What Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show teaches us about translation
Dr Balsam Mustafa explores how translation today extends far beyond language and why that matters for the next generation of translation professionals.
When Bad Bunny took to the stage for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, millions watched around the world.
Taking place amid a fractured political climate with growing anti-immigrant rhetoric, the performance made a powerful statement about Puerto Rican identity and cultural pride.
The rapper performed entirely in Spanish without on-screen subtitles, quickly sparking debate. Some praised the decision as a tool of authenticity, resisting pressure to make artists conform to English language expectations. Others argued that the lack of subtitles made the performance less accessible for non-Spanish speakers and deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
Both perspectives have valid arguments. But an important part was largely missing: what do we mean by translation today? In our contemporary world, meaning is produced across multiple modes and media.
Translation is often thought of as converting words from one language to another. In reality, we communicate in many different ways. Music, imagery, dance, symbols, bodily movement, and facial expressions all help to produce meaning. Bad Bunny's performance told a story through multiple modes of expression, it wasn’t understood through language alone. The linguistic gap generated new forms of participatory translation, commentary, and interpretation by fans, journalists, activists, and social media users.
This broader understanding of translation is transforming the field. Today's translators work not only with texts, but also with multi-modal platforms such as digital media, museums, theatres, video games, websites and social media. They collaborate with stakeholders from different disciplines and think critically about technology, culture and ethics.
These new forms of translation sit at the heart of our MA in Translation Studies at Cardiff University. We combine theory and practice to explore new technologies and real-world challenges that shape translation today, while developing skills for a wide range of professional contexts. We explore multimodal platforms and environments, from video games, theatre, and museums to websites and social media, making sure we have the critical and creative skills and understanding to respond to evolving communication challenges.
Whether you want to become a translator or work in creative industries, news media, cultural institutions, digital media, public bodies or NGOs, the programme offers a fresh perspective on how meaning moves across languages, cultures and media.
Discover more about our MA in Translation Studies.
Further reading
Francisci, F, Marinetti, C. 2005. Translation in the Performing Arts | Embodiment, Materiality, and Incl
Kress, G. 2009. Multimodality. A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication
Photo credits: Comecoquito, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Bad_Bunny_Performs.jpg
