If you watched the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday night and know classical music, you may have spotted a familiar face.
It was none other than Giancarlo Guerrero, the six-time Grammy Award-winning conductor and music director of the Sarasota Orchestra.
He's the first classical musician to be featured in the big game's halftime show since Gustavo Dudamel and the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles performed with rock band Coldplay in 2016.
Sarasota Orchestra president and CEO Joe McKenna said it was special to have the group's director on such a big stage.
“It was a fantastic experience for the orchestra,” he said. “There’s one Super Bowl, and they needed one conductor, and our music director was there. What more can you say?”
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the world's top-selling acts and a 2026 Grammy winner for Album of the Year. The halftime show was a Spanish-language celebration of his Puerto Rican heritage with an emphasis on Pan-American unity.
Guerrero was seen directing a group of violinists as Bad Bunny passed him while his song “Monaco” played through the speakers in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
“Bad Bunny is a multitalented artist who plays so many kinds of Hispanic music,” Guerrero said in a press release from the orchestra. “It doesn’t just feel familiar; the music feels like home. It was quite an amazing experience to be a part of.”
Guerrero is a native of Nicaragua who grew up in Costa Rica before earning music degrees at Baylor University in Texas and Northwestern University in Chicago.
The Super Bowl appearance surprised even those in Guerrero’s inner circle, as the NFL required him to sign a nondisclosure agreement prior to the show.
“His manager was contacted about this possibility at the Super Bowl. They worked on all the details and we had some knowledge, but we couldn't speak of it because of the strict NDA that is in place with the NFL,” McKenna said. “We had to wait until we all saw him on the Super Bowl itself before we could share any of the wonderful news. But it's been a really exciting day here in Sarasota.”
Guerrero said he had a more personal reason for taking part in the show.
“Both my daughters and wife are huge fans of Bad Bunny,” he said. “If I wouldn’t have jumped at this opportunity, they would never have forgiven me.”
Guerrero returns to direct "Masterworks: Variations on America" on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Neel Performing Arts Center in Bradenton, then Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota.
