Gallery • 5 Photos

Kaelah Serrano

Rauw Alejandro emerges from the center of the stage and immediately is surrounded by his crew as they break out in dance at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

To a spirited audience, Rauw Alejandro said, “La música nos une a todos estamos aquí para pasarla bien,” or “Music unites us all; we are here to have a good time.”

For his SATURNO World Tour, the Puerto Rican Grammy award-winning artist performed at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont on April 5, opening with SATURNO, an instrumental song influenced by house music, 80s and 90s freestyle, old-school reggaetón and Miami bass.

Alejandro is referred to as the King of Modern Reggaetón — which is dance music of Puerto Rican origin — for his contemporary takes within the genre. He has won two Latin Grammy Awards from twelve nominations.

Alejandro’s SATURNO World Tour began March 4, in Tampa, Florida, and will travel throughout the country and then onto Mexico in the summer, ending the world tour in Europe in the fall.

Throughout the sci-fi, outer space-themed concert, Alejandro hyped up the crowd by shouting, “para mi Latinos,” “para México,” “para Puerto Rico” and “para mi gente de Chicago.”

He also brought fans to the stage to dance perreo, also known as sandungueo, a popular style of dance associated with reggaetón music.

Alejandro closed his performance with two of the last tracks on the SATURNO album, RAULEETO — a skit titled by his childhood nickname, which includes various voices and sounds of people and places from Alejandro’s life — and DE CAROLINA, named after his hometown in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Lexa Galarza, who was at the concert, said his music makes her feel nostalgic.

“I grew up listening to reggaetón, and it’s something that I’ve always loved. It makes me feel happy and energetic,” said Galarza, a Dominican University student who lives in River Forest.

Alejandra Bobadilla, a Gage Park resident, said Alejandro’s music makes her “feel in love,” and “want to express those feelings to someone else.”

“He stands out to me because he doesn’t only talk about one thing in every song, and he incorporates different styles,” Bobadilla said.

Jocelyne Ortiz, who lives in Gage Park, said she feels “free-spirited and empowered,” like she can “live life to the fullest” when listening to Alejandro’s music.

“The way that he makes his music — the melody, the tune and all the instruments that are incorporated — just reminds me of the summertime and when it’s nice outside, how you’re enjoying your time outside without a care in the world,” Ortiz said.