- 3 months ago
In recent years, Rauw Alejandro has become one of the most in-demand Latin touring acts – and on his Cosa Nuestra tour this year, he took his high-concept stage production to another level. In this spotlight conversation, Rauw Alejandro and Live Nation SVP of global touring Hans Schafer will discuss the reggaeton artist's emergence as one of the live sector's most sought-after stars. Moderated by: Leila Cobo.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Welcome, everyone. Well, the man to my right needs no introduction. I do. So I'm Leila Cobo. I'm the chief contract officer.
00:10Come on, Leila. Everybody knows you.
00:14I oversee Latin and Español for Billboard. And Raul Alejandro needs no introduction, but I do want to give some stats.
00:23He is in the middle of his Cosa Nuestra tour. To date, 91.7 million gross in tickets sold, 562,000 tickets, over 49 shows.
00:39And by the time this tour is over, it will have sold over 800,000 tickets. I mean, it has sold them already, but...
00:47And Raul, you're becoming one of the highest-grossing Latin tours of all time.
00:55And tonight, you do this chat, and then you go to Mexico.
01:00Yes. Yes.
01:02So it's... You're having a hectic time, right?
01:05Non-stop. Non-stop. No sleeping.
01:09Not by enjoying every moment of my career.
01:12So, Raul, Cosa Nuestra is a concept. It's a tour. It's a story. It's... In your own words, what is Cosa Nuestra?
01:23Man, it's been, I think, the best journey so far in my career.
01:30Cosa Nuestra, in English, it means our thing.
01:34So, that can be your family. That can be your, um...
01:43Tu grupo social.
01:45The way you dress, what you eat, your culture, your roots, the type of music you listen.
01:52You know, Cosa Nuestra is a... It has a strong meaning, you know?
02:00Expanded meaning. Um... But also, um... It came from... That was the... The Italian mob.
02:10It was called Cosa Nuestra. Cosa Nostra.
02:14And then, um... Me finding, you know, this... This new era in my career.
02:20Um... I'm a big fan of...
02:22Willy Cologne and Hector Labo, you know?
02:24Or Salsa, the OGs, and they... They have this album in the 69 called Cosa Nuestra.
02:33And, uh... When I saw... I mean, I used to listen to them.
02:37But when I saw their vinyl, the... The album cover, you know?
02:45I saw Willy in the... New York, um... The River Hudson, you know?
02:52Holding a trombone and, uh... Un calabre in the floor.
02:56But it's a trombone case, so it looks like he has a machine gun.
03:00A gun. Yeah, a machine gun.
03:01But it's a trombone. It's an instrument.
03:03I don't know. It was, like, a strong statement.
03:06And I always find inspiration in the past.
03:13Uh... My music, I think, is really nostalgic.
03:15So, uh...
03:19A little bit before that, you know, I did, um... Saturn.
03:23It was a concept. It was all futuristic stuff.
03:27Uh... High tempo BPMs.
03:31Um... You know?
03:32A lot of energy.
03:34Um... And I like... I like, uh...
03:37I like to do contrast in my work, in my albums.
03:41So, I was, like... It was in the future, so I'm...
03:44I'm going to the past for a little.
03:47And... I'm in my 30s.
03:49So, I was feeling more like a gentleman.
03:52I mean, I'm a gentleman, you know, every day.
03:56But you know what I'm saying, like, you know...
03:59And I was moving to New York.
04:01So, I was, like, connecting with a New York City vibe.
04:04Also, my dad is from Brooklyn.
04:07He's Puerto Rican, but he was born in Brooklyn.
04:09I was... I was born in the island.
04:11I was raised in the island.
04:12But I was back and forth, you know?
04:14I got family there.
04:16And, um...
04:18Um... I speak very English now.
04:20That's crazy.
04:21Um... But, uh...
04:23Yeah, I was full Spanish my whole life.
04:26Um...
04:26And, yeah, I was feeling this vibe of the city.
04:31Um...
04:31You know, the suits.
04:33The Italian of Cosa Nuestra, all that.
04:35Um...
04:36And I think I was, in this journey, um...
04:41Connecting with my roots, you know?
04:44Uh...
04:44A little bit more behind of what I've been doing.
04:50Um...
04:51Back in the 1940s, a lot of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York.
04:57And they settled there, you know, looking for a better, uh, life.
05:01Looking for the American dream.
05:05Um...
05:06And, yeah, my grandmother and my grandfather, they, you know, telling me all these stories.
05:11Inspiring me, you know, to...
05:13To look more deep into what was the life of the Puerto Ricans in New York, you know?
05:18And me watching, you know, all these...
05:22Hector Labo, Willie Cologne, La...
05:25La Fania All-Star, you know, like, how they evolve the Caribbean sounds in New York City.
05:32You know, what is called salsa.
05:34For me, it was really inspiring.
