Latin pride on display during Lopez, Shakira Super Bowl show
Miami – Jennifer Lopez and Shakira turned the Super Bowl halftime show into a giant Latin dance party Sunday, wowing the sold-out crowd with their greatest hits.
The performance at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was a high-energy celebration of culture and abs, as both women showcased soaring vocals and thunderous dance routines.
Shakira opened in a glittering ensemble, getting the crowd of 65,000 on their feet with She Wolf and Wherever, Whenever.
She was then joined by Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Bad Bunny for a few lines of I Like It (originally sung by rap star Cardi B) before segueing into her iconic hit, Hips Don’t Lie.
The stage then cleared as Jennifer Lopez appeared atop a miniature Empire State Building, a nod to her New York roots, much like King Kong – or Queen Kong, as it were.
After a few bars of Jenny From The Block, she took the crowd through a medley of Love Don’t Cost A Thing, Get Right and On The Floor, her transitions as fast and sharp as her dance moves.
Lopez started out wearing a black leather heavily cutout jumpsuit.
But she soon shed that for a revealing silver number as she performed a pole dance to Waiting For Tonight, alongside Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin.
The dance was in honour of her acclaimed performance as Ramona in Hustlers, a film Lopez also produced and which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for.
Her daughter Emme then took the stage for the show’s most political moment: Small children in light-up “cages” surrounded the stage, a pointed reference to a President Donald Trump administration “zero tolerance” policy launched in 2018 that saw thousands of children separated from their parents at the border.
Lopez then returned wearing an American flag feather cape – that she then lifted to reveal the flag of Puerto Rico, the US territory struggling in the aftermath of earthquakes and a devastating hurricane.
Backed up by Shakira on the drums, the mother and daughter sang a few lines of Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA before transitioning into Let’s Get Loud.
Shakira, now in a fringed gold outfit, took centre stage once more for Waka Waka, the song she wrote for the 2010 World Cup.
It quickly turned into a full-on Latin dance number, with Shakira and Lopez showcasing fierce, high-intensity footwork on a raised platform and ending the show back-to-back in a Charlie’s Angels-esque pose.
“Muchas gracias!” Shakira called out.
Twitter lit up after the performance, with many praising the women’s skills. The hashtags #Latinas and #Latinapower also began trending.
Lady Gaga, who performed at the Super Bowl halftime in 2017, called the performance “so incredible!!!”
“I danced and smiled the whole time,” the singer tweeted. “Such powerful sexy women!!!!” - AFP
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