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By: Juan J. Arroyo

"I want to fly.”

These were the words that Rauw Alejandro began with as he sat down with Adrian Martínez, the creative director for his Saturno World Tour. With a clear vision in mind, Rauw expressed his desire to draw heavily from his latest album, SATURNO, for his fourth tour. "’This is something I really want to do, and let's figure out a really cool way to do it’," Martinez recalls Rauw telling him about the idea.

A "really cool way to do it" became the guiding light that sparked an all-hands-on-deck effort by dozens of talented individuals behind the scenes. Their collective efforts have now brought to fruition what is undoubtedly not just Rauw Alejandro's biggest tour of his career, but also one of the most creative and show-stopping experiences in el movimiento.

For his 14th and 15th stops, Rauw Alejandro returned to his home of Puerto Rico for two nights at the historic Hiram Bithorn Stadium in the capital city of San Juan. Just days prior, the stadium had hosted Karol G's three shows from her world tour, and it was also the site of Bad Bunny's epic P FKN R shows in December 2021. However, being an open-air baseball stadium and not an arena, the creative and technical teams involved in planning Rauw's tour had to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to adapt the experience to a different location with a new set of limitations.

’This is something I really want to do, and let's figure out a really cool way to do it’.”

The responsibility fell on the shoulders of various individuals, including Martínez, lighting designer Marcus Jessup, choreographers FeFe Burgos and Denise Yuri-Disla, and live audio programmer José "Sapo" González, among others. As they all agreed, the most significant difference was transforming a show primarily designed for arenas with 360-degree stages and views into one that, at best, had a 180-degree setup.

Remezcla was present on the first night of Rauw's two-night stop and had the opportunity to speak with all of them to learn about the meticulous work that went into crafting an unforgettable concert of this magnitude. The quotes have been translated, edited, and condensed for clarity.

Adrian Martínez

Flying saucers, ringed celestial bodies, interstellar light shows, and a floating reggaetón star shooting over the crowd.

Creative Director

All these elements fell under the purview of Adrian Martínez. As a creative director, Martínez has worked in the past with acts like Travis Scott, Rosalía, and Keem. Most recently, he oversaw Bad Bunny’s live performance at this year’s 65th Annual Grammy Awards, where he brought Puerto Rico to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. Now, he simply had to bring galaxies and UFOs to Puerto Rico.

“From the beginning, touching on the sci-fi approach, all that stuff, and for the arena design at least, [Rauw] said, ‘I want something that's based around circles or circular design.’ And that was that moment where we said, ‘Okay, cool. Let's figure out how to incorporate this ring. Let's figure out how to have the UFO moments,’” he said.

[[[ Stadium plan and renders by Sturdy ]]]

‘Okay, cool. Let's figure out how to incorporate this ring. Let's figure out how to have the UFO moments.”

Rauw himself played a big role in brainstorming ideas for the tour, staying involved throughout the process. “Rauw is very, not to say that the other artists aren't, he's just very aware of himself, and he understands who he is as an artist, where he wants to go, and how he wants to see things,” Martínez shared.

The team faced challenges moving from an arena to an open stadium, which meant the loss of a ceiling. This not only opened up the space to the elements, like rain but also nixed some automation components. In the arena, the main source of visual content was a circular screen. "That's the only source of visual content you're getting," Martinez shared. So, in the Puerto Rico shows, as an alternative, large screens were installed facing the audience, broadcasting pre-generated visuals and a live feed from multiple cameras, including drones flying around Rauw as he performed.

Photo by John Parra/Getty Images

Visuals aside, the most important content is the artist the hundreds of concertgoers were there to see, the one who dreams of flying. That's why they had to figure out how to make his vision a reality — and they did. As the concert begins, Rauw floats down from out of view of the audience, floating over them via a zip-line toward the stage. But this was just the beginning of his and Martínez's planning. Towards the concert's climax, during his performance of "Lejos del Cielo," Rauw appeared to hover in mid-air, enveloped in a blue light that evoked the imagery of UFO abductions we've become familiar with in pop culture. This visually standout moment was sure to stick with fans long after the show ended, and it served as a catalyst for the tour as a whole.

Rauw is very, not to say that the other artists aren't, he's just very aware of himself and he understands who he is as an artist, where he wants to go, and how he wants to see things.”

A concert theme that revolves around sailing the spaceways has to have a dynamic light show to go with it, and Marcus Jessup of MJL Visions took on that challenge.

Having just finished a massive tour with Kendrick Lamar and pgLang, Jessup and his team, including Jaycob Luque, faced the task of creating a show that worked within the confines of a stadium, unlike the 360-degree arenas of previous tour stops. "We tried to take the 360-degree approach with the stadium show, but we were limited to just the warning track," Jessup explained. "It made it different and cool because we had to figure out how to take a 360-degree approach and turn it flat."

Marcus Jessup

Lightning Designer

Photo by John Parra/Getty Images

As for the differences between a show like Kendrick’s versus Rauw’s, Jessup was open about how they differed in ways that made each unique to work with. “[Rauw’s is] a little bit more out there, more connected with the crowd, more hype, and a lot more different elements,” he explains. But the shift from one to the other was something he was ready for.

Lighting, of course, plays a huge part in highlighting the artist onstage during their performances. The transition from an arena to a stadium required a new approach, with modifications for the new marks. “[It’s] different blocking for Rauw himself, and also the dancers, along with the Jabbawockeez—just hitting certain parts of the stage. It just makes a huge difference between the two and just how to make them somewhat the same,” Jessup said.

