Could Bad Bunny set off political fireworks at the Super Bowl half-time show?

Two American football teams - the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots - will vie for the championship title on Sunday during Super Bowl LX. But mid-game there's a separate, equally high-profile battle brewing: a culture war.

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who has been tapped as the show's headliner, has attracted an unprecedented level of criticism for his outspoken opposition to US immigration policy - with some even calling for his deportation, even though he is a US citizen.

It's not exactly new. Half-time performances have a history of sparking controversy - from Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction in 2004, to the live debut of Beyoncé's Black Lives Matter anthem Formation in 2016.

But this year's show ignited debates before Bad Bunny - the most streamed artist in the world, who primarily performs in Spanish - even took the stage.

Republicans balked at his politics, with an Alabama senator dubbing it the "woke bowl". US President Donald Trump called Bad Bunny's selection "absolutely ridiculous," and the Speaker of the House summed it up as a "terrible decision".

The pushback even sparked a competing half-time event from conservative organisation Turning Point USA, which will air an "All American" counter-programme during Bad Bunny's set that will be headlined by Trump ally Kid Rock.

With tens of millions expected to tune into the performance, what Bad Bunny will do in front of the crowd is anyone's guess.

At a press conference on Thursday, the 31-year-old hinted that his performance would be more about unity and healing than spreading division.

"I know that the world is gonna be happy this Sunday, and they're gonna have fun, and they're gonna dance and they're gonna have a good time," he said.

At the Grammy Awards last week, where he walked away with the ceremony's biggest prize, he was more direct. Before thanking anyone, he took the mic and declared "ICE out" - a reference to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have led large operations detaining immigrants in cities across the US.

Trump was elected in part due to his promise to curb illegal immigration, and the White House says its policies are aimed at protecting the public by deporting those here illegally who have criminal records. Those operations have come under scrutiny, including recently after federal agents killed two American citizens in separate incidents in Minneapolis.

"We're not savage. We're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans," Bad Bunny said onstage in English.

Eddie Miranda, a Puerto Rican DJ in the Chicago area, tells the BBC that watching Bad Bunny headline the half-time show will feel deeply personal.

''Puerto Rico is part of the United States, and not a lot of people know that," Miranda said. "To have a piece of America that's been ignored for so long on the stage is just extraordinary."

Miranda added that seeing Bad Bunny - who in 2016 worked as a grocery store cashier - represent Puerto Rico, an American territory, with pride, love, and authenticity "means everything".

Whether at a quinceañera - the celebration of a girl's 15th birthday party - or a club, Miranda says the moment the first Bad Bunny beat drops, the energy in the room comes alive. That's why, Miranda believes, the NFL chose him "to be that pioneer".

''With the hard times we're dealing with, when it comes to ICE and deportation, he'll be a leader for the whole Latino community," he said. ''He will speak on those matters somehow, either through symbolism or him saying something directly".

Bad Bunny's presence on the half-time stage is "profoundly political", said Vanessa Díaz, professor at Loyola Marymount in Chicano and Latino studies and co-author of P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance.

While pop-punk band Green Day will join the performance, he will be the first artist ever to perform the half-time show entirely in Spanish.

The performance is one of the most-watched music events in the world, often drawing more than 100 million viewers in the US alone. It regularly produces memorable, meme-worthy moments, such as Katy Perry's iconic "left shark" in 2015.

But in recent years, especially under the guidance of Jay Z's Roc Nation, the show has sparked national political conversations.

During Coldplay and Bruno Mars' half-time show in 2016, special guest Beyoncé's homage to the Black Panther party, which featured dancers adorned with leather and berets, led to calls to boycott the artist.

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira - whose 2020 performance featured Bad Bunny - used imagery during their set that evoked children in cages, which was interpreted as a condemnation of Trump's immigration policies. Lopez also donned a cape that featured both the US and Puerto Rico flags.

Whether Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, will implicitly or explicitly address the divisive nature of US politics remains to be seen. But experts and fans alike are certain he will, somehow.

As a long-time fan, Kimberly Contreras, a Latina from New York, said she was confident that he would use the Super Bowl stage to make a statement.

"He speaks up for what he thinks politically. He doesn't change who he is for anyone. If people are uncomfortable with that, that's on them."

Bad Bunny has said he feels a responsibility, as someone with influence, to highlight important issues. He has consistently used his platform and music to not only showcase his culture, but support the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for Puerto Rico's self-determination, which has remained an overseas US territory since 1898.

"What makes Bad Bunny so exciting, is that we really never know what we're going to get with him. He has kind of always done the unexpected," Díaz said.

During his last tour, the rapper declined to visit any mainland US cities over concerns about immigration enforcement officers detaining fans at his concerts. Instead, he opted for a residency in Puerto Rico that boosted the island's economy by millions.

NUEVAYoL, which is the opening track of his Grammy-winning album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (I Should Have Taken More Photos, shorted to DTMF) is accompanied by a music video set in New York in which a Donald Trump-like voice delivers a formal apology that says "this country is nothing without the immigrants". The video also features Bad Bunny hoisting the pre-US Puerto Rican flag onto the crown of the Statue of Liberty.

Simply performing those songs during his set will be highly polarising, experts say.

"Bad Bunny is offering another vision of what American-ness is - a vision that is not in line with what Trump and the Trump administration is selling," said Albert Laguna, associate professor in American Studies at Yale University, who taught a course on Bad Bunny's musical aesthetics and politics.

He also made headlines after condemning the Trump administration's response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, accusing officials of abandoning the island and failing to provide adequate aid to residents - who are US citizens but lack voting status and representation in US Congress. About 3,000 people died in the storm, which destroyed infrastructure and caused $90bn (£68bn) in damage.

The Trump administration has said it delivered a "swift and historic" response, providing billions of dollars in federal assistance to help rebuild Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny's growing cultural significance is why Laguna and Diaz think the NFL needs him more than he needs the NFL, citing the league's push in recent years to attract more Latinos to American football and further extend the brand's global reach with expo games in London and Mexico.

For the NFL, platforming artists such as Bad Bunny signals a shift from its more conservative past.

After he denounced ICE at the Grammy Awards, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised the superstar and reaffirmed the league's decision to spotlight him: "He understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people."

Fans who attended Bad Bunny's residency in Puerto Rico told the BBC that they hope the halftime show will harness the same energy and spirit. Many anticipate the appearance of La Casita, a salmon-coloured structure featured on his world tour designed to resemble a traditional Puerto Rican home.

"I hope he doesn't let critics determine what kind of songs he plays," said Victor Almeda, a Puerto Rican living in Orlando, Florida.

"It's important to stick to his roots and represent Puerto Rico the most he can."