Spain – Words like “explosive,” “passionate,” and “powerful” come up often when critics write about J. Alvarez’s global Luxury tour. Featuring many of the Puerto Rican reggaeton icon’s memorable hits like Junto al Amanecer” and “La Pregunta,” along with the expected robust singalongs, the concert serves as a living reminder why this star has been one of the prime shapers of Latin music for the past 15 years.
This show, however, is far more than a trip down memory lane. Along with the classics, there is a potent selection of new songs, which like their older cousins, are served up with unbridled verve and intensity. Matching this dynamic music note for exhilarating note is a potent lighting design by Will Rivera Carrasquillo.
The fusion of music and light was beautifully evident when J. Alvarez took his tour to Ushuaïa Ibiza this summer for the I Love Reggaeton Festival. Running through Carrasquillo’s fast-moving lightshow was a river of bold, vivid colors that wrapped themselves seamlessly around the music.
“Color contrasts on this show were based more on the name of the tour, ‘Luxury,’” said Carrasquillo. “We’re talking about luxury, gold, diamonds, and intense colors like amber and white. We used a lot of strong colors like reds, blues, and magenta, which are perfect for creating that impactful atmosphere with the details of the hits and the intensity of the transitions. Then, spotlights are mainly used to highlight positions.”
Helping Carrasquillo achieve this colorful wizardry were more than 100 Color STRIKE M motorized strobe-washes, along with COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorized battens, and COLORrado PXL Bar 12 units. Playing off dramatically against this color-scape was intense white light from the rig’s 40 STRIKE Array 4 blinders. All of the fixtures are from CHAUVET Professional and were supplied by Fluge.
Flown on truss finger that spread almost across the entire width of the domed outdoor stage, the Color STRIKE M bathed the entire area in vibrant colors. The star and his band were often bathed in monochromatic palettes, endowing it with greater intensity and making color changes even more dramatic.
The PXL batten fixtures were flown in an arch that rimmed the downstage area, while the STRIKE Array 40 blinders were arranged on the uppermost level of truss above them. Turning these two groups of fixtures on and off at different times, Carrasquillo was able to give the stage different looks, keeping things fresh throughout the performance while reflecting the mood of each song.
Looking back on the Ibiza show, Carrasquillo thanked J. Alvarez and his colleague Robert Santiago and his team for “providing me with the great toys to play with.” In the end he played them all with consummate skill, making this already-monumental show even more unforgettable.
