As Bad Bunny performed his opening number, “Tití Me Preguntó,” at the Super Bowl LX halftime show in Santa Clara, California, Angelenos were greeted by a familiar face — Victor Villa of Villa’s Tacos. Weaving his way across the field, Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, took a shaved ice piragua from one vendor and handed it to Villa, who stood behind a grill emblazoned with the name of his 8-year-old restaurant.
On social media, Los Angeles residents quickly recognized Villa’s Tacos and followed, excitedly, with shout-outs and new memes. Though official viewership numbers have not been released yet, early estimates suggest Bad Bunny’s performance will be one of the most-watched halftime shows in history. Villa tells Eater that he was approached in early January by a casting director for the Super Bowl performance, who explained to him that Bad Bunny and his team hoped to represent Los Angeles on stage. After signing an NDA, Villa attended rehearsals cloaked in secrecy; the production team would not allow cameras.
Villa appeared in the first number, as Bad Bunny weaved his way through prominent cultural businesses in Latino communities throughout the Americas: a coconut stand, nail tech, table domino players, women builders, the piragua shaved ice man, gold vendors, and hair braiders. “Honestly, it was bigger than I imagined,” says Villa. “I didn’t have the pleasure of asking Benito why he chose me. But getting to know him over the last three weeks, we both believe that love is greater than hate.”
Bad Bunny’s halftime show brimmed with symbolism and pro-immigrant social commentary, including a final moment when the performer referred to countries across the Americas, calling out the names of Central and South American nations, countries in the Caribbean, as well as Canada and the United States. The performance comes as Los Angeles, which has the largest concentration of Mexican immigrants in the nation, has been the site of mass Los Angeles U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, beginning in June 2025. For Villa, who grew up in Highland Park to Mexican-born parents, the symbolism and radically inclusive message made his participation feel all the more meaningful.
“I come from a family of immigrants. My parents are immigrants. And it’s just been amazing to be able to represent at the highest level,” Villa says.
Villa initially opened Villa’s Tacos as a pop-up in 2018 out of his grandmother’s Northeast Los Angeles backyard. In 2022, he appeared in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles before opening his first Highland Park brick-and-mortar Villa’s Tacos on Figueroa and 54th Street less than a year later. He debuted in a coveted space in Downtown’s Grand Central Market in 2024, and opened another Highland Park location — this one with a seafood-focused menu. Villa tells Eater that three more Villa’s Tacos are on the way in South Pasadena this May, in April for Villa’s Hollywood, plus an undisclosed location still in progress.
Villa is not the only Los Angeles restaurant owner who participated in the halftime show: Fuegos LA co-owner Fede Laboureau, who has a background in film and production set design, designed the house featured on the Bad Bunny set.
Overnight, Villa’s Tacos received 5,000 Instagram direct messages and gained 36,000 new followers. Amid all the attention, Villa says he’ll be going straight back to the original Highland Park location of Villa’s Tacos after his return flight to Los Angeles from Santa Clara. “I just want to remember this moment for the rest of my life and remember why and how I got here,” says Villa.
