(upbeat reggae music) Ayden: I'm Ayden, and I'm a reggaeton artist. I traveled to San Juan to visit my family, to see the city, and ride with the people who love reggaeton as much as I do. This is my journey. (upbeat reggae music) Ayden: I am from the Dominican Republic. I live in the Bronx, New York. My reggaeton career really started when I was a kid. I would just be influenced by sounds of the Bronx and the sound of Puerto Rico. When I heard it for the first time, it was like, Wow, a music that was created for me. And then I had the opportunity to start creating my own music, which eventually took me on a world tour. (crowd cheering) To create more music before I head back in the studio, I had to come to the motherland of reggaeton. (upbeat music) My sister came with me on this trip.

Ayden: My sister's like my best friend. She's a fellow artist, so she wanted to be here to support me. And that's what we do. We love each other, we're family. 
Clerk: Hi. Welcome to Aloft. 
Ayden: As soon as I checked into Aloft, the people are so beautiful and friendly here, music is everywhere, and then when I go upstairs, I'm at peace. It's been a great experience for me. I love it here. 
Clerk: Have a nice day. (upbeat music continues) (vocalist sings in foreign language) 
Ayden: My family in Puerto Rico, I haven't seen them in so long. 
Various Voices: Hey, hey. 
Ayden: I have uncles here. I have cousins here. (upbeat music) 
Ayden: It's a big family reunion with some good food, lots of hugs. It's beautiful. We're gonna have a good time.

Francis Guzmán: Welcome to Vianda. I'm Chef Francis. Thank you for being here. 
Family: Gracias. 
Francis: Please enjoy. 
Family: Thank you. 
Francis: Thank you. 
Ayden: Food is so important to family. We sit in the kitchen and, while Mom is cooking, we're talking about music and goals and dreams. That's how we communicate. That's how we show love to each other. (upbeat music) 
Ayden: My family and I went to Vianda. The food was amazing. It's farm to table, so we got to taste Puerto Rican to the core. (Katherine laughing) (family chattering) 
Katherine: Thank you so much for treating us. 
Ayden: You're welcome. 
Katherine: What are you gonna do tomorrow? 
Ayden: I think I wanna go head out with Alejandro. 
Katherine: Okay. 
Ayden: We're gonna go see Old San Juan and just vibe out.

Get some reggaeton vibes going. Katherine: Oh, okay. Francis: Thank you so much, guys. It's been a pleasure to have you here. Ayden: Thank you, Chef. We really appreciate it. We really experienced some good cuisine here in Puerto Rico. (upbeat music) (wind rustling) (uplifting music) Ayden: Escambron was beautiful. The beach, the palm trees, and the sand. It's an opportunity to really experience nature here with the family, just has been amazing for me. I felt like I belong here. Ayden: Bro. Alejandro: Yo. Ayden: What up, man? (Alejandro speaks in foreign language) Ayden: Yo, thank you for having me. Alejandro: Welcome to PR. Ayden: Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know I had to pull up to La Perla. Alejandro: Yeah. Alejandro: Probably the most important places

in Puerto Rico. Ayden: Yeah? Alejandro: Yeah. Ayden: Alejandro is a local
artist here from Puerto Rico. Somebody who is super
talented, super dope, and I knew that he would
put me onto the vibe and show me what Puerto Rico had to offer. Alejandro: La Perla really
represent like the struggle and the real people of Puerto Rico. They come at night, like, hang out, hear the
music, meet the people. Represents like the reggaeton culture. Ayden: Being in La Perla, I think, tells a story of reggaeton, right? It tells a story of adversity. It tells a story of people
who want to overcome. It's definitely somewhere
that I feel inspired and want to come back to. (upbeat music) Ayden: This is Old San Juan? Alejandro: Yeah, bro. Ayden: Walking around San
Juan for the first time,

