For most artists, there are one or two moments that change everything.
For Don Omar, one of those moments happened right here in Tenerife.
Ahead of announcing his 2027 European tour, the Puerto Rican superstar looked back on the early days of reggaeton and revealed that a concert on the island 23 years ago remains one of the most important performances of his career.
“It all started in Tenerife”
Long before reggaeton became a global phenomenon, Don Omar says very few people outside Puerto Rico had even heard of the genre.
In fact, he remembers arriving in Spain at a time when artists like Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Ivy Queen and himself were virtually unknown.
Everything changed after one concert in Tenerife.
Speaking to Europa Press, Don Omar recalled performing in front of 10,000 people, describing it as the moment that marked a real turning point in his career.
“That’s where it all started for me 23 years ago,” he said, adding that he hopes to announce even more dates in Spain during his upcoming tour.
Paying tribute to reggaeton’s pioneers
Don Omar also reflected on how far Latin urban music has come over the past two decades.
He believes the worldwide success enjoyed today by artists like Bad Bunny wouldn’t have been possible without the work of the first generation of reggaeton performers.
He pointed to artists including Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Ivy Queen and himself as the musicians who helped take reggaeton from small clubs to the global stage.
“There was a time when nobody played reggaeton on the radio,” he explained. “Today, it’s one of the biggest genres in the world.”
Spanish music has changed the industry
The singer also believes Spanish-language music has transformed the international music scene.
Twenty-five years ago, he says, American hip-hop was the model everyone followed.
Now, in his view, it’s the other way around, with many artists in the United States looking towards Latin music for inspiration.
It’s quite a shift, and one he admits he never imagined would happen.
Still selling out after more than 20 years
Despite spending over two decades in the music industry, Don Omar says he’s still amazed by the demand for his concerts.
Tickets continue to sell out quickly, and he recently performed in front of 380,000 people at a festival in Mexico.
For him, that level of support is something he’ll never take for granted.
The song that means the most
Although Danza Kuduro remains his biggest international hit, Don Omar says the song closest to his heart is Bandolero.
He revealed that he wrote it during one of the darkest periods of his life as a way of expressing what he was going through.
To this day, hearing thousands of fans sing every word back to him remains one of the most emotional moments of every concert.
For Tenerife fans, though, it’s perhaps his memories of that performance 23 years ago that stand out the most.
It’s not every day a global superstar says your island helped launch his career.