Yandel Transformed Reggaetón into Music for a Symphonic Orchestra and Amazon Music Took It to the World

Amazon Music is turning Puerto Rico into its newest live music stage and launched the island's first edition of Amazon Music City Sessions with Yandel, the hometown reggaetón pioneer whose career now stretches from urbano's club roots to orchestral reinvention.

The spectacular livestreamed performance, to which this reporter was invited, took place in San Juan, was scheduled for May 5, and marked the first time the City Sessions franchise expanded to Puerto Rico. The one-time-only show was available globally through the Amazon Music app, Prime Video, and Twitch, and it was part concert, part cultural showcase, and part broader investment in Puerto Rican artists, businesses, and education.

"I am honored to be the first artist to open the new Amazon Music City Sessions series in Puerto Rico, bringing visibility to the island and its artists," Yandel said in an interview with the Latin Times. "To be able to do this from my island and with the Sinfónica de Puerto Rico brings me so much happiness."

The launch gives Puerto Rico a starring role in a franchise that has already featured artists including Kings of Leon, Benson Boone, Jelly Roll, Sech and Tim McGraw. Amazon described City Sessions as a live, moment-driven format built around exclusive performances, artist storytelling and intimate fan experiences.

The Puerto Rico edition also follows Amazon Music's City Sessions push in Mexico. In 2025, the platform presented El Malilla through the series "From Mexico" on July 2, while Santa Fe Klan's edition streamed live from Mexico City on Nov. 18, available through Twitch and TikTok Live. Those Mexico shows positioned City Sessions as a Latin music vehicle that can move across major cultural capitals, from CDMX to San Juan, while giving regional scenes a global digital window.

For Amazon executives, the Puerto Rico launch is also a business and community play. Ramón Fragoso, head of U.S. Latin at Amazon Music, said the initiative is about "conecting artists, community and oportunities." He tied the concert to comPRa Local, Amazon's new storefront designed to spotlight Puerto Rican-owned businesses for customers in Puerto Rico and the United States.

The initiative was announced before the livestream of Bad Bunny's final Puerto Rico concert, and extends for several years. With this effort, Amazon is aligning with cultural forces and regional identity in Latin America to achieve a triple goal, promote the latin culture, build more meaningful consumer ties, and develop new talents for STEM.

"Puerto Rico is at the center of our Caribbean efforts," explained Felipe do Carmo, Head of Public Sector for Central America and the Caribbean at Amazon Web Services (AWS), who led a codding workshop with students of Escuela Miguel Meléndez Muñoz in Cayey, the public high school Yandel attended. Amazon will follow up with donations of supplies and technology.

"Having an AWS office in San Juan shows the growing customer demand, the broad talent pool here, and our investment to support cloud adoption on the island," Do Carmo added.

Yandel's participation also arrives during one of the most ambitious stages of his career. His Sinfónico project takes the Puerto Rican star's reggaetón and urbano catalog and places it inside an orchestral framework, replacing the genre's familiar dembow and club architecture with strings, live arrangements, and a grander theatrical language.

"For me its a recognition of the quality and the power of our music. For years we were seen as a lesser genre. The fact that our songs work with orchestra arrangements and can sound like this is a testament to the legacy of the urban genre and reggaetón in Latin music," Yandel added.

During the show, held at the Coca-Cola Music Hall, he presented versions of some of his biggest hits as a soloist, with Wisin y Yandel and featuring other artist. His setlist included 'Pam, pam, pam,' 'Noche de sexo,' 'Mírala bien,' 'El Teléfono,' 'Fantasma,' and 'Encantadora,' to close with 'Yandel 150,' his song with Feid.

The Sinfónico concept has become more than a side experiment. Yandel's Sinfónico (En Vivo), recorded with the FIU Symphony Orchestra, received a 2026 Grammy nomination for best música urbana album, recognizing its blend of orchestral performance and urban music. The Yandel Sinfónico tour has played sold-out venues across the United States and Latin America, and this Summer is heading to Europe.

For Fragoso, bringing Amazon Music's City Sessions to Puerto Rico is "much more than the regional expansion of a successful franchise." For the Mexican music executive, it is "another step in showing the world what Latin music really is: more than a fad, more than a moment. It is the expression of millions of people who embrace music and art wholeheartedly, and of a community overflowing with talent."

Originally published on Latin Times