Rauw Alejandro on Creating ‘The Biggest Broadway Show on Earth’ With His ‘Cosa Nuestra’ Tour

Rauw Alejandro took a day off between stops on his Cosa Nuestra tour to attend the 2025 Billboard Live Music Summit in Los Angeles to explain how a new partnership with Live Nation helped him create a theatrical spectacle that could “travel through the whole world.”

Alejandro — who came straight from a Sunday (Nov. 2) show in Monterrey, Mexico and has to fly right back for a Tuesday (Nov. 4) performance in Mexico City — took the stage for a spotlight conversation with Billboard’s Leila Cobo and Live Nation senior vp of global touring Hans Schafer at the 1 Hotel West Hollywood on Monday (Nov. 3).

The Cosa Nuestra tour is a high-concept, 1970s New York-inspired spectacle supporting Alejandro’s 2024 album of the same name, which hit No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The tour grossed $91.7 million across spring and summer legs in North America and Europe before heading to South America and Mexico. Alejandro will conclude at the end of this month with a five-date residency at San Juan’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot.

During the discussion, the cover star of Billboard’s touring issue explained that after attending live theater in New York, he was inspired to create what he called “the biggest Broadway show on earth” — though it’s not so easy to bring Broadway to an arena. Enter Live Nation.

“I consider myself the best, so I want to work with the best team,” said Alejandro of joining up with the concert giant for the tour.

As Alejandro explained, Live Nation helped him bring his vision to life using maximum precision. “We could sell stadiums,” said Alejandro, but ultimately, he and his team decided to schedule his tour in arenas to “focus on the art.” The tour also eschewed outdoor venues, preferring the dark environment of an indoor arena to better evoke the feel of a Broadway theater.

A huge priority, said Alejandro, was to create consistency across markets. As he put it, he didn’t want South American fans to watch one version of Cosa Nuestra on TikTok during the U.S. leg and then be disappointed when a different show came to their cities.

“I had to find a show that I can take everywhere, because I think my fans deserve the best of me,” said Alejandro. “For me, it was really important to put our minds together and find this perfect show that I can travel through the whole world, and I think we did it.”

Schafer, who runs Latin touring for Live Nation, said he was galvanized by Alejandro’s desire to prioritize performance quality over all else.

“The greatest is when you partner with an artist team and they are not looking to make it the biggest, they are looking to make it matter,” said Schafer.

Monday’s panel also covered the way Alejandro was inspired by salsa music for Cosa Nuestra and how he stays in shape for the demanding, dance-heavy show. He said he eats clean — “salmon, white rice, vegetables” — works out and doesn’t drink or smoke on show days.

Alejandro also hinted at what’s next for his touring career. The reggaeton star said he does intend to play stadiums — and that in the future, he aims to take his shows to even more markets than he did this time around. “We want to conquer Asia,” he said.