05:37And, um...
05:38Hanging out in the city also.
05:40So, you know, going to the jazz clubs, to the theaters, Broadway shows, speakeasies, um...
05:48Um...
05:49Even the clubs, too, you know?
05:51Like, it's a mix of the new, the modern days, but also there's a small touch of the past.
05:59So I was, like, in this journey, and that was the beginning, the start point of Cosa Nuestra.
06:06Have you...
06:08I would love to ask the room, how many people have seen this show?
06:12Raise your hand.
06:13Oh, my gosh.
06:14You gotta see it...
06:16...if you haven't.
06:18Um...
06:19So I wanna talk a little bit about that, because the show, it's a big production,
06:24and it's almost like watching a Broadway musical in a concert arena.
06:29It's very elaborate.
06:31There's great choreography.
06:32There's a great scenery that you've built, and there's a very clear storyline, uh, from...
06:41The character is Don Raul, correct?
06:44So a gentleman, like you were saying?
06:45Yeah, Raul, Raul Alejandro.
06:46Raul Alejandro, who goes and finds the girl, loses the girl, finds the girl again.
06:52So when did you decide...
06:54It's a very ambitious show, Raul.
06:56It's not just putting songs together.
06:58You made a whole script over it.
07:00No, yeah, it's been a long night, hard work, uh, preparing this show.
07:07Um...
07:09I was hanging out, you know, watching a lot of Broadway shows, and, um, Broadway, uh, it's
07:17all about details and transitions, and, you know, even the music, the musicals, but how
07:23they, you know, transition to the next scene.
07:27I don't know.
07:27It was something...
07:29It's something really special.
07:30I did theater when I was, when I was young, um, not musicals, just theater, and then I
07:36was like, you know what, uh, I think the next show that I'm gonna do, I think it's gonna
07:43be the biggest Broadway show on Earth, um, putting it in arenas, um, because the Broadway
07:53theater's a little bit smaller, but people can see everything, you know, when it, when
08:00it's too big, you lost, uh, the, the opportunity to see details, so I was, that was my biggest
08:05challenge.
08:05I was like, how I bring the Broadway to biggest, uh, to the biggest arenas, uh, that was the
08:11reason that I, that we didn't, that we did in, uh, these stadiums, because we could sell
08:16tickets for stadiums, but I was like, more, more focused, um, in this part of my career,
08:23in the art, and in the proposal, uh, in the pro, la propuesta, that I wanna, you know, show
08:28to my people, um, and I think we did it, I think we did it, it's, it's an amazing show,
08:34um, it's divided by four, four acts, we got a host, um, in between each act, he interrupts,
08:44you know, the acting, it's like a, also Disney movie slash with a narco movie, I don't know,
08:51it's a whole, you know, the balance, we got the, the, we got phony moments, we got tension,
08:57we got romance, we got, uh, more, um, you know, more sexual stuff, sex, uh, sexy stuff,
09:05um, lots of dancing, a lot of dancing, yes, a lot of dancing, um, that,
09:12Rao is a great dancer, if you haven't checked him out, check him out, yeah, I'm trying,
09:18trying, you know, and to do this show, though, you assembled a whole different team, yes,
09:27yes, and, and you've spoken our cover story about the importance of, of, uh, of finding
09:32the right team, so you got new management, yes, and, uh, and you got a new promoter, yes,
09:40partner in Live Nation, I think that's really important, too, you know, um,
09:47to achieve a goal, to go to the next level, you cannot do it alone, that's a fact, you,
09:55you need a, you need a team of your side, you know, people that trust your vision, people
10:01that risk everything, um, and they go with you till the end, and, um, I think you find
10:09that through time, you see who is real, also with your mistakes, you learn, you know, what
10:19you're gonna do for the next, um, project, and you rather get stuck or evolve, and I choose
10:26to evolve, because I put, uh, you know, I trust my intuition, I think that's what it took me this
10:34far, and I'm gonna keep trusting my intuition till the end of, you know, this life, um, so, yeah,
10:44I found a great team, I think the best so far, and we, we, we keep growing together, we keep
10:54learning together, and without then, esto nunca hubiera pasado, me entiende, this will
11:01never happen, so I'm really grateful, shout out to all my team.
11:05So one of the people in this team, even though he's not part of your Nucleo, uh, but he's
11:11your touring partner.
11:12Yes, sir.
11:13Yeah, so, well, first of all, let's give a shout out to your agents at UTA, because...
11:17UTA, they're in the house.
11:19Nigel, Mikey.
11:20And, uh, we want to bring on stage, uh, the global SVP of touring for Life Nation, and
11:30in charge of everything Latin, and a big motor behind this tour, Mr. Hans Schaefer.
11:35Hello, Hans.
11:42With an introduction like that, I'm, I'm set for the rest of the year.
11:45You are, Hans.
