A few years ago, stepping onto a stage in front of thousands of people around the world seemed like a distant, almost unattainable dream for the members of Chuwi. Today, however, the Puerto Rican group is experiencing one of the most vibrant moments of its still-young career, with experiences that have turned that dream into a reality that exceeds many of their own expectations.

Following their participation in “WELTiTA,” a track from Bad Bunny’s album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and after performing in all 31 shows of the residency “No me quiero ir de aquí” at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the band—made up of brothers Wilfredo, Lorén, and Wester Aldarondo Torres, along with Adrián López Soto—has made a leap to international stages alongside the artist. This rise is happening while they continue building their own path through an independent tour in the United States, further solidifying their musical identity beyond major stages.

In fact, it was recently announced that Chuwi, as they did in Bad Bunny’s concerts in Latin America and Australia, will be the opening act for the second leg of the artist’s tour, which begins on May 22 at the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys in Barcelona.

“We’ve never played in Europe, so it’s going to be something incredible. It’s going to be a super interesting experiment for us,” explained Wilfredo “Willy” Aldarondo, who plays bass and sings, and is also one of the group’s producers and composers. “Just like what happened in Brazil and Australia, which are countries with different languages and cultures, this is going to be very different, since none of these countries have much in common with Latin America or the Caribbean. But we are very excited to see how the audience responds to our music”.

This feeling is already familiar to them, having opened Bad Bunny’s 27 concerts across Latin America and Australia, which began on November 21, 2025, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. “The first times we stepped on stage, we felt a lot of fear seeing 70,000 people in front of us waiting for us to start playing,” recalled the eldest Aldarondo. “But as the dates went on, we got used to it. There’s always a bit of initial shock when you step on stage and see a packed stadium. But it became easier to manage the nerves because we had done it many times”.

The impact of bringing their sound—marked by elements such as bomba and plena and other Latin rhythms—to such different countries also left a mark on the band. “For us, it’s an honor to bring our sound to places in the world we never imagined it would reach,” the musician added. “It’s extremely validating for us because the reception in those countries has been beautiful, with people showing us a lot of love and affection. Obviously, many people don’t know our songs, but at the end of the six- or seven-song set, they applaud a lot and even ask for another song. It’s surreal, because these are people who had never heard us before”.

The opposite has happened over the past four weeks, as the performers of songs like “Tíkiri” and “Escúchame” have visited numerous cities in the United States with their “Primavera Tour.” The shows began on April 16 in San Diego, California, and have taken them to intimate venues in cities such as Tucson, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, San Francisco, El Paso, Chicago, Toronto (Canada), New York, Washington D.C., Pittsboro (North Carolina), Tampa, Miami, and concluded in Orlando on May 16.

“In this case, we play for about an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half and perform practically our entire current repertoire. The difference between our tour and Bad Bunny’s is obviously enormous,” Willy explained. “For example, while Bad Bunny’s tour had massive logistics, this U.S. tour is 100% our responsibility. We are an eight-person team running everything and we have to do it all—from setting up and breaking down instruments to traveling between cities and many other details.”

Road trips also became a key part of the experience, with several stretches of up to seven hours of driving, stopping along the way to stretch or eat. “It was exhausting and we were very tired, but at the same time it was really fun. It’s a different experience where you spend more time together than usual, and it actually brings the whole team closer,” Aldarondo noted.

According to him, Chicago held special meaning for the group, as it was the first city they performed in outside Puerto Rico years ago and they already had friends there. In New York, they felt a strong connection due to the large Puerto Rican community living there.

“At one point in Toronto, I was walking in the street hours before the concert when a Puerto Rican couple stopped me. They live in Canada and had driven three hours just to see us”, the bassist added. “I was surprised they had traveled so far just for us, and also that they live here in Canada. But they weren’t the only ones. At the show we saw about 10 Puerto Rican flags in the audience. It was wild”.

Alongside touring, Chuwi is also working on a new album that is nearly complete, which will further solidify the project that was born in the western part of the island and has been expanding over time. “My wish is to keep taking Caribbean music to higher levels so it can reach more people outside of Latin America and the region,” Aldarondo said. “I also want us to become a bigger platform that can be used for good and to support initiatives beyond music, for community benefit and social change.”

For now, as new songs are being created, Chuwi will continue adding miles, experiences, and stages on their upcoming European tour, reaffirming that Caribbean sound knows no limits and can captivate audiences anywhere in the world.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.