Sunday, February 2nd, 2020 was a big day for millions of football fanatics!
Kansas City Chiefs v. The San Francisco 49ers
What a game! I’m not a huge football enthusiast but I did grow up with three so I guess I can say I know a little sum’n sum’n. What a comeback for the under dogs ending the game with a score of 31-20 officially naming the Kansas City Chiefs Superbowl 2020 champions.
If I am being honest, what I was really looking forward to was the half time show that featured Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Bad Bunny & J. Balvin… & the commercials! Let’s not forget, Superbowl is one of the most watched television events every year.
I was here for it
and felt such pride & such power from the culture brought to that stage! What an incredible job well done - it’s actually kind of hard to put into words! J. Lo is a mother fu*kin boss and Shakira’s hips literally never lie... It was a halftime show that touched the hearts and hips of so many across the US.
Being that social media works with the literal quickness, I took to twitter to see the reactions of others. For majority of us, who if I must make a biased remark, are culturally enriched, & have love and understanding in our hearts - knew that it was a show that captivated every artistical and cultural form possible. For those of you who didn’t understand that, for example…
Courtesy of Twitter
Yikes… I forget how negatively opinionated some can be, but hey! to each its own, right?
Here are some key cultural components I took in from Sundays performance, starting with -
Jennifer Lopez is of Puerto Rican descent who grew up in the Bronx, NY so, no, she is not Cuban, sorry twitter guy, you are incorrect - that was not the flag of Cuba. J.Lo captivates us towards the end of her performance with a reversible cape showcasing both the American & Puerto Rican flags. Just to remind some of those who are unaware, Puerto Rico is a U.S Territory, who is still recovering from devastating damages from a hurricane and subsequent earthquakes. Her Daughter, Emme who is and will continue in the footsteps of her mother, performed ‘Born in the USA’ & "‘Let’s Get Loud’ reminding those that Puerto Ricans are American too & their voices need to be heard - while alongside her, performed children in cage like structures representing a subtle indication to the children, whom are of mostly Latino descent we have kept in detention facilities.
The Superbowl was hosted in Miami - a city nicknamed the ‘Capital of Latin America’.
Some of the costumes Jennifer Lopez wears during the performance also pays tribute to Selena, a Mexican American icon who J. Lo had the honor of playing in the 1997 biographical film.
Shakira, Shakira - something that I have recently learned about this belly dancing goddess is that her father’s parents were Lebanese immigrants who emigrated to New York City where Shakira’s father was born and then later immigrated to Barranquilla, Colombia - where at that time Middle Eastern immigrants came after WWI and WWII.
Shakira honors both her Latino and Arabic heritage in her life and music which brings me to one moment a lot of you have been discussing since. As most of you have seen, while singing her hit song ‘Hips Don’t Lie,’ Shakira turns to the cameras and lets out a high pitched ‘calling’ while flickering her tongue. While this led to a ton of memes questioning her reasoning to what this may have represented, I quickly learned that this was a term called Zaghrouta, a traditional Arabic expression of joy which can also be referenced during the Carnaval de Barranquilla.
“Chiming in because I know everyone will be making jokes about this for days — this is a popular Arab tradition, called zaghrouta, used to express joy at celebrations. In the melting pot that is Miami, you could not have picked a better Super Bowl act and this was a lovely touch.”
This was yet another subtle & sincere reference that was meant to honor both her and Jennifer Lopez’s respective cultures.
I would also like to briefly speak on the comments made by those who referenced the performance as ‘too sexual’ and ‘vulgar’ for children - Listen... we just watched a 50-year-old and a 43-year-old kill it.
Lets be real..
We got to witness the dedication, practice, and challenges put into this performance and then its end result. Artists, who poured their mind, body, and soul into a high paced, energetic, meaningful show to allow us to see what we are all capable of if we just put our mind in the game - there are no words for such brilliant work.
WHAT A SHOW!
What an incredible reminder to us all that we must come together as one, embrace who we truly are and celebrate our deeply rooted cultures. How proud it makes so many of us, to see those of cultural backgrounds make and break history - this was one for the books!
Thank you, Jennifer Lopez & Shakira, for the performance of a lifetime! For teaching and showing our future generations that we can and will be whatever we set our minds and hearts too!
Oh, & I came across this tweet and well it speaks for itself -
IT WAS JUST THAT* GOOD!
Shakira performed -
"She Wolf"
"Empire"
"Ojos Asi"
"Whenever, Wherever"
"I Like It Like That," ft. Bad Bunny
"Chantaje"
"Hips Don't Lie"
"Waka Waka"
Jennifer Lopez performed -
"Jenny from the Block"
"Get Right"
"Waiting for Tonight"
"Love Don't Cost a Thing"
"Mi Gente," ft. J Balvin
"On the Floor"
"Born in the USA" (ft. daughter Emme Maribel Muniz)
"Let's Get Loud"
Anyone have yet to watch the 2020 SuperBowl Halftime show?
Check it out here -
Thanks for reading!
Krystle
“All I want my girls, the little girls on stage with me and all over the world to know is how to use their voices and be proud of everything they are.”
