Rosalía Swaps White Wine for Tequila — and Serenades Monterrey with 'Safaera'

Forget the wine — Rosalía showed up to Monterrey with something stronger. Mid-set at Arena Monterrey on August 19, the Spanish alt-pop force swapped her customary glass of white for a shot of tequila, and in the process accidentally sparked one of the tour's most electric moments yet.

A Tequila Shot That Became a Concert Highlight

Anyone who has followed Rosalía's 'Lux' world tour knows the ritual: before she eases into 'Sauvignon Blanc', she settles at her grand piano, pours a glass of white wine, and lets the mood settle like a slow exhale. But Monterrey had other plans. This time, she reached for a bottle of tequila instead — and as she poured, something clicked. She leaned into the microphone and started singing the a cappella opening of Bad Bunny's 'Safaera' with the kind of casual confidence that only makes a crowd lose their minds faster. The Arena Monterrey audience did not need to be asked twice. Within seconds, thousands of voices filled the room, according to NME, turning what could have been a quiet interlude into a full-blown communal celebration.

The Song Behind the Moment

'Safaera' has always hit different. Originally dropped on Bad Bunny's landmark 2020 album YHLQMDLG, the track features Puerto Rican heavyweights Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow, and its hypnotic, genre-blending energy has made it a fan favorite ever since. Bad Bunny himself brought it to the biggest stage possible when he performed it during his headline-making Super Bowl Halftime show earlier this year — a spectacle that cemented his status as the most dominant Latin artist on the planet right now. The fact that Rosalía can casually drop it into her own set and have an entire arena ready to sing along says everything about how deep that song has burrowed into the culture.

Rosalía and Bad Bunny: A Relationship Built on Collaboration

This wasn't just a random cover choice. Rosalía and Bad Bunny have history — real, studio-forged history. The two linked up on 'La Noche De Anoche', a standout cut from his 2020 record El Último Tour Del Mundo, and then brought it to life on Saturday Night Live in February 2021 in a performance that made everyone immediately wish for an entire joint project. Rosalía singing 'Safaera' felt less like a cover and more like a nod between collaborators — a reminder that their creative worlds naturally orbit each other.

And while Bad Bunny continues his own remarkable streak — his dominance on the charts has been relentless, with his music consistently reigning at the top of Hot Latin Songs — Rosalía is carving her own lane with a tour that keeps generating moments worth talking about long after the lights go down.

The 'Lux' Tour in Full Flight

The Monterrey show was part of Rosalía's ongoing 'Lux' world tour, supporting her fourth studio album of the same name released last November. The record landed at number seven on NME's list of the 50 best albums of 2025 — a placement that underscores just how seriously critics have taken this chapter of her artistry. Earlier in the tour, her London stop earned a five-star review, with writers noting her ability to balance emotional weight with genuine playfulness — a quality on full display every time she turns a pre-song ritual into an audience participation moment.

Between an Ivor Novellos acceptance speech where she pushed for broader representation in music and a setlist that runs the full emotional spectrum from baroque pop to reggaeton-adjacent heat, Rosalía is operating at a peak. And sometimes, all it takes is a shot of tequila and the opening bars of a Bad Bunny classic to remind everyone exactly why she belongs on that stage.

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