Knowing Rauw's commitment to giving his crowds nothing less than the max, Jessup aimed to cut as few corners as possible when adapting the tour for Hiram Bithorn's specific layout. "We don't want to build a completely different show based on what the people in the arena show are seeing and what the people at the stadium shows are seeing," he said. "So we definitely try to make them one. And that's been a binge of its own, but [we're] pretty happy with what we have... It's been a good ride with this one."

[we're] pretty happy with what we have... It's been a good ride with this one.”

[Rauw’s is] a little bit more out there, more connected with the crowd, I guess you could say; more hype and a lot more different elements.”

FeFe Burgos & Denise Yuri-Disla

Choreography Lead

For the married lead choreography team of FeFe Burgos and Denise Yuri-Disla, everything starts with the music. According to Burgos, after working with Rauw Alejandro for so long, their communication has become shorthand. When the singer tells him they're gearing up for a tour, he only asks three brief questions: "Where are we rehearsing? What do you want? And when do we start?

Overseeing 30 numbers in a nearly four-hour-long concert is no small feat for the couple, both boricua and founded the dance company FÉDE Enterprises. They conceptualize ideas to keep the show fresh and coordinate with the technical logistics. "For us, it's not just about coming, dancing, and going; it's more like telling a story to the entire track," said Yuri-Disla. "We have to think about how the dancers enter to make sense with the track and the whole show, how the exits for the dancers will be, whether they'll stay onstage, crawl, run, or pose at one point. A lot of details that we have to think about and then figure out."

To that end, they stay in touch with Rauw's longtime music producer Mr. NaisGai, who provides them with the mixes used during the show. During this phase, they also discover which songs are more challenging than others, as was the case with "DIME QUIÉN." They found themselves stuck on how to bring the track to life through dance until Burgos suddenly found inspiration in an unexpected way. "One day, and I remember it was a day that FeFe was completely fried; his mind was fried. And he started moving like a contemporary dancer," Yuri-Disla recalled. "He started kicking and doing turns and flipping like a ballerina dancer. I was concerned at that point because I knew that he was tired. And I said, 'He's going to do crazy stuff,'" she laughed.

Burgos embraced the improvisation, feeling close to cracking the choreography. "I don't dance contemporary. I just knew what I wanted. So even though in the beginning they were laughing... I was just like, 'Let's do this,'" he said. "And then, at a certain moment, everybody else was quiet, and they were just like, 'What is going on?' And then it ended up being everybody's favorite. For the dancers, that's their favorite number."

Photo by John Parra/Getty Images

We have to think about how the dancers enter to make sense with the track and the whole show.”

For us, it's not just about coming, dancing, and going; it's more like telling a story to the entire track.”

Photo by John Parra/Getty Images

José “Sapo” González

Sound Designer

It was 4 a.m. the morning of Friday’s concert, and Rauw was riding around the grounds of the Hiram Bithorn on a bicycle and inspecting the new-fangled 360 degree speaker system that would be debuting later that night. It’s a testament to how hands-on he is throughout the entire process, especially for his hometown shows.

José González, aka “Sapo” to his friends and coworkers, was tasked with overseeing the audio for the concert. Dozens of speakers dotted the stadium, as well as close to the stands where more fans would also be watching from, which in tandem would create an effect of being immersed in the music and sound effects of the show as opposed to simply hearing it from one forward-facing source. “Rauw wanted [the experience] to feel enhanced, like you were inside the music,” said González. “There are key moments [in the show] where we expand beyond the typical left and right and utilize eight zones we have [of audio source].”

Rauw wanted [the experience] to feel enhanced, like you were inside the music.”

González had played with similar audio systems in the past for smaller-scale art installations and theater, but this was by far the biggest stage yet. “We worked on it since the end of January, and Sony let us use their Atmos Studio to refine it.”

Science played a big part in perfecting the experience. "Sound travels slower than light, so we'd find that in a large space like this, we had to adjust the timing of some pieces because they would sound different than they did in the [smaller] studio space," González shared. "We don't want [technical hiccups] to distract from Rauw, who's the center of attention." The idea to bring in this innovative audio set-up came from a previous job González did with Rauw for a visual component of his 2021 concert at Puerto Rico's popular "Choliseo" concert arena, which briefly incorporated the 360-degree system.

Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

Photo by John Parra/Getty Images

The result was a groundbreaking concert that transported fans inside the music, a testament to the power of creative collaboration and the lengths that artists and their teams will go to bring their vision to life. As Rauw Alejandro continues to push the boundaries of his art, it's clear that his tour’s success is due in no small part to the village of dedicated and innovative individuals who surround him.

There are key moments [in the show] where we expand beyond the typical left and right and utilize eight zones we have [of audio source].”

Editor-in-Chief: Thatiana Diaz Artists & Label Relations: Joel Moya Creative Direction: Alan López Music Editor: Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum Drone Footage: Julio Drone Crew Portraits: Francisco Pizarro Video Footage: Ale Alcover for Duars Live Publicist: Ximena Acosta Production Company: Duars Live

Meet the Tour Team That Helped Rauw Alejandro Take

Saturno

to Puerto Rico

Arena Render by Sturdy

Photo by Marco Perretta

Photo by Chris Miranda

Rauw Alejandro

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Rauw Alejandro

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