SUEÑOS MUSIC FESTIVAL DAY 1

Sueños is more than just an average music festival with a lineup of star-studded artists. Sueños creates a community and brings fans of the powerful Latin music genre together for a weekend to dance and listen to their favorite artists in a safe space all weekend long. But when you really put into consideration how many stars they have perform live in the same place in the same weekend, it actually is unimaginable how this production is done, and we were lucky enough to be able to cover Sueños 2025, which has some of the biggest names in Latin music—from pioneers of the genre to new up-and-coming artists. But what stood out most is the powerful staple that Regional Mexican music is making not only on the charts but also in live entertainment, with artists such as Grupo Frontera, Oscar Maydon, NSQK, and Peso Pluma sharing the headlines with Latin American artists. Sueños is showing their support of the Regional Mexican wave and giving an even bigger audience and spotlight to these artists by putting them up there where they truly belong.

Day 1 of Sueños Music Festival felt like a fever dream, and what better way to kick off the first day of a music festival than with artists such as NSQK, Caleb Calloway, El Mallila, Dei V, Gordo, Oscar Maydon, El Alfa, Peso Pluma, and of course, Shakira.

To open up night one were plenty of talented artists such as DJ Freddy Fresco, Chan, Reggaetonlandia, Caleb Calloway, and DJ Luian, but an artist’s set that truly stood out was rising Mexican superstar NSQK. I’ve had the privilege of covering NSQK’s solo concert in Los Angeles about a year ago at the Roxy Theater, and to see him now, a year later, performing at a music festival in front of thousands of fans is truly an inspirational scene. NSQK’s fans sure did show out as they came with banners, wore orange clothing in support of his previous orange-themed album, ATP, and, of course, knew every single lyric. An artist performing this early with a crowd this loud and large was the perfect example of the amount of talent and support NSQK has and what an amazing move Sueños made to have him open up the party early for all fans.

After NSQK’s set, the party did not stop there. With Mexican artists recently heavily entering the reggaeton music genre, it’s artists like El Malilla who are breaking glass ceilings and making a name for Mexicans in reggaeton. A genre which has for years been dominated by Colombian, Puerto Rican, and Dominican artists is now seeing a new wave of young and popular Mexican artists who are doing amazing collaborations and making huge hits. Hits like “Mami Tu” by Mexican star El Malilla caught the attention of Colombian rapper Blessd and Puerto Rican rapper Hades66, who helped create a remix that went trending all over the world. El Malilla showed up to Sueños 2025 making a statement that the reggaeton genre is yet to see the best of Mexican artists, and the fans were ready for it as they sang and danced along to every song. El Malilla had the entire crowd dancing perreo as he put on a show with his hits such as “Vaquero,” “El Beiby,” “Desnudate,” and “Dime.” El Malilla set an energy ready for dancing and partying, and the crowd felt the effect of his music.

After El Malilla rocked the stage, it was time to take the energy and music to an artist who represented one of the faces of the new era of Puerto Rican reggaeton. For years, it has been artists like Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, and many more who have represented Puerto Ricans in the Latin Urbano genre, but with many of the legends going into retirement or taking a hiatus from music, a new era of Puerto Rican artists has taken over the genre with full support from some of the greatest. One of the newest artists to break into the genre is none other than Dei V. Dei V has been making noise in the music industry long before his hit collaborations with the biggest names in the game, but his flow and voice have truly put him on the map and given us fans of reggaeton hope that there is a strong future for the genre. Artists like Bad Bunny even expressed earlier in the year that artists such as Dei V are the future of music, especially being from Puerto Rico. Dei recently featured in the hit song “Velda” with Bad Bunny and fellow up-and-coming artist Omar Courtz. This song not only took over the charts but also showed the support of this new era of reggaeton artists from the already established icons. Dei V’s set was electric as he performed early hits from his discography to his biggest collaborations with artists such as Bad Bunny, Cris MJ, Feid, Young Miko, Karol G, and even J Balvin. Fans rapped along to every lyric, and Dei V showed up in swimming attire, true to his signature phrase, “Underwater!” Fans even threw swimming goggles at him, which he autographed and returned! Dei V’s set represented the new era of Urban Latin music and set us up perfectly for more reggaeton to come.

After a day of reggaeton music to start off the festival, we were finally introduced to the power of Regional Mexican music and how it has made a name for itself in live entertainment and the festival scene. Oscar Maydon is a young Regional Mexican star who is part of this new wave of Mexican artists taking over the charts and representing Mexico with their popular corrido tumbados. Oscar has collaborated with many of Regional Mexican music's biggest names, and him performing at a music festival like Sueños shows just how powerful and popular the genre is becoming in today's music scene. From hits with artists such as Peso Pluma, Junior H, Gabito Ballesteros, Fuerza Regida, and Natanael Cano, Oscar has truly cemented his name as one of Regional Mexican music's biggest stars. To see him perform in Chicago as one of the main acts in front of thousands of his fans was truly inspiring. Oscar Maydon played all his biggest hits—“Tu Boda,” “Madonna,” “AMigos? No.,” “Fin De Semana,” and even “Volver Al Futuro!” Fans sang along to every lyric, and it was beautiful to see even fans with Latin American flags singing in support of the Regional Mexican wave. Although Oscar had truly put on a show and took over the stage, little did we know that his set would not be the only time we’d be seeing him that day.