11:46So, but tell us, you hadn't worked Rao's tours before.
11:51We had not, no.
11:52Been chastened for, for quite some time.
11:54Long time.
11:54Long time.
11:55So how did this come about?
11:57Did you call his team?
11:59Did his team call you?
12:01How did you convince Rao that you were the guy?
12:04It was, I'd say it was mutual, right?
12:06We had been in touch, um, with Rao's team, with Matias, with Pepo, Che Juan, and obviously
12:12we had, we'd shown tremendous interest in, in working with him, and, you know, when,
12:17obviously when they told us a little bit what the plan is, where his mindset was, what
12:21he wanted to achieve, I think it, it became a really easy conversation of saying, we want
12:27to give you consistency throughout the, the, throughout the world.
12:31We want to create a global platform with you.
12:33We want to make sure it still feels local.
12:35It is, you know, the, the, excuse me, but the, the production and the vision that he
12:41set out to, to accomplish, it was important to maintain consistency across different markets.
12:48And in each market, you're presented with different challenges, um, you know, from production,
12:55logistical, what's available locally, and how do you make sure you maintain that consistency
13:01of the vision?
13:01Yeah, that was my, one of my main concerns, you know, doing this tour is most of all the
13:10artists, you know, they do the biggest shows in the U.S. because, you know, here's, we got
13:16so many resources, you know, we got too many companies offering, uh, a lot of things, but
13:22then when you go to Europe, you know, it's a whole nother world, and then you go to South
13:26America is a whole nother, you know, it's, it's, it's tough to keep the quality of a show
13:33or maintain the quality of a show.
13:35And, and one concern that I have with, with, you know, with Hans and with Live Nation, my
13:41team, it was like, how we can protect that quality of the show.
13:46I have to find a show, I have to find a show that I can take everywhere, because I think
13:52my fans deserve the best of me.
13:56And it's not, it's kind of not fair, like, you're doing the best shows in the U.S., people
14:02seeing all in TikTok or Instagram, everywhere, like, oh my God, the shows overall is amazing.
14:08And then when you arrive to South America, to Europe, you have, you're selling another
14:14show, or they have another perspective of another show.
14:17And for me, it was really important to put all in mind together and find this perfect
14:25show that I can travel through the whole world.
14:28And I think we did it.
14:31And I'll give, and I'll give you an example on, like, one of the things where they were,
14:34they were looking to make sure that they achieved this, like, this show is not outdoors.
14:37Nowhere, right?
14:39It is, there's no festival place, there are no green fields, there's nothing that's happening
14:44outdoor, because the consistency of being indoors, a feeling that you have that theater
14:48experience, was very important to him.
14:51That was his directive, right?
14:52It's like, I don't want to look at anything.
14:54And if you look at the routing, if you look at the details, you know, there are places
14:58we didn't go, but there are places you can't go.
15:00Yes.
15:00Because you don't have the place to go to maintain that sort of quality, maintain that
15:05consistency of what he wanted to achieve.
15:08That's fascinating, because I think that one of the things that people here in the U.S.
15:13maybe don't know, is that especially when you go south of Mexico, it's really hard.
15:19The distances are huge.
15:21It's not like here where you can freight the show, you have to fly nine hours from Bogota
15:27to Buenos Aires, right?
15:29You can't do that by car.
15:31So what did you think, Hans, when Rao came and said, well, this is a show, you know, and
15:36I have this 15-piece band and 20 dancers and this huge set that, how long does it take
15:44to build?
15:47Many hours.
15:49A long time.
15:51No, look, there's a, this is a collective effort between his production team, our locals,
15:58our central teams, having conversations, how do you, how do you freight it, how do you
16:04make it cost effective?
16:06How do you make it so that he has the same experience everywhere?
16:09And I'd say, like, we, we are looking, you know, city by city, it's, sometimes it's a
16:14different challenge of what do we need to do in order to accomplish it so that we can still
16:19maintain that level of show.
16:20And it's, it's, it's ours, it's communication, it's over communicating, it's looking what
16:26our local resources can bring to the table and making sure that ultimately the solutions
16:30are there that make it cost effective for, for the tour that doesn't also inflate the
16:36ticket prices for the fans and make sense, you know, on a global, on a global scale.
16:42Yes, sir.
16:43And Rao, you opened up new markets in this tour, specifically in Europe, where you played
16:49in places you hadn't played before, and maybe the shows weren't as big, but why was it important
16:54for you to do this?
16:56No, the show was, they were really big.
16:58They were, okay.
17:00They were.
17:00You can't take that show to a club.
17:02No.
17:0310,000, 12,000.
17:06I stand corrected.
17:07Yeah, so it's like, I think the biggest, the, I don't know, maybe, in my pequeño, it
17:14was like 8,000 people, maybe.
