Unless you've been living under a rock (and have somehow avoided every news headline for days), you're probably aware of the controversy surrounding Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show. The 12-minute set, which featured performances by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, sent tongues wagging and left viewers divided. Although half the internet erupted into cheers over how incredible both artists were — singing and dancing their butts off at 50 and 43, respectively — the other half clutched their pearls over what they deemed to be not very family-friendly entertainment. But at least one mom on Instagram is cutting through all the noise this week, and reminding us all of one big takeaway from Sunday's show that many missed.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Bronx mom and plus-size fashion blogger Darlene Lebron shared a 5-second clip of her young daughter.
In it, she stands in the living room wrapped in what appears to be a blanket — until you hit play on the video and watch the little girl begin to dance. In the background, J.Lo's cover of "Born in the U.S.A." from Sunday's show can be heard, as the toddler sheds the "blanket" to reveal it's a Puerto Rican flag, just like the one J.Lo dropped from her shoulders during her Super Bowl performance.
"Walking into daycare this morning … " Darlene captioned her post, along with a string of laughing emojis.
But on a more serious note, the Puerto Rican-born blogger switched gears to call out a part of the show people don't seem to be talking about.
"We watched the #superbowl2020 #halftimeshow together this morning and I literally cried as she looked back at me and said, 'Mami' when @jlo opened the #puertoricanflag," Lebron shared. "So to @shakira @ddlovato @jlo, as a mom, woman, Latina and proud Boricua thank you so much for last night! Last night we were seen as a people and my heart is so full today."
For many, the halftime show was nothing more than "provocative," with J.Lo's pole dancing and Shakira's trademark hip shaking.
But whether or not you believe the dancing and revealing costumes went too far, the fact remains that it was just dancing. (And, to be fair, no one was complaining last year when Adam Levine performed without his shirt on.) Surely, the fact that both J.Lo and Shakira proudly represented their cultural roots on stage in more ways than one should be the real headline-grabber … no?
“I think it’s super important for two Latina women to be headlining the Super Bowl,” Lopez told the Los Angeles Times back in November. “Especially right now in Trump’s America.”
Indeed, it's hard not to see the Puerto Rican cape-dropping moment as significant.
And yes, even political.
After all, even the most casual J.Lo fan knows that she was born and raised in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, and has been both vocal and proud of her heritage in her nearly 30-year career.
Her flag-wearing on Sunday also served as a reminder of what's going on in Puerto Rico right now, as it endures ongoing earthquakes and is still struggling to recover from the effects of 2017's Hurricane Maria.
But there's also this: "The Puerto Rican flag flashed as the iconic Springsteen song played, as if to remind viewers that Puerto Ricans are American citizens," an op-ed in Vanity Fair pointed out Monday. "While [J.Lo's daughter Emme] Muñiz was singing, other children were dancing in cage-like structures — a subtler reference, but a possible nod to the thousands of children, most from Latin American countries, who have been detained at the border."
On Instagram, Lebron's post racked up thousands of views and hundreds of comments cheering on the little girl.
"OH MY GOODNESS, my heart can’t handle this baby Latina pride," wrote one person.
"Yaaaassss baby girl! Love everything about this! Wepa!" another person wrote, along with several Puerto Rican flag emojis.
"Thats right, do it baby!" someone else chimed in. "Be proud!!!"
On Twitter Monday, many others began to comment on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) nods to Hispanic culture that might have been initially missed.
"I didn't initially catch all the subtle messages expressed during the amazing J Lo & Shakira halftime show celebrating immigrant/Latin culture," tweeted one user. "Shakira's traditional Arab ululation, kids in cages, Puerto Rican flag during 'Born in the USA' bit, and so much more."
"Got a little emotional at the kids in cages reference with JLo's daughter singing 'Let's Get Loud,'" someone else added. "Then they sing 'Born in the U.S.A.' with a Puerto Rican flag?!?! YESSSSSSSSS."
But perhaps the biggest accolade came on Wednesday, when JLo herself shared the clip in her Instagram story, along with an emoji with heart eyes.
As with every halftime show, this year's was bound to have some dissenters in the crowd.
But when we consider for a moment just how many Latinx girls and boys were watching Sunday night and were instantly inspired by seeing someone who looked like them up on stage, it's hard to really knock it for lacking "family-friendly" values. If anything, the points it earned for representation far outweigh any dancing that may have offended someone.
