Rauw Alejandro has been on his world tour with the Jabbawockeez and I went to his show this past weekend at the Forum. The atmosphere was amazing and like many people, I was there to enjoy a reggeaton concert. But I quickly realized that this concert was setting the tone for the future of Latin American Music, Reggeaton in particular.
Concerts usually start off with an opener within the same genre of artists. Instead, he had a pre-made playlist of dance/electronic music with his own visuals. With going to this concert I realized there was something different about it. Recently, Reggaeton artists have been breaking the mold for what is expected of them, with artists like Bad Bunny making songs to raise awareness about violence towards women, and artists like Karol G transcending genres and making a Banda record. Rauw created a crossover between Reggeaton and dance music with this tour, making it all centered around a futuristic space theme. Showing that he’s openly putting effort and caring about his stage presence, he set a new standard for reggaeton performances. He also broke molds by participating in choreographed dances for every song and having well-thought-out outfits that included pieces like crop tops. Rauw Alejandro also spent a big part of the concert publicly declaring his love for his now fiance, Rosalia. These demonstrations were not just part of a show but were indicators for a new beginning of what masculinity is to people within Latino culture.
With a deep history of machismo in Latin American culture, Rauw Alejandro and Saturno World Tour are breaking those barriers for Latino men and with that, taking reggeaton music and shows to another level. In this tour, Rauw being open about his emotions and using different costumes and dance moves to express his creativity means that there is more space for future Latinx artists to do so as well. It also means that reggeaton is officially heading in a new direction that de-centers toxic masculinity and allows men to break free from having to fit in the box of what it means to be masculine in the genre. It is exciting to think about what is up next in the genre thanks to what Saturno World Tour has done to help lead the way.