17:16Um, but yeah, we went to Vienna, Germany, Italia, France, uh, England, um, Düsseldorf,
17:28uh, Amsterdam, there was a bunch of places that I, I, um, Switzerland too, right?
17:36I haven't, um, been able to go in my, my career was my first time, so it was, uh, it was,
17:41it was challenging, but at the same time, it was exciting, you know, and when I saw
17:48everybody singing my songs in Spanish, I was like, what the hell is going on in here?
17:55Okay, okay, okay.
17:58Hey, we're here.
18:00And, um, you know, I was, I was filled with happiness and, um, also being able to bring
18:08this show to that places, you know, where people are not used to see a Latin artist,
18:15you know, perform.
18:16Um, I think, uh, we did our job, you know, uh, we did our goal, I think, open doors for
18:24the next generation, also preparing the, the field, you know, for the next, the next project.
18:31And we are looking for, for, like I said, we can do stadiums and we're going to do stadiums.
18:39But I think this project in specific, it was all about the quality, the art, the, the, the concept.
18:48And I think everybody enjoyed that a hundred percent.
18:52It's such a, like you say, it's such a musical show.
18:55You have a live band all the time, which you never did before for the whole show, did you?
19:01No, it was the first time also, um, me with a live band in a, in a, in a tour.
19:07Obviously I did live band, you know, in TV shows sometimes, but, um, in the beginning
19:12of my career, I was focusing on, you know, choreographies, dancing, you know, bringing
19:1712, 15 dancers on stage, doing crazy things and the budget, it wasn't the same.
19:25It wasn't the same.
19:26So for this one, I was able to have a live band with me and also the same amount of dancers.
19:35So the team, uh, keep growing.
19:39So it was a huge difference and, and, you know, a concert with a, with a live band behind
19:44you, it sounds completely different.
19:46Like the music feels so nice, so fresh.
19:50And I think everybody that saw Cosa Nuestra Tour, you know, they enjoy a lot.
19:57Now, Hans, you've been doing a lot of big Latin shows in the past, uh, 12, 24 months.
20:03Um, but I feel like the, this one's the best, the best one.
20:07This is the best one, Rao.
20:09Sin duda alguna.
20:10What are we talking about?
20:13But I, I feel that they've been more like, I don't want to call it standard Latin pop,
20:18but like more what you associate with global Latin pop versus Rao's show, which is, it's
20:25very tropical.
20:26You have a lot of salsa.
20:28Yeah, yeah, you have all that beautiful live percussion on stage.
20:32Yeah, we got, we got everything.
20:33We got, um, um, reggaeton, obviously.
20:37Um, R&B, uh, salsa, tropical sounds, folkloric sounds.
20:43It's a whole bunch of feelings and buffet.
20:47Um, it's everything.
20:49We got everything.
20:50It's a buffet.
20:51But was that a challenge for you, Hans, like in, in terms of you're taking this very big
20:57show, which is very Puerto Rican, let's call it that way.
21:02You know what I mean?
21:03Like it has so, so many sonidos autoctonos.
21:06Sure.
21:07I, I, look, he's the, you know, when you see the show, the mute, the music is one part of
21:13the narrative, right?
21:14The, his, his, the concept is a narrative arc that includes fashion, includes movement,
21:19includes, you know, his precision of a showmanship, bringing all, uh, and, and redefining what a
21:25show is.
21:27I don't look at it as necessarily like, oh, how a Latin show has done it, but more so
21:30like, I think that this is how a concert has turned into a Broadway experience, New York
21:36grit that has Rao's DNA in, in, injected into it and turned it into a global, um, a global
21:45experience, right?
21:46How do you take that thing from birth?
21:48And that's going to have El Folclorico.
21:51That's going to have the salsa.
21:52That's going to have the reggaeton.
21:53Cause that's, those are the things that, that, that make up Rao, right?
21:57Mixed in with that precision, mixed in with that showmanship.
22:00That for me has sort of really redefined what's made this tour exciting is redefined the possibility
22:06of what a concert experience is supposed to be or what we think it's supposed to be versus
22:11what an artist can still kind of bring and re, and re-imagine what that experience is.
22:17So that when you go to Dusseldorf, when you go to Vienna, when you go to Switzerland, you're
22:22seeing, yeah, the Latinos that are out there that are, that have been living out there, the
22:27Spaniards that have been living out there, but you see the boyfriends, you see the girlfriends
22:30that are also, you know, not, don't have that background in, in, in that, in that Raiz.
22:37No, that was, that was something crazy for me when, when, you know, my team filming all
22:43the, the lines of the people doing the, you know, before getting to the arena, half of
22:52the people, they didn't speak Spanish.
22:55I love that.
