On Feb. 8, Bad Bunny gave his long awaited Super Bowl Half Time Show filled with dance, theater, different musical styles and surprises. Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin were the surprises with the highest profile that made huge impressions as were were cameos from the likes of Karol G, Cardi B and Pedro Pascal.

But even classical music got a spotlight with Giancarlo Guerrero conducting a portion of “Monaco” with a young string ensemble. For the classical music world this was a moment of pride as it was the first classical musician to be featured in the Halftime show since Gustavo Dudamel in 2016.

The industry took notice, positing to their social media and celebrating a historic moment for classical music. For Guerrero it was a moment to remember and one that is now among the highlights of his career.

OperaWire spoke to Guerrero the day after the show as he reminisced on the experience and its cultural impact.

OperaWire: When did you find out that you would be in the halftime show?

Giancarlo Guerrero: I found out a week before the show. My manager received a call from Bad Bunny’s manager and told him that there would be a section with string instruments and that Benito (Antonio Martinez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny) wanted a real orchestra and a real conductor. And apparently he was aware of my career and he wanted me specifically so his manager found me online and as they say, the rest is history.

When my manager called me, he asked me if I knew who Bad Bunny was. And the first thing I said, of course, my daughters and wife are super fans. And after that I changed all my plans because I had to do this.

OW: Who was the first person you told?

GG: The first person was my wife. She was with me when I received the call and she couldn’t believe it. Then we called my daughters by FaceTime. The two are fans and one traveled in December to Costa Rica for two days to go to a Bad Bunny concert. That is their level of fandom. So we called them and told them and their first reaction was “Are you joking? In what universe is Bad Bunny calling you to conduct an orchestra?” One even said, “If this is a joke, it’s a very bad joke. It’s very cruel.” My wife attempted to reassure them that it was true. And we even had to sent them an email that the company sent. They still couldn’t believe it.

With the contract there was a confidentiality agreement so that nothing could come out. And it was hard for my daughters because they were dying to tell everyone. But we all maintained it a secret and after the show, it all went public.

OW: Was it hard for you to keep it a secret?

GG: Everything is a secret. You don’t know the songs he will sing and what the stage will look like. What I can say is that when I arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday, the first thing they did was take my phone and cover the lenses and the camera. It was impossible to take a picture. And everywhere on the set, they reminded us that we could not repost anything on social media nor mention anything about it. The stadium had a fence with a black cover so no one could see what was going on. It’s on the “level of spys from the Cold War.” When you think about it, there were like 750-800 people on stage between musicians, extras and dancers plus the staff. There were at least 1,000 people and the fact that nothing came out to the public is a miracle and shows the capacity of the professionalism that everyone involved has.

OW: Tell me about coordinating and being on the cue in such a complex show like this one?

GG: It is extremely complex. The most incredible thing is that my part was about 45 seconds to a minute and we rehearsed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We rehearsed hours and hours and it was basically about being in the right place in the right moment with the right camera. And that was it. But for me the most impressive thing was how they set everything up in seven minutes. That was the most impressive thing I saw in my life. Everyone had to be in the right place.

I think it’s beautiful to see how so many people from different backgrounds from different places in the world and speaking different languages came together to bring an incredible artistic and musical spectacle and that gives me pride. And everyone did it with such professionalism, joy, generosity, and inspiration. That is what I will remember of this experience. It was such a positive experience and I’ll never forget everyone who I met outside the world of classical music and who became friends.

And everything comes from the top. Bad Bunny inspires everyone and everything comes from him. He is generous and talented. He inspires us all to do what we did. That is what I feel and we all did it with love and professionalism.

OW: What was it like to collaborate with Bad Bunny?

GG: When I met him and we had some time together, he told me, “I also like classical music. I love what I do but I also love other music. And I wanted a real orchestra and I wanted a real conductor. That is why I wanted you to come and be part of it.” Benito is a person who has a curiosity of music that expands beyond what he does. And the performance showed that. There were several styles of music. So he is a person who continues to explore music and will do so in the future and for the rest of his career. I admire that and the quality of what he does is very particular.

OW: There was a moment when Bad Bunny handed a child his Grammy. When you studied music did you ever think something like that would ever happen?

GG: You work and you prepare to conduct. And you get the opportunities conducting and you get to do a record. And then suddenly you get nominated for the first time, and you think “Okay, it’s an honor.” But then when it happens six times, you think, “Wow this is amazing.” But at the end of the day, when you are in a studio or in a concert, you are thinking of doing the best work possible.

For me I can connect with that child, because as a child born in Nicaragua and then raised in Costa Rica, we don’t think of those places as meccas of classical music. But look at what’s happened and I’ve had the privilege of music being there. I come from a family that does not know music. My dad loved mariachi and my mom loved Julio Iglesias. No one in my family knows how to read music except my daughters. It was an accident but I can’t complain. I have been privileged to be exposed to classical music as a child. It became my passion and now my career and my life.

OW: Ten years ago Gustavo Dudamel also appeared on the Super Bow stage. Now you had the chance. What does it mean to the Latino community and classical music that two Latinos represent the industry?

GG: I spend so much time with my orchestras visiting the Latin community and speaking with Spanish speakers trying to convince them to come to the concerts. Hispanic people love music and nowadays in all our countries there are young artist orchestras, not only in Venezuela. They are in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico. There are also orchestras all around Latin America. There are also great Latin American musicians in orchestras around the world as well as singers at the great opera houses. It’s not new and we have to remember that. And I am so happy that the NFL and Benito wanted to include classical music in the show because that is the best commercial we could have. We had great reach around the world and I know many companies are grateful for this exposure.

OW: What is your greatest takeaway from this experience?  What did you learn?

GG: We all speak one musical language no matter if it’s reggaeton or classical music. Music unites and the power of seeing all these people from different places working in unison is inspiring.