'True LA success story': Villa's Tacos Super Bowl surprise stirs pride
- - 'True LA success story': Villa's Tacos Super Bowl surprise stirs pride
Paris Barraza, USA TODAY February 10, 2026 at 9:21 AM
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A Los Angeles eatery known for its tacos had a touchdown of its own during Super Bowl 60 at Levi's Stadium — they appeared in Bad Bunny’s halftime show, an “honor” the restaurant shared on social media.
Villa’s Tacos, owned by Victor Villa, took to Instagram to highlight the moment they appeared in the performance, and what it meant to them. Fans can see Villa’s Tacos’ appearance closer to the start of the Grammy-winning musician’s performance, right after Bad Bunny is handed the Puerto Rican shaved ice treat known as a piragua. Bad Bunny walks over to a silver taco cart marked "Villa's Tacos" and hands a man behind the grill a piragua.
“I couldn’t have sold that 1st taco, if my parents didn’t make the difficult decision to leave their homeland for a better life & immigrate to the U.S.,” Villa’s Tacos said on Instagram. “This one is for all the immigrants who paved the way before us to make this moment possible.”
“Villa’s Tacos is a product of immigrants,” the post continued. “As a 1st generation Mexican-American born & raised in LA, It was an honor to represent my raza & all the taqueros of the world by bringing my taco cart to @badbunnypr’s Super Bowl LX 2026 Halftime show.”
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/x84IQ6c9p3CaY7HrQZSbdA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/42a04a2819f15f800c875396f40b8871 class=caas-img data-headline="Bad Bunny's vibrant halftime show was unforgettable. See it up close" data-caption="
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
">Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/x84IQ6c9p3CaY7HrQZSbdA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/42a04a2819f15f800c875396f40b8871 class=caas-img>Puerto Rican singer and actor Ricky Martin performed in front of monobloc chairs like the one on Bad Bunny's “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" album cover, Martin sang a from “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” a song that compares Hawaii and Puerto Rico’s colonization.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gq73OsDA7ZoXXF71Jo41wA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/506c37aa85658627b692f23601d2fbed class=caas-img data-headline="Bad Bunny's vibrant halftime show was unforgettable. See it up close" data-caption="
Puerto Rican singer and actor Ricky Martin performed in front of monobloc chairs like the one on Bad Bunny's “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" album cover, Martin sang a from “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” a song that compares Hawaii and Puerto Rico’s colonization.
">Puerto Rican singer and actor Ricky Martin performed in front of monobloc chairs like the one on Bad Bunny's “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" album cover, Martin sang a from “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii,” a song that compares Hawaii and Puerto Rico’s colonization.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gq73OsDA7ZoXXF71Jo41wA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/506c37aa85658627b692f23601d2fbed class=caas-img>Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Karol G, Cardi B and Jessica Alba.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Karol G, Cardi B and Jessica Alba.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RoSCbobPqDy_nFTDh3ca7g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/12a77fefd0439c76ad298ff63800d86d class=caas-img data-headline="All the celebrity cameos at Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show" data-caption="
Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Karol G, Cardi B and Jessica Alba.
">Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Karol G, Cardi B and Jessica Alba.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RoSCbobPqDy_nFTDh3ca7g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/12a77fefd0439c76ad298ff63800d86d class=caas-img>Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Young Miko and Pedro Pascal.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Young Miko and Pedro Pascal.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OLuP40GnUSK1sjxoWZ3KgA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/02c76d9888c1288e9765a22e6a0989bf class=caas-img data-headline="All the celebrity cameos at Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show" data-caption="
Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Young Miko and Pedro Pascal.
">Bad Bunny brought the iconic pink “Casita” to the Super Bowl halftime stage and invited some famous friends including Young Miko and Pedro Pascal.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OLuP40GnUSK1sjxoWZ3KgA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/02c76d9888c1288e9765a22e6a0989bf class=caas-img>Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/U6NEMcaMEPzoIcnngi07sQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xODYw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/4700e162c79c2b464a3c9cfb48f1f77d class=caas-img data-headline="Bad Bunny's vibrant halftime show was unforgettable. See it up close" data-caption="
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
">Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/U6NEMcaMEPzoIcnngi07sQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xODYw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/4700e162c79c2b464a3c9cfb48f1f77d class=caas-img>Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0BDiHT_4L5HqxoXUD9lL3w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/13049ffbf700e0594b12f9793278a052 class=caas-img data-headline="Bad Bunny's vibrant halftime show was unforgettable. See it up close" data-caption="
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
">Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0BDiHT_4L5HqxoXUD9lL3w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/13049ffbf700e0594b12f9793278a052 class=caas-img>Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/MGKwjHNud8nVl7b6aq2Ckg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03Njg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/caf8241546050cc9a3135e2f8dcd4673 class=caas-img data-headline="Bad Bunny's vibrant halftime show was unforgettable. See it up close" data-caption="
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
">Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
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1 / 7Bad Bunny's vibrant halftime show was unforgettable. See it up close
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform a salsa-inspired "Die with a Smile" during his Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
The appearance at the halftime show performance has stirred up some local pride, with several users on Reddit talking about their experiences with the eatery and the moment they spotted Villa’s Tacos, which has locations in Highland Park and at the Grand Central Market.
“Seeing (Villa’s Tacos) on the Super Bowl stage was a proud moment for our city,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on Instagram on Feb. 8.
Also commenting on Villa’s Tacos appearance is the Los Angeles Unified School District, calling them a “true LA success story” in a post on Instagram.
“Chef Victor is showing our students and communities that dreams can take you anywhere, even the Super Bowl,” the LAUSD said.
Villas Tacos thanked Bad Bunny for the invitation and for “giving me the opportunity to represent my family, my community, my city, my parent’s homeland, my people, my culture, my business & everything that I stand for.”
“Benito lives his life with the belief that love is greater than hate & that’s exactly how I live my life,” Villas Tacos said on Instagram. “Love will ALWAYS overcome hate.”
More: 5 tamale spots in Los Angeles County recommended by the internet
From Michelin Guide to Netflix: What else you may know Villa’s Tacos from
Villa’s Tacos is no stranger to attention.
It's been featured in The Los Angeles Times and L.A. Taco, a recipient of the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand Award (a title that goes to places with good quality and good value), and has appeared on Netflix’s “Taco Chronicles: Cross the Border.” During the episode centered on Los Angeles in "Taco Chronicles: Cross the Border," audiences are introduced to Villa, then selling tacos out of the backyard of his grandmother’s home.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA's Villa's Tacos makes Bad Bunny Super Bowl show in 'proud moment'
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