22:56And they were all dressed up with the Cosa Nuestra dress code and the outfits and the
23:02concert, they were so in, in the concert was like, for us, was really impressive and in
23:07like, like, like, like Hans, uh, lo que esta diciendo Hans, que, yeah, there's Latinos there,
23:14but also we saw many people that, they're not like, um, uh, Spanish speakers, um, uh, enjoying
23:26this, this show, you know, uh, connecting with this, um, type of artist, you know, I mean,
23:33Rao, you know, like a Latin guy, you know, so for me it was, uh, really, um, impressive.
23:38Exciting.
23:39I, please tell us about the Cosa Nuestra dress code, because I love that.
23:43The dress code?
23:43Yes.
23:44So, you're kind of, you're kind of wearing the Cosa Nuestra dress code now, a little bit.
23:50Like a version.
23:51This is how he wakes up every day.
23:53Oh, this is how he has breakfast.
23:57This is my fake, um, glasses, but I want to look more, you know, preppy and professional
24:04for this panel.
24:06This is the preppy Cosa Nuestra, but it's very dapper, right?
24:09So, how did you communicate to people that they, they couldn't come to the show in ripped
24:14jeans?
24:15That was not allowed.
24:15No, no, no.
24:16Oh, no.
24:17Um, no, I mean, it's not mandatory, but.
24:22What?
24:22But, um, I think I've been, um, you know, I've been doing these concepts of doing dress
24:29codes for concerts.
24:31I think it, um, it helps you, um, uh, I don't know if this is the correct word, like immerse
24:38to the, to the world.
24:40And then just disconnect from the real world just for a few hours and just fly to the past
24:48or fly to the future.
24:49Because even in my latest tour, um, Saturno, everybody was dressing as a futuristic and
24:56there was like dress code was like silver colors, people with blue hairs, uh, alien mask.
25:02There was like a whole custom, you know, party in this concert, uh, in my, in my last latest
25:08album.
25:08But then for Cosa Nuestra, it was a different world.
25:13It was New York, 1960 evening gowns, um, uh, Sparks, uh, Suits and Mafia and everybody
25:22was on it.
25:24Everybody was, you know, with their loafers, everybody was on sharp, you know, and even,
25:32you know, the venues have red carpets and all that.
25:35So people were like having the whole experience and literally just having, uh, the best moment
25:44just for a few hours.
25:45And for me is, it's kind of cool, you know, like, like I say, it's not mandatory because
25:52yeah, you just go to a concert, whatever you, however you want to go.
25:56But if you want to have more fun, follow the dress code.
26:00I think it's, it's not that complicated.
26:03How did you follow the dress code?
26:05We all, we all got it.
26:06Yeah, yeah.
26:06They were all dressed up.
26:09Even, even, even like the people that work on cameras, the people in the prop team, everybody
26:17on the team that they were not on stage, they were like on dress code.
26:22So people can see, whoa, this is a whole world here, you know, from the beginning, you
26:30enter to the arena, you see everybody in the Cosa Nuestra vibe.
26:34But I think it makes, uh, the experience way, way cooler, uh, more fun.
26:44And yeah, you have, you get into the, to the real movie.
26:49Now, Hans, how does this tour compare with other tours you've done?
26:53What makes it unique?
26:55There's no comparison.
26:55It is the best tour.
27:01There is no comparison.
27:02No, I know, I actually, no, I actually think there is no comparison.
27:07I agree with you.
27:08Um, what, and why, Hans, if you can articulate that as a promoter, like what did he bring
27:15that really was surprising and completely different for you?
27:19Having done hundreds of tours.
27:21I think the difference is when you, when you engage with an artist and an artist team and
27:26they are not looking to make it the biggest, they are not looking to make it bigger.
27:31They are looking to make it matter.
27:32They have a vision, they have something that they want to execute and all of it is cohesive
27:37with the music.
27:39There's an arc, there's a storytelling.
27:41It's fashion, not for fashion's sake.
27:43It's fashion for movement and for story and that precision.
27:48And when you find all of those things kind of coming together, that's what makes the
27:53night spark.
27:54That's what gives you something magical that you can't necessarily say it was one specific
28:00thing.
28:00It's not just hits, right?
28:02It's not just dancing.
28:03It's not just the, the, the, the fashion.
28:06He brought all of those things to the table, right?
28:10And that I think makes the biggest difference in any artist's, um, creative intention.
28:16Were you surprised when Raul sat down with you for the first time and showed you the
28:21tour concept and said, this is what I want to do and I cannot compromise on A, B, C, D?
28:27I think we got, we got excited about it.
28:30Yeah, everybody immediately got excited about it.
28:32It makes sense, right?
28:34And you see it and you see, because by the way, he's, he's making this narrative before
28:39the music comes out, right?
28:40You're already seeing the changes, the Easter eggs that he's, he's laying out as it kind of
28:45goes and, you know, then management will give you insight as to where things are headed.
28:50And that just, that makes you excited to see sort of the direction and that's everything.