After Oscar Maydon had put on for Mexico, we were ready to witness a true legend of the dembow and reggaeton genre. El Alfa has been a true legend in Latin music, with dozens of hits that have fans dancing every night and weekend in clubs, plus a strong portfolio of collaborations with some of the biggest artists in the genre. Fans were ready to dance the rest of the night away as “El Jefe” hit the stage. Once fans saw him, they went wild, and the party was taken to a whole other level. El Alfa began performing songs such as “4K,” “La Mamá de la Mamá,” “La Romana,” “ESTE,” and many more iconic tracks that had the crowd going crazy! This was the music fans had been waiting to hear live so they could party and dance the entire set. This performance took the festival’s energy to a new high, with fans jumping and screaming every lyric. El Alfa is known for bringing the party wherever he performs, and that’s exactly what he executed at Sueños for day one. Toward the end of his set, El Alfa announced that he will be retiring from music and hosting one final tour before making it official. This, of course, made headlines and had fans sad, but everyone who was there got to see him one last time.

After El Alfa left the stage, we were in for another huge artist: none other than legendary Puerto Rican rapper Arcangel. Arcangel has been in the music scene for a long time and is even dubbed one of the Godfathers of trap reggaeton. Some of today’s biggest artists, like Bad Bunny, still admit that Arcangel has strongly influenced their music and careers. Over the years, Arcangel has received more and more recognition for the part he has played in the genre, and for him to perform at Sueños for day one was truly a piece of history. Arcangel took over the stage and had fans screaming and singing along to his classic hits, newer tracks, and massive collaborations with artists such as Peso Pluma and Bad Bunny. His legacy in music is undeniable, as fans knew all of his old-school reggaeton hits as well as his latest rap songs, and his dancers and pyrotechnics put on a show for the entire festival. Arcangel truly represented Puerto Rico and the old-school style of this genre for all the Chicago fans who showed up in support.

As the performers just got bigger and stronger, next up was the artist Chicago fans had been waiting over a year for. Last year, he had to pull out at the last minute due to weather complications, but this year’s festival was perfect, just in time to host the man of the hour himself: Peso Pluma. Last year when he wasn't able to headline Sueños, the news broke everywhere, and he issued many apologies, promising to make it up the following year—which he did, perhaps even better. Peso Pluma put on a final headliner performance for the entire city of Chicago, bringing out special guests and playing his biggest hits, even his controversially banned corridos. Fans truly got the full Peso Pluma experience as he brought out artists such as Jasiel Nuñez, Tito Double P, Oscar Maydon, and even El Alfa to perform their collaborations. These moments were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that all of Chicago got to experience live. This set felt like a final headliner moment, with the amount of stardom and energy brought to the stage, but the night wasn’t over yet—we still had one more act.

Once Peso Pluma left the stage, it was hard to imagine any artist putting on a show as energetic and huge as that. And if I'm being completely honest, it was hard to imagine Peso Pluma not being the final headliner. But if there was any artist in the world who could match that energy and take it even higher, it was none other than “La Loba” herself: Shakira. The hour-long wait between sets felt cinematic, as production crews adjusted the stage, high-end cameras were installed on rails, screen colors shifted, and fans tried to get closer to the stage. No one knew what to expect, especially since Shakira hadn’t toured in years and had just kicked off her newest tour a few weeks ago. But of course, when the lights went off, we knew what we were about to experience. The stage began to lift, and there she was—the Colombian queen herself in a white suit and chrome sunglasses, admiring a wave of fans stretching a mile back. Shakira’s stage presence was truly mesmerizing, and it felt as if she had never taken a break from live performance. Her dance moves and vocals were elite, putting on a true show for all of Chicago. Her stage setup was perfectly synced with the choreography between her and her dancers, and the fact that she did all this while singing was nothing short of impressive. She performed so many songs that brought back memories and nostalgia—from her World Cup anthems to her early rockera era, and of course, her newest hits with Bizarrap and Rauw Alejandro. Shakira delivered a true headlining performance for all of Sueños, keeping fans on the high-energy ride they’d been on all day.

This year at Sueños, not one artist was better or worse than another—all Latin artists won today. The entire Latino community won, as Sueños put on a spectacular Day 1 for the city of Chicago with a sold-out festival. The fact that this was only the first night gives us a huge sense of pride as Latinos, but also excitement for what to expect from Day 2. Sueños Day 1 was a huge success for Latinos, for the city of Chicago, and of course, for the entire Sueños team.

Press Article Written by Joseph Hernandez Torrejon All photos shot and edited by Joseph Hernandez Torrejon