Yep, it's Monday again. Start your week off right by catching up on last week's episode of the Hell Gate Podcast. Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Last night, more than 100 million people across the world got a glimpse of a Los Sures institution and a New York City icon.
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show was everything the actual game was not—meaningful, passionate, fun. It acknowledged the history and culture of Puerto Rico and the hell of our empire in decline while refusing to abandon hope and joy. It was also festooned with cute moments (a couple actually got married?), and included plenty of celebrities, including Cardi B, Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba, Lady Gaga, and the ageless Ricky Martin.
But the A-lister who handed Benito a shot from her bar at the end of "NUEVAYoL" hails from Williamsburg: Maria Antonia "Toñita" Cay, whose Caribbean Social Club on Grand Street helped shape Los Sures, a neighborhood that has been predominately Latine since the 1950s but that today is shrinking. Toñita's is the last Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn.
Bad Bunny popped into Toñita's back in 2022, and he later included a reference to her in "NUEVAYoL." The decor of the Super Bowl set—twinkling Christmas lights next to bottles of rum on wooden shelves—was an obvious homage.