28:56That's also, um, you know, um, a great feeling for us artists, you know, having a team that,
29:04that they, they, they, they, they take the risk with you.
29:08They, they go to the end with you.
29:10They, like, all right, Raul, let's, what, what are we going to do now?
29:13What's next?
29:14I'm like, I want to do this.
29:17What's the risk?
29:19Forget about the risk.
29:20Let's do it.
29:21You know, like, there's no, there's no, there's no, I know in this situation.
29:26And, um, having, uh, you know, Live Nation with me, my team, like trusting me and, and
29:32supporting me.
29:34I think it helps the artists to achieve the goal, you know, putting art first before any
29:41type of business, you know, cause that, that what makes the, the, the, the, the harmony,
29:47the harmonia in the group, you know, and helps you grow as an artist.
29:51Obviously, working with them, they have, they've been working with so many great artists.
29:57They have a big data of, of what to do, what not to do.
30:02They guide me to the correct, you know, way.
30:06And, and they make it, they make this all possible.
30:10That's really important also for artists.
30:12Cause I can, I consider my, myself the best.
30:16Um, so I want to work with the best.
30:18I want to work with the best team.
30:20And I was, I was looking for that.
30:22And I think we have great chemistry and, and like I said, like we, we could do stadiums,
30:30but this is, this is not the, it's not the topic right now.
30:34Like I know we can do it.
30:35I know we can do big stuff.
30:37I think we're in, I was in a journey, in an era that I want to show this for my fans
30:43and my team, we are all in the same line.
30:47And that's why we have these great results.
30:51There's a long list of things that we say no to in order to make this thing work as it worked out.
30:58Right.
30:58On both ends, the, the outdoors, the stadiums, the markets, right.
31:03There's a lot of stuff that you don't, you don't do it just to do it for say, cause it makes some financial number.
31:08It still has to, to, to stay in line with like the ethos of what we're, we're setting out to do.
31:14With the concept.
31:15And Raul, I want to talk a little bit about your, your athleticism on stage, your dancing, your stamina.
31:21You, you used to be a soccer player.
31:24Uh, you were almost, you almost became a professional soccer player.
31:29So how does that, how do you use that athletic training to get on stage where you literally dance for three hours?
31:37No.
31:38Wow.
31:39Yeah.
31:39Um, I think, I think being involved in sports since I was kid, it helps me develop like discipline.
31:49And thanks, you know, I, I'm really grateful for all my coaches back in the days, my mentors.
31:55They teach me something in, in really important in life.
32:00You have to be, you have to have dedication and discipline.
32:04And when I jumped to music, you know, uh, aspiring to be one of the best performance, uh, performers.
32:12Uh, I was with the mentality of a sportsman and, um, taking care of your body, taking care of everything.
32:22And, um, I think allows you to do a better, um, performing on stage.
32:27And, yeah, I take my, my, my, I take my shit serious.
32:33You know, like, this is my, this is my passion.
32:37This is my job.
32:38I feel privileged.
32:39I feel grateful.
32:41And, um, yeah, when, when, when it's tour time, I'm locked in.
32:47You know, I'm, I'm really locked in, uh, we finished now at the end of, of the beginning
32:54of December.
32:55Then comes Christmas.
32:56You guys should go to Puerto Rico.
32:58There's a lot of food.
32:59There's a lot of, I'm going crazy.
33:02You know, I'm going to go eat, I go, I'm going to like, no diet, nothing.
33:06But I think it's just finding a balance, you know, um, I think balance is everything in
33:12life.
33:13You have time for, for, you know, for sacrifice a little, and then you have time for relax
33:19and enjoy life a little, and then just get back to business.
33:23And yeah, it's, uh, constant training every day.
33:27We train in the morning.
33:29How do you, tell us about your regime.
33:31I'm really curious.
33:32So when, before the tour, do you like run every morning five miles, then hit the gym?
33:37Like, what's your regime?
33:38Yeah, um, I, I do, uh, I do gym.
33:43I do a little bit of Muay Thai.
33:46I combine a little bit of, um, cardio with, with, with, uh, with Las Pesas, with weight.
33:53Because I'm, you know, um, I'm skinny.
33:55If I run too much, then I disappear.
33:58Uh, so, you know, it's, it's all dependent goal that, that we want to like achieve.
34:04And also, it's a three-hour show, so, we burn, we burn a lot of calories.
34:09So, I do the cardio in the show, and then in the morning we do, we do wave at the gym.
34:15And, um, also, good diet.
34:19Sundays, maybe a nice burger or pizza.
34:22So, how, what do you eat after the show, to recuperate all those calories?
34:27Eating, eating, eating is just a salmon, white rice, uh, chicken breast, vegetables.
34:35Super clean.
34:35You know, clean, bored stuff, but good, healthy.
34:39No whiskey on stage, nothing like that?
