Rauw Alejandro dances and seduces an audience dressed in suits and gowns at Wells Fargo
The “Cosa Nuestra World Tour” stop highlighted salsa and paid homage to the once-criminalized tradition of Bomba. The audience danced their approval in heels.
It’s 2025 and romance isn’t dead, as Puerto Rican crooner Rauw Alejandro proved Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The renowned reggaetonero flirted with the audience, flexed his impressive dance moves, and showcased his theatrical storytelling skills during the Philadelphia stop of his “Cosa Nuestra World Tour.” It follows his 2024 album of the same name, which translates to “Our thing.”
His fifth studio album delivered a new side of Alejandro that’s as much about pushing his R&B, pop, and Latin trap music forward as it is about sonic retrospection, paying homage to Puerto Rican salsa legends Héctor Lavoe, Frankie Ruiz, and Willie Colón.
Salsa, also featured in the latest album from Alejandro’s frequent collaborator Bad Bunny, is back in the mainstream spotlight with dazzling results aimed at a younger generation. (But, please don’t call this moment a revival).
For Alejandro, highlighting the internationally beloved genre isn’t solely about the music and dancing, it is also about the aesthetic. He issued a dress code of evening gowns and suits (with a somewhat confusing theme of both 1920s and 1960s fashion) and Philadelphia didn’t disappoint.
Most concert-goers opt for comfortable footwear, but on Thursday, high heels clacked around the arena as folks showed up in pinstripe suits and glittery dresses accessorized with pearls, furs, and feathers. A few donned tuxedos.
The salsa spotlight provided a vehicle through which Alejandro could tell Nuyorican history, too, as he explained in the concert’s QR code-prompted program: “This is not just a show. It’s our story — of those who left chasing a dream, carrying the island in their hearts and nostalgia in their suitcases.”
Billed as a “musical theatre experience,” Alejandro’s bilingual production was a delightful, unconventional departure from modern arena shows, with an overarching narrative of forbidden love and explosive action told through four acts and led by a jovial master of ceremonies.
Joined by an ensemble and live band, Alejandro played a version of himself (Raúl, his actual name) as a well-dressed charmer captivated by a mysterious woman named Maria, who had her own nefarious motives.
Each act of the 2.5-hour show was packed with hits, from older sultry tracks like “Desesperados” and “Panties y Brasieres,” to Bad Bunny-featured songs “Lokera” and “Qué Pasaría.” Marquee-like signs appeared in the background with the initials “RA x RS” as he performed the vulnerable “Khé?” featuring bachata icon Romeo Santos.
With leaps, splits, and shimmies amid salsa steps, the powerhouse ensemble evoked Broadway references including West Side Story, Chicago, and even Newsies. The dynamic set design also featured a revolving stage, a sleek convertible, pyrotechnics, and elaborate animation on a large background screen that transported viewers to New York and Puerto Rico.
The peak of Raúl and Maria’s romance happened on a park bench, when he described missing home through his newly released single, “Carita Linda,” a nod to Ismael Rivera’s 1988 Afro Puerto Rican anthem, “Las Caras Lindas.” It’s a melodic song fueled by the Yuba rhythm of the folkloric drum genre bomba, which enslaved Africans in Puerto Rico created 400 years ago as a form of resistance.
Platforming the once-criminalized tradition on a global stage of this magnitude is a historic move on its own, one that grounds Alejandro in cultural and historical preservation. (Another dramatic scene featured two vejigantes, folkloric characters often seen in carnivals to represent and repel monsters.)
Rooting his theatrical efforts in this heritage also yielded rich visuals. Drummers carried their large bombas — made of barrels and goat skin — to center stage as the background screen burst with sunshine and tropical colors as the Puerto Rican flag waved above.
Dancers appeared in swirling white skirts and delivered piquetes, or moves, that the drum marked with sharp slaps. Backed by male dancers, Alejandro himself punctuated his dance moves with vigorous footwork.
While Alejandro stayed true to the lusty lover boy music he’s known for, his efforts to celebrate the culture and music of his home underscored his unapologetic message: “Esto es cosa nuestra, no creo que lo entiendan.”
“This is our thing, I don’t think they understand.”