Lessons from Bad Bunny

What can we learn about diversity and leadership from a Super Bowl halftime show?

Hello freinds,

After reflecting for a couple days on that incredible halftime show and watching way too many reaction videos to it, I want to share some reflections on how Bad Bunny illuminates how to “celebrate diversity” in a real and meaningful way.

Some of my takeways:

1️⃣ *You can fully lean into one culture while also not excluding others.* Certainly, this was a love letter to Puerto Rico but there was nothing antagonistic to others. In fact, it called so many people into the performance, whether that was through Lady Gaga’s singing or Bad Bunny parading with all of the flags and shouting out all the countries in the Americas, including non-Spanish speaking countries and including the US and Canada. You can simultaneously highlight uniqueness AND unity.

2️⃣ *You can include real history, even troubling history, within a representation that is hopeful and joyous.* In this performance, that included symbols of colonialism like the sugar cane or the telephone polls representing power outages and inadequate response to Hurricane Maria. Sometimes people think that even mentioning painful histories will be too much or too overwhelming or too demoralizing, but what is truly demoralizing is feeling unseen because we don’t mention reality.

3️⃣ *Representation is most meaningful when it is authentic, not when it tries to appeal to others or to appease others.* You can be authentic and respectful and inclusive at the same time. Part of that authenticity came with Bad Bunny singing entirely in Spanish, but also including real people, like Toñita, a Puerto Rican woman who has run a real social club in New York for the past 50 years.

4️⃣ *There is diversity within diversity.* In other words, people who identify as Puerto Rican span a wide range of ages, sexualities, genders, colors, locations (island, New York, etc.), and we can represent that wide range instead of flattening identity.

5️⃣ *You are invited in to experience this culture, even if it’s not how you identify.* You are invited in to enjoy the music, to dance, to appreciate the beauty, to learn about the symbolism and the culture and the history.

Some other honorable mention takeaways for good leadership:

✅ Create purpose, unity, and joy on your team for best results. You can see how Bad Bunny was successful at this just from watching the videos of the performers outside the stadium after the halftime was done. The joy is evident.

✅ Respect those who paved the way for you. This is most evident by the inclusion and the honoring of Ricky Martin, who was pressured to sing in English by the music industry during his prime.

✅ Create a unifying purpose, direction, and motivation for all of us together. We can be one team. Together we are America.