Seven months on, Bad Bunny’s all-Spanish halftime show cleaned up at the Emmys. Seven wins, for production, direction, choreography, lighting and sound. Pablo puts it back on the table and the house splits down the middle. Jennie, Puerto Rican, loved it: the staging that played like a musical, an artist who could have gone political and chose not to. Pablo, Argentine and raised in Miami, rates the performance and still says an all-Spanish show cut out the one thing that makes everybody better. He wanted one song in English. Neither of them budges. That’s the show.
Podcast Title:
Very Caliente
Hosts:
Pablo Alsina & Jennie López
Summary
Seven months on, Bad Bunny’s all-Spanish halftime show cleaned up at the Emmys. Seven wins, for production, direction, choreography, lighting and sound. Pablo puts it back on the table and the house splits down the middle. Jennie, Puerto Rican, loved it: the staging that played like a musical, an artist who could have gone political and chose not to. Pablo, Argentine and raised in Miami, rates the performance and still says an all-Spanish show cut out the one thing that makes everybody better. He wanted one song in English. Neither of them budges. That’s the show.
Main Topics
• Seven Emmys, and what the wins actually recognised
• Watching a halftime show like a musical instead of a concert
• The honest question: would it hit the same if it were all mariachi?
• Miami, bilingual pride, and learning English straight away
• Ricky Martin and Luis Fonsi as the case for songs in both languages
• Prince, Aerosmith and the halftime shows Pablo grew up on
• The Super Bowl Jennie worked as a Colts cheerleader
• Why yo perreo sola does not survive translation
• Misogyny in the music, and the answer to “you’re just older”
• Why the show is called Very Caliente and not Very Nice
Intriguing Quotes
“I know we have a house divided here.” - Jennie López
“They wanted to unite the Spanish people, but it didn’t unite me.” - Pablo Alsina
“Music unites. And I believe that only being in Spanish, in a way, was division.” - Pablo Alsina
“It’s very caliente. It’s not very nice or very agreeable.” - Jennie López
Key Moments
[00:51] The Emmys landed last night, and Benito cleaned house
[01:05] The new Very Caliente question gets its second outing
[01:36] A house divided, and why Jennie loved it
[03:03] Be honest: what if it had been all mariachi?
[03:55] Miami, five years old, and pride in speaking both
[04:30] Ricky Martin, Luis Fonsi and hits in two languages
[05:48] Prince, and the Super Bowl Jennie was on the field for
[06:11] It didn’t unite me
[06:54] Yo perreo sola doesn’t hit the same in English
[08:14] Seven categories, and the production detail behind them
[08:50] You said it wasn’t political, but Ricky Martin’s song was
Notable Guests / Resources
• Pablo Alsina, TV host and Telemundo alumnus, co-host of Very Caliente
• Jennie López, speaker, coach, author of Intentional Unicorn, co-host of Very Caliente
• The original halftime show episode, recorded right after the Super Bowl
• EP 037 with Yvette Vargas, where the Very Caliente question started
Special Announcements
🔥 The Very Caliente question is now a regular segment. This one: were you in favour of an all-Spanish halftime show, and has seven Emmys changed your mind? Reach out and tell them.