Clair Global’s Latin Expertise Supports Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico Residency

For 30 sold out nights, Bad Bunny’s “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí" (‘I Don’t want to Leave Here’) became a cultural phenomenon.

The residency attracted over 475,000 visitors to Puerto Rico, generating an economic music tourist boost off the back of his fans’ insatiable desire for Latin trap.

While Bad Bunny’s appeal has generated over 100 billion streams online, on-stage a team of live audio experts, led by Technical Director Roly Garbalosa, were supported by Clair Global to bring his in-demand sound to the masses – but not without its challenges.

Residents and international tourists, some visiting the island for the first time, flocked to the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan for what Roly says was a unique audio project.

“We did things that have never been done before,” he begins. "This show was the artist's idea; Bad Bunny is very into the aesthetics of his performance, and central to the residency was a huge mountain set piece. However, the initial design renders didn't include PA.

"Then, a render came the with PA shown in front of the mountain which was not in line with the visual idea the artist had. We had to devise a solution that would look how the show was intended but that would also deliver the appropriate audio needs."

To achieve this, Roly worked in close collaboration with the Clair Global and Cohesion teams, namely Bad Bunny Account Executive, Fabian Giordano, who is also the Director of the Latin Department at Clair Global, and Randy Lane, Event Support Engineer.

Roly continues: “My first thought was to a make a Grateful Dead style ‘wall of sound’ behind the mountain, but this wouldn’t work due to the material used to create the set. I thought maybe the PA could be placed inside the video wall, but after speaking with the video and lighting team, that was also not possible. There was one other option: to place speakers in the ceiling, as if the concert was taking place a hotel ballroom.”

This was a bold move for an 18,500-capacity concert.

He continues: “I called Randy and asked if Cohesion could hang horizontally with no pull back. Randy said, ‘no one has ever asked us that before, but it is possible with these speakers, it’s just… well it’s a risk because it’s never been done.’”

Roly reported to Bad Bunny with news that there was an option, but it would be a first.

With the artist’s blessing, Roly and the production team continued the build within a 10-day time constraint, placing Cohesion CO12 speakers in a circular design 84ft in the air thanks to some innovative rigging solutions. Pushing the boundaries of the audio design paid off, and the outcome was beyond expectation.

“It was a huge team effort. I walked the room with our Clair Systems Engineer, Ricardo Barragan, and we really liked what we heard. It sounded amazing, and by day two, it sounded incredible! This design option meant the distance from the PA to the fans in the room was much more consistent, and therefore the listening experience was improved.

“The reward when working on something like this is in the collective, the coming together of the audio team and all parties, to solve a challenge. For me, the process of doing that is as important as the result, but of course the results met both artist and fan expectations.”

He continues: “It’s all about the relationships with Clair. I consider Fabian and Shaun Clair friends as well as colleagues. Clair’s Latin Department is all about understanding the culture in Latin America and building a team of people who understand how the Latin live music industry works. Clair has a great mix of crew - both Latin and non-Latin who understand us.

“Working with an artist and producing a show like this is like being part of a Formula 1 race; if the driver and the fit team isn’t there, even if you have the best car in the world, it’s a lost cause without the collaboration needed to win.”

Under the guidance of Fabian, who has worked across Bad Bunny tours for the past 10 years, Clair Puerto Rico delivered the audio and comms equipment locally.

Fernando ‘Wichie’ Martinez, President of Clair Puerto Rico comments: “We were so proud to part of this historic production, that will be remembered for many years to come within the global entertainment industry.”

Bad Bunny’s final night of the residency was livestreamed for Amazon Music and became the most-watched single-artist performance in the channel’s history.

Yet Bad Bunny’s reggaeton reign isn’t taking a break; his ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ (I should have taken more Photos) World Tour commenced on November 21 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with audio reinforcement and live production comms solutions from Clair Global.

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