34:40No, no, no, no, no, no, whiskey on stage.
34:43We, whiskey, whiskey sometimes, like, um, in a day off, you know, like, of course, I do some, some whiskey or some wine.
34:51But, uh, during my shows, um, also alcohol burns, um, your vocal cords.
34:57And, um, I smoke weed, yeah.
35:00Um, but I don't smoke, I don't smoke weed when I'm on tour.
35:03Um, because it, it burns my, my vocals.
35:07I'm, I'm not a, I'm not a rapper.
35:09I have to do high pitch, um, um, notes.
35:14And, uh.
35:15And especially in this tour, you sing a lot.
35:17There's a lot of demanding singing here.
35:19Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
35:22And, um, since I was a kid, I got asthma, so I have to take care of myself, too.
35:26The pyros, the, the dust, the chain of weather, you know, it's a constant, you know.
35:32So, I have to take care of my, myself.
35:35And, um, but yeah, when I'm not touring, I'm smoking every day at home, chilling.
35:41And la maca, yeah, you know, close to the beach.
35:44Um, but like I say, it's, it's just finding the balance in your life.
35:49Balance.
35:49If you go too much to the right side, you can have trouble.
35:53If you go too much to the left side, also, you just try to just keep it up in the middle a little, you know.
36:00And I think you're going to do fine.
36:02And, uh, one of the big topics of this conference, and we were talking a little bit backstage, is mental health.
36:09Yes.
36:09Especially during touring, um, and Hans, I know Life Nation has been very involved with this, and, and it's a stressful profession.
36:17Whether you're the artist on stage, or whether you're one of the, I don't know how many people travel with this tour.
36:25Like, uh, like, 170, right?
36:27More than 70, for sure.
36:28I think it's like, almost 100 people.
36:32Travel with you, plus the local teams, correct?
36:35Yeah, I think, I think 70 or 80 people travel with us, and then the local team, so.
36:38Just the touring, yeah, just, that's his team.
36:40Yeah.
36:41Yeah, and then it's, I think, in, on tour, like, uh, uh, night show, it's like 130 people, maybe, working.
36:51So, how does the team, well, first of all, how do you deal with your mental health with all the daily stress of this performance?
36:59Um, I don't know, I just, survive, I guess.
37:05I don't have the answer for that, but, um, like I said, I think, uh, through time, I, uh, managed to understand my, uh, to understand my body, to listen to my body.
37:20You know, like, like, I'm a workaholic, but, um, we're, we're not robots, you know?
37:31And for workaholic people, it's hard to understand that, you know?
37:35And, you know, some, there's days that your body is, like, shut down and you cannot do nothing.
37:41I'm like, okay, yeah, I know, I'm not a robot.
37:45I have to sleep, I have to, and yeah, little by little, you know, with time in my career, each step builds, it helps me build and prepare to my next mission, you know?
37:57And, um, I think also being surrounded by your, your family.
38:02I think family support is really important.
38:04I'm, I'm really close with my mom.
38:06Um, shout out to my mom.
38:08Love you.
38:10Um, in my team also, I have people from my high school.
38:15I have, like, four of them that work with me.
38:17Uh, we grew up together, you know, like, they keep you grounded, you know?
38:22You, with your people from the island.
38:24Um, and also delegate.
38:29For me as an artist, it's really hard to delegate,
38:32because it's like, it's like, it's like you feel sometimes nobody understands your vision.
38:40It's normal.
38:41But, delegate and, and, and, and training your team and leading your team to the things that you want to do,
38:49I think it helps me also grow as an artist and, and, and, and select my battles also.
38:58Not, not being, you know, I, I'm like the lighty team, the prop team, pyro, PA, monitors, front of house, everybody, wardrobe, dancer.
39:10I'm like, on it, everything, and sometimes, you know, it's too much, and, and sometimes you have to wait, wait, wait, just relax, man, and enjoy the show, bro.
39:21I, like, look, all these people are singing with you.
39:24Maybe, they probably, they don't know nothing about what you're caring about.
39:27And it's, it's, that comes with, with, with time, you know?
39:32You get mature, and then you start taking everything slow and calm.
39:38And, um, I don't know, I got a warrior spirit, I guess.
39:43So, yeah, and praying, praying, I'm always connected with God.
39:50I think God is the most important thing in life.
39:54He's the one who gives you that, that push to go forward.
40:01Now, completely changing the subject, Hans, when Rao came to you with this tour,
40:06and, in this new stage, his last tour, for issues completely out of his hands,
40:14they had to cancel many of the Latin American shows, and he's doing them now.
40:20So, what are you most proud of with this tour?
40:23What are you really proud that you were able to go back to him and say,
40:29my friend, esto es lo que tú querías, aquí lo que tú querías.
40:31Ultimately, it's that, que se pudo dar lo que, lo que se quiso hacer, you know?
