“Be curious, not judgmental.”

As with many great, and kind of obvious, quotes, it was recently popularized by cultural phenomenon Ted Lasso, but probably has its roots elsewhere, possibly Walt Whitman, or a 1986 advice column, or any elder dispensing solid advice to a youngster.

What a time to be curious! It has never been easier to find information about just about anything. The act of doing so has even become its own verb: Google. What is a little tough is filtering out bad information or knowing the right questions to ask (see above regarding the origin of the quote). But, nevertheless, remaining ignorant on a subject is, most of the time, a choice.

The first time I heard of Bad Bunny was when he hosted “Saturday Night Live.” I have been a fan of SNL since the 1980s. I’ve mentioned my love of pop culture before, and SNL is a touchstone for me. In the last few years, however, as I have gravitated away from going to the movies, and my Spotify mix comes mostly from the ’80s and ’90s, I admit, I frequently have to Google who the guests are, or worse, ask my kids to explain them to me.

After having watched hundreds, if not thousands, of SNL guest hosts, Bad Bunny impressed me. He was clearly up for any shenanigans that the cast put to him and went all in on every sketch. It was thoroughly entertaining.

Then, of course, a few months ago, people lost their minds when he was announced as the Super Bowl halftime entertainment. I went to work on the Google. Turns out that spectacle halftime shows aren’t even as old as I am, having only started around 1991, when the New Kids on the Block headlined. The first megastar to headline? Michael Jackson. That one aged well …

Did you know this wasn’t the first Super Bowl show that Bad Bunny performed in? He was also featured in the 2020 one, with Shakira.

Did you also know that the 2002 Super Bowl featured U2, a decidedly non-American band, and is widely thought to be one of the best shows of all time, a healing moment for the nation following the tragic events of Sept. 11? Also, according to Google, there was no widespread public outrage at all regarding the band’s nationality.

I get annoyed with my kids when we sit down to watch a movie or show together and they sit and flip through their phones simultaneously, but the Super Bowl is one time I am not sure I would be able to function if I didn’t.

Last year, during Kendrick Lamar’s performance, I learned that he was the first Pulitzer Prize winner to ever perform at the Super Bowl. After Googling some of his lyrics, I was immediately reminded of the poet Langston Hughes, whom I’d read in grade school, and then gratified when Google confirmed that that comparison is frequently made.

Having traveled through some Caribbean countries, a lot of the scenes set by Bad Bunny were familiar to me, and I thought I understood the messages he was trying to convey, even though my rusty high school Spanish was struggling to keep up.

Google confirmed most of them but also gave me more context to help explain them to E, who was eagerly watching the show with me. I truly had no idea how the destruction of the power grid in 2017 has continued to plague Puerto Rican culture and their society, though. That was a new one for me.

Winter weather of late has brought power outages to our area, some lasting a few hours, at the most a few days. In another month or two, the threat of ice and snow will pass, and most of us won’t think about the power until we get a severe summer storm of some sort. I’m still conscious of the devastation and aggravation that can be caused by a short outage so I can’t imagine living with it for almost a decade.

Being given arguably the largest stage in the world, and 15 minutes to use it, is an incredible opportunity, and Bad Bunny, or any other artist, would be remiss if they did not use that time wisely. But the message ultimately rests on the audience.

Some chose to be repulsed by something they did not expect or want to see. Some chose to find entertainment that conformed to their expectations. Some chose to watch a beloved entertainer.

And, maybe, hopefully, a few were curious, and chose to step outside of their comfort zone and learn something new.

Liz Pinkey’s column appears on Saturdays in the Times News