Rauw Alejandro Opens Up About Onstage Anxiety Attack: ‘It Was a Total Body Collapse’

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Rauw Alejandro is turning the page in his career with a project that looks back while moving forward. The Puerto Rican star is preparing to release Cosa Nuestra: Capítulo 0, a prequel to his 2024 hit album Cosa Nuestra. In an intimate sit-down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, he spoke candidly about the creative process, his personal journey, and the challenges that come with life on the road.

“Three years ago, after Saturno—which had a futuristic sound—I wanted to go in the opposite direction. I wanted something elegant and old school. That’s when the Cosa Nuestra era really began,” Rauw explained. “Along that journey, I discovered so many sounds and influences that I couldn’t fit them into just one project.”

To dive deeper into the roots of his new work, Rauw even enrolled in classes at the University of Puerto Rico. “I took about ten Zoom classes, always while traveling, because I really wanted to understand the full map of how it all started,” he said. “From the Caribbean, we’ve received so much. I found so many beautiful things that I don’t need to look outside the Caribbean for inspiration anymore. As Puerto Ricans, we’re part of the U.S., but back then, our culture was more rooted in ourselves. Over time, it blended with U.S. culture, and sometimes we forget where we come from. So I wanted to stop for a moment and bring those old elements back to the community—to remind people of all the amazing things we have, not just in music, but in fashion, lifestyle, fruits, food.”

But while artistic exploration brings rewards, it also takes a toll. Rauw revealed that during his last U.S. tour, he experienced an anxiety attack mid-performance—a wake-up call to slow down.

“This year, I had an anxiety attack onstage during one of the U.S. shows,” he admitted. “We had back-to-back concerts, I wasn’t sleeping well, and I had just downed coffee before going on. It was like my body completely collapsed. I was singing and dancing, and suddenly I could see myself from the outside. It was different. I was watching myself perform.”

That moment forced him to change his lifestyle. “You learn you’re not a superhuman or a robot—you have to respect your sleep. Getting eight hours has helped me a lot. Otherwise, I just don’t function. It’s been ten years without really stopping, and before shows there’s always a call or something happening. You have to be ready. That’s part of the sacrifice too.”

Despite the challenges, Rauw is embracing this new chapter with a renewed sense of purpose. Beyond music, he’s setting his sights on expanding his creativity into other fields. “I want to get into acting—filming, directing, writing. There are so many areas to explore. I’m definitely not going to stick to music alone.”