J.Lo and Shakira's Super Bowl LIV halftime show was, in a word, iconic.
It was also incredibly political.
Toward the end of the show, the stadium lights dimmed, the music faded away, and small spheres glowed to life in front of the main stage with children sitting down inside them.
Among them was Jennifer Lopez's 11-year-old daughter, Emme Maribel Muñiz, who began singing a slowed-down version of her mother's hit song "Let's Get Loud."
Gripping one of the bars, she solemnly sang the words, "If you want to live your life / Live it all the way and don't waste it / Every feelin' every beat / Can be so very sweet you gotta taste it."
Behind her, young girls wearing hoodies with an American flag on them held hands — forming a sort of wall — as they sang along.
Many interpreted the spheres with the performers inside to represent immigrant children and youth being held inside cages at US detention centers along the southern border with Mexico.
As the performance picked up tempo, Emme left the cage and was joined onstage by her mom, who appeared in a cape with the Puerto Rican flag on one side and the American flag on the other.
As J.Lo unfurled her cape revealing the Puerto Rican flag, Emme sang parts of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, and Puerto Ricans are American citizens.
People loved the performance.
why isn’t anyone talking about how important the part when a little Latina girl is singing in a cage surrounded by other kids in cages?she got out&held hands w/the other girls as they embraced their culture w/pride w/jlo&shakira that was so powerful😭 #PepsiHalftime #HalftimeShow
And although not everyone caught on immediately...
Im surprised by how many ppl didn’t catch on to the message of the children in cages singing born in the USA and let’s get loud. It was well done and to me, extremely effective. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 #PepsiHalftime
...the message was loud and clear.
Latino kids in cages. Get it Trump? This was a swipe at you. #SuperBowl #HalftimeShow
You can watch the entire halftime show here.
