see what all the fuss is about. It will be in Spanish. I suspect I won’t be crazy about the music, since I grew up with the crooners and then the rockers and the jazz giants and the folk story tellers. (Great times). But I’ll watch.

     Bottom line?

— Pam Bondi: Bad.ii

— Bad Bunny: Good. (Although I’m still not a fan of the name.)

****

     PS: Go Seattle!