40:36That, what he set out to do, um, you know, which ultimately is, grows an artist.
40:42He had a vision, evolve, and be able to execute it everywhere in the world,
40:47everywhere he's wanted to go.
40:48Well, not everywhere, but there's a few places still left.
40:51That we're going, but we're going.
40:53We're going, we're going to get it.
40:53Which ones, which ones?
40:55There's, uh, there's a lot of countries.
40:58There's a lot.
41:00Dime uno.
41:00A los que no fuimos.
41:02That you want to go.
41:04You see this, he teases it.
41:05I want to, I want to, yeah, we want to conquer Asia.
41:08Asia, Australia, obviously, it's still, it's very much a conversation.
41:11We're performing, um, in Japan already for a festival,
41:14but that was before the Costa Mesta tour.
41:17But we're getting there, we're gonna, we're doing some stuff, good stuff there.
41:21I love it.
41:22Putting all the Japanese to dance reggaeton, and everybody dancing to the floor.
41:26Um, but yeah, there's, there's, there's a few also, there's like a few countries also
41:31in Europe that, that we, we didn't go, um, also in, in South America and Central America,
41:37uh, because of this complex, uh, logistics, timing, routing, right?
41:46Wanted to go to Sweden, couldn't make it happen on this round.
41:49Wanted to go to Australia, Japan, didn't make it happen on this round, but, but, um...
41:53Also, there's, you know, it's more artists at the same time, so it's like competing with,
41:59uh, you know, sports, NBA, uh, football, all the artists, it's a whole world full of,
42:06um, you know, entertainers, so it's complicated also to make a route, uh, a perfect route.
42:11It's kind of like, it's difficult, right?
42:14So it comes with a challenge.
42:16Hands can do everything.
42:17Hands can do everything.
42:19And listen, I would be remiss not to, this is not a fun question, but, um, when you first
42:26started your tour, uh, it's, it's when these ice raids started throughout the States, but
42:33actually, I didn't hear about any of that affecting your tour.
42:37Was that a concern?
42:39Um, she's asking about the ice raids, um, just in general, was starting when, say,
42:45I mean, it was like kind of starting while we're going.
42:48Look, I mean, we're aware of the climate, you know, fortunately we were able to go through
42:52all the, all the shows with like any, without any issues.
42:55Like safety is always our, our, our top priority, um, in general.
43:00And so I think it's just hyper communicating, making sure we're aware, but no, no issues on,
43:05on this run.
43:07Yeah.
43:08Rao, um, tell me one moment of the tour, one specific moment where you stood on stage and
43:17you thought, I'm a happy man.
43:20Like, I, I imagine the whole tour, yes, but one specific moment where you thought, damn,
43:26I'm exactly where I wanted to be.
43:30Damn, I think, I think, I think that every night, I'm not going to lie.
43:36Every night I'm on stage, first song, first song, no, the third song, because the third
43:46song, there's a, there's a pause where I can, you know, just stop and watch the people and
43:53say hi.
43:54And that moment is always special for me because it's a different city, a different people.
44:01And I'm like, I'm so grateful to being, you know, on this stage.
44:08And it's a feeling that I cannot explain because you have to be there, you know, it's, it's,
44:15it's really, I don't know how to explain it for real, but it's just, it's just happiness,
44:22real happiness.
44:24Do you ever cry on stage?
44:26I cry on stage, not, not that many times.
44:30People, they don't know, they, they didn't know this because I'm like, I do a dance move,
44:36I cry and then, and then I keep singing, you know, but, um, um, yeah, I cry, I think after
44:46the shows, like for, for, um, not all the shows, like specific shows, most in my, in my
44:52country, Puerto Rico, you know, I'm from there, you know, and, um, yeah, we never thought
44:58that we were going to reach this far and we keep, you know, we keep growing and growing
45:06and, and putting new goals and new achievement and, and that's what keeps you, um, alive.
45:15That's what keeps you active 24 hours.
45:20Wonderful.
45:21Well, thank you, Rao.
45:22Um, before we leave, I want to remind you all that now there is a cocktail reception presented
45:28by Live Nation right outside, followed by our touring awards and.
45:34It's good for your mental health.
45:35It's good for your mental health.
45:37To get relaxed.
45:38Rao cannot drink anything because he actually has to fly to Mexico.
45:42But I can drink a little.
45:44A little?
45:45I thought it was bad for your vocal cords.
45:47I'm just looking after you.
45:49No, no, I can drink a little tonight.
45:52Not tomorrow, tomorrow I have a show, but yeah.
45:55Just one, one cup, that's, that's it.
45:57Me encanta.
45:58Let's go, let's go have a drink.
45:59Let's go celebrate.
46:01No, Rao, congrats.
46:02We love your billboard cover.
46:04We think you embody global touring.
46:08Felicitaciones.
46:10Thank you, everybody.
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