How Madrid became Europe's gateway for Latin music

Bad Bunny begins a run of 10 concerts in Madrid, marking the most shows of his “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” tour outside Puerto Rico. Shakira follows with a 12-night residency starting September 18 at a temporary venue under construction in southern Madrid, expected to hold about 50,000 people. The Madrid dates are Shakira’s final stop on her “Women Don’t Cry Anymore” tour and her only European performances. Madrid’s rise reflects a shift in the city’s music scene from Spanish pop, rock, and flamenco toward Latin beats. Rising immigration from Latin America has reshaped the audience and market, increasing Latin-born residents in the Madrid region from about 80,000 in 1999 to just over one million in 2024. Latin rhythms have moved into the mainstream across reggaeton, hip-hop, pop, and traditional styles, supported by shared language.

"Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny kicks off a series of 10 concerts on Saturday in Madrid, a city with a booming Latino population now emerging as a new hub of the Latin music industry. It will be the most shows of the singer's "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos" tour outside of his native Puerto Rico, where he staged a 31-show residency last year."

"Colombian pop superstar Shakira will follow with a 12-night residency beginning September 18th at a temporary venue under construction in southern Madrid that will hold roughly 50,000 people. The so-called Queen of Latin Pop has vowed to go "all-out" for the Madrid shows, the final stop on her "Women Don't Cry Anymore" tour and her only dates in Europe."

""Right now, Madrid is an indispensable stop for any major Latin artist on tour," Billboard's chief content officer for Latin music, Miami-based Leila Cobo, told AFP. "Every single Latin star of note plays Madrid." That was not always the case, despite the Spanish capital's deep historical ties with Latin America."

"The surge in high-profile Latin concerts reflects Madrid's expanding role in the Latin music industry, driven in part by rising immigration from Latin America that has reshaped the city's audience and music market. The number of residents in the Madrid region born in Latin America has risen from about 80,000 in 1999 to just over one million in 2024, roughly one in seven residents, according to the latest official figures."

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