How Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show LSPR Performer Made History

The Super Bowl LX halftime show turned out to be much more than just a musical event. It was also a great victory for the defense of the Deaf. Although Bad bunny made history as the first predominantly Spanish-language headliner, the real breakthrough came when a Puerto Rican Sign Language Interpreter (LSPR) provided access to the Deaf and hard of hearing community, a move that directly honors the linguistic rights of Puerto Rico’s Deaf community.

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Honors Puerto Rico’s Deaf Community

For years, the standard for accessibility at large events has been American Sign Language (ASL). However, for Puerto Rico’s 220,000 deaf or hard of hearing residents, ASL is not always used.

LSPR evolved from ASL in the early 1900s, but has developed its own rhythm, slang, and cultural nuances that make it a distinct language. Despite its importance to the Puerto Rican community, linguistic experts have classified LSPR as an endangered language. Advocating for its use is a fight for the survival of a specific cultural heritage, and seeing it played during the Super Bowl only highlights the importance of maintaining the language.

How Celimar Rivera Cosme started working with Bad Bunny

Celimar Rivera Cosme was the LSPR performer who provided services during the Super Bowl halftime show. Cosme is originally from Puerto Rico. She is hard of hearing and was hired directly by the NFL to perform Bad Bunny’s set.

However, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know the superstar. She began working with him in 2022 after an Instagram video she made went viral. According to San Francisco PBS member station KQED, she begged him to include an LSPR interpreter on his broadcasts, and he hired her a week after posting the video.

Celimar Rivera Cosme explains the importance of LSPR

According to a 2022 report, approximately seven percent of Puerto Rico residents identify as deaf or hard of hearing. This would represent around 220,000 people out of a total population of 3.2 million.

“We fought not to lose our language, but to keep it,” Cosme said. The New York Times in an interview before his performance. “The Super Bowl will be a great platform for us to use our language.”

She was also grateful for the opportunity to showcase Puerto Rico’s culture and language during the Super Bowl, one of the most-watched sporting events of the year.

“The challenge here is to show that we are friendly people, but also our way of dancing, our words, our slang,” she told Times. “Puerto Rico…we may be a small island, but the people here have huge, huge hearts.”

Celimar Rivera Cosme was ‘thrilled’ to perform at the Super Bowl

Additionally, Cosme told KQED that she was “excited” to perform, knowing it would make Puerto Ricans “happy” to see their language presented in such a public way.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “And deaf people in Puerto Rico are happy that the Super Bowl is available to them in their own sign language.”

She added: “I know I’ll be the one up there, but it’s the deaf community on my island that’s going to shine.”

Couple Got Married During Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

Just days before Valentine’s Day, love was in the air at the Super Bowl halftime show! According to KION, it was a real wedding that took place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. A Sacramento pastor, Antonio Reyes of Project Church of Sacramento, confirmed that he had actually married the couple in a message posted in Spanish on his Instagram page.

“Now that the secret is out… it is an honor for me as a Latino and as a guide of Jesus in a historic moment like this summer. Tengo plus por shared con ustedes,” he wrote, which can be loosely translated as: “Now that the secret is out… it was an honor for me as a Latino and as a follower of Jesus to be in the presence of such a historic moment like this. I have more to share with you.

The happy couple reportedly invited Bad Bunny to their wedding, but Bad Bunny brought the wedding to them instead!