In each of his shows, Bad Bunny gave himself body and soul to his fans, supported every step of the way by a fast-moving lightshow that featured 96 Color STRIKE M and 40 STRIKE Array 2 fixtures from CHAUVET Professional, supplied by different vendors in various countries.
The lighting designer for the World Hottest Tour, Travis Shirley reflected the transformative mood created by the beaches of Puerto Rico. Tour Director, Roly Garbalosa, and the LD/programmer Krizia Velez helped bring this imaginative panorama to life at every venue.
“The looks were inspired through music and even many of the songs have sounds of the sea where you can see the waves, the birds and even the dolphins,” said Velez, who began her own collaboration with Bad Bunny in 2017.
Discussing the makeup of the tour rig, Velez noted: “One of the reasons why we chose the Chauvet Color STRIKE M is that it is the only strobe effect with all the elements we are looking for, including an IP65 rating. This was one of the main reasons why we did not hesitate to add them to our rider. All our shows were outdoors. For its part, the STRIKE Array 2 gives us an emulated “amber shift” that warms the colour temperature of the light as it dims to provide a classic tungsten look.”
The idea of adding Color STRIKE M to Bad Bunny’s stadium tour was endorsed by all of the artist’s programmers, including Evan Rodecap, and Richard Vicens, as well as Velez. They were looking for innovative fixtures, easy to use and, above all, ready to face climatic adversities.
A group of 16 Color STRIKE M fixture were positioned on the delay towers and were used to provide audience lighting, while the 80 other units were on layered vertical structures and were used to create depth and special effects.
The design concept consisted of different textures and temperatures in order to, together with the visuals, that evoked images of wonderful beaches, according to Velez, who explained that “colour temperature was one of our main roles when making some changes in luminaires. Since, as we well know, not any luminaire could perform this type of function. In the same way it is like the textures, they played a predominant role in a large part of our scenery.”
All Bad Bunny shows in Latin America were emotional. Each country had a different vibe and way of living the experience. But for the lighting design team, there was one venue that was special. “The most impressive for me, and which I think was for everyone, is the one we did at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City,” noted Velez. “It is one of the most important stadiums in Latin America. It is a stadium where not all artists usually get to appear, and even less so in such a short time. I feel lucky to be a part of this impressive achievement by everyone.”
In the project for the tour The World Hottest Tour more than 200 people participated, all of whom played an important role. “Roly Garbalosa was part of the project from minute zero. Roly has a magic to make the impossible possible and her years of experience touring with the most important artists in Latin America made this tour a success,” said Velez. “Travis Shirley, designer to so many great artist, generously shared his knowledge. Evan Rodecap was also very important for this tour since he was in charge of amending changes in the plots, and also that the Network was working at all times of the show.”
In the end the collaborative effort of all involved created a stage production that provided an ideal complement to the music of Bad Bunny, and in the process contributed to a memorable personal experience for every fan.
