When the album first dropped, it was undeniably catchy and fun, but as I listened more, I began to reflect on its deeper meaning. The album is an ode to Puerto Rico—his roots, his people, and the small joys of Latin American life. It celebrates warmth, simplicity, and the inherited rhythm of dancing with our hips. By blending the sounds of past generations with the energy of today’s artists, Benito took a bold step—one that reconnects us with reggaeton’s origins having a more traditional approach.
WELTiTA feels like a sun-drenched memory of a carefree day at the beach. As an emerging artist, I was eager to know her perspective: How has this song impacted her career? And what is next for her.
O: Tell us a little but more about how you got involved in “WELTiTA”
L: Well, I was at work and I got a text from my manager saying I needed to take his phone call. When I answered all my siblings were on a conference call and they told me “Hey Bad Bunny’s team just reached out, and they want to meet up and we were all like - YES!” The first time we all met, it was a vibe check type of situation. We all talked for several hours about everything from childhood to the music industry to the current political situation. It was super nice to see how similar we felt about things and how passionate we all were about certain topics. He showed us a draft of “WELTiTA” and for the next couple of weeks we would meet up in a studio to further develop the song. It’s funny because we did not want to fully believe that we’d be in the album, till we were in the album release. It was a fun and huge learning experience.
O: I have been reflecting on the album message of going back to our roots. I loved how it depicts the older generations incorporating into this newer world that we live in, where we sadly don’t appreciate the small things, or the simplest of moments as much as we should. I wonder what was your take on this, as an emerging musician, do you try to be new and contemporary but also keep your roots deep enough for an older generation to relate to it?
L: I think that the order is incorrect. You create something out of a thought or a feeling and then once you expose it to the world, you find out its impact. I think he created it out of the necessity to express his nostalgia and then when he released it, it was an “oh, wow. This unites generations.” In Chuwi, our whole thing was bringing these classic sounds to a more current sound, because we are from a more current generation. Yes we listened to the classics as kids but as pre-teens it was the sounds of reggaeton or even Skrillex and Disney Channel movies that also shaped us. As artists I don't think anyone should enter things as “Oh I want to try to do this” - I think you should throw yourself to the void and whatever surges is what you created and whatever the response is, is just part of the mystery of creating.
L: It was COVID and we were all in quarantine - my siblings and I were living under the same roof after not having for a while. My older brother, Willy had always played around in his laptop creating music and as my younger brother, Wester grew he also started to produce tracks. I guess they were both bored and decided to create something together.I remember they came to my room and asked if I wanted to sing over the track. And here we are. I guess we were like a quarantine band - so an internet based band, which means we released songs but never played live. Then Post quarantine we were pressured to do our first show and it was incredible! That's when Adrian, our percussionist joined the band. About 60 people came to hear us and they sang our lyrics from top to bottom which felt very powerful and special. Back then that really shook us, to know that people felt so close to our music like that. It's been a couple years now and we’ve been able to perform in many festivals in Puerto Rico and also collaborate with incredible artists like Pj Sin Suela. In the bubble that is Puerto Rico we were really able to grow a very loyal fan base. It really exposed us to sharpen our skills and after 2 ep’s (PAN and TIERRA), Benito knocked at our door.
L: We’ve been working really hard on our first album. As I mentioned we have previously released 2 EPs, so we are very excited to be able to give the full experience of an album. I feel very content with the music we create and I am very excited to see the response!
O: What is your main source of inspiration.
L: I could say an abundance of things but I believe the main thing is the pursuit of genuinity. If I don't feel fulfilled in creating then it's not a good song.
O: I know you are part of Chuwi and there is 4 of you, how did you all meet
L: We are all from Puerto Rico, and three of us are siblings. My older brother, Willy is the bassist, sometimes singer and producer, my younger brother, Wester is the pianist and also producer and then the fourth member is the percussionist, Adrian and he went to high school with my younger brother.
O: I’ve listened to your songs and I personally love that they are very aligned to the old school rhythms but enhanced with your touch - a new and fresh feeling to them. What do you focus on when composing?
L: They are very thorough with making sure that what they compose is authentic salsa, merengue, bachata, etc. They use the correct instrumentation and specific beats. Once the base is solid they then integrate new ideas. You can make so many interesting sounds with technology nowadays with the computer. I do playlists. Let's say if we are going to compose merengue, we do a playlist of only merengue so that we know the correct flow, the correct swing, and elongation of words.
O: Do you want to share anything else with us?
L: I am very excited for this new era of collaborations. My stylist Kathia taught me to give significance to what you present on stage - I am a huge minimalist but this experience in New York introduced me to very talented creatives, like you with your jewelry and the importance of taking history with you on stage. I am very excited to represent the latin community on stage on my shows - I want to represent them with the light that they deserve! And about me I am just vibin’