I really felt that connection. I could see why the
artists are so inspired. There's so much color everywhere, but then there's so much
history there as well. It's just easy to write a song, right? Alejandro: This is like
a safe place for music. Like, you can hear salsa,
you can hear reggaeton. Ayden: Y'all come out
here, play reggaeton, you write, you record. Alejandro: Yeah, just bring songs to you. Ayden: You eat good, you feel good. Alejandro: You eat good. Ayden: You know that food is important. Alejandro: The most important.
Ayden: Yeah. (upbeat music continues) Ayden: After all that
walking around we did, Alejandro took me to Don
Ruiz for some coffee. Alejandro: Yeah, bro, you gotta put me on. What do you think? Barista: What would you like?

Alejandro: I'm getting an iced coffee for me. Barista: Iced coffee? Alejandro: Yeah. Barista: Okay. Ayden: I think I'm gonna do the same. Don Ruiz is one of the leading coffee roasters in San Juan, so you already know it's dope. (vocalist singing in foreign language) Ayden: Coffee is so important to Puerto Rico. I mean, they once called it the coffee of popes and kings. So, you know, it's deeply woven into the history and culture and the hearts of San Juan's locals. Alejandro: It feels like home, even as your first love. Ayden: It feels like home. Yeah, absolutely. It's like, you know, PR, DR... Alejandro: They family. Ayden: Familia. (vocalist singing in foreign language) Ayden: Alejandro surprised me with a little jam session we did. San Juan Sound, it's like a dream studio.

Various voices: Hello, hi. 
Ayden: How you doing? 
Musician: Nice to meet you. 
Ayden: Being able to play with local musicians was a gift for me. And they captured that vibe, that essence, that feel. 
Ayden: Bro what's up? What you want to do? 
Alejandro: I was thinking we should do (speaks in foreign language). That's my favorite one, you know? 
Ayden: Okay, okay, okay. (speaks in foreign language), do you know it a little bit? 
Musician: ♪ Mm ♪ 
Alejandro: Give me this chord. (gentle music) 
(Ayden singing in foreign language) 
Ayden: Yeah. And we could get a little light drums. They're super talented, and they were able to pick it up really quickly, and I think it's just also that connection, right? So they kind of know and live reggaeton. So let's drop this track, come on.

(upbeat reggae music) (Ayden and Alejandro singing in foreign language) Ayden: We didn't even have to talk much. We talk through the art. (duo singing in foreign language) Ayden: It's definitely
a full-circle moment coming to San Juan and San Juan Sound and performing with some
of the local artists here. Performing in here
definitely felt different than doing it anywhere else. (duo singing in foreign language) (Ayden singing in foreign language) Alejandro: Yes, sir. Various voices: Nice.
Woo! Ayden: Thank you so much, man. Musician: For real. Musician: Come on, thank you. Ayden: I appreciate you so much. Alejandro: Bro, appreciate it for real. Ayden: Thank you for showing me around. Thank you for showing me San Juan, connecting me to the roots of reggaeton. Alejandro: You're welcome any time.

Ayden: Yeah. (upbeat music) 
Katherine: Hi. 
Ayden: How you doing? 
Katherine: Good. How are you? 
Ayden: Good, good. How was your day? 
Katherine: Good. 
Ayden: What are you having? 
Katherine: I'm having a Boombox. You should get one. 
Ayden: Oh, you're getting a literal boombox. 
Katherine: Yeah, it's so cute, right? 
Ayden: Copy. Nice. Can I get the same thing please? Thank you. Cheers to Puerto Rico. 
Katherine: Cheers to Puerto Rico. 
Ayden: As soon as I landed in Puerto Rico, I felt a deep connection. When we went to La Perla, it felt like I was home. I definitely feel more connected to what I'm doing. And seeing my family, for me, is a gift. It's just another add-on to the trip. It's hard not to be happy here.

it's hard not to experience
the music and enjoy, and I feel more inspired than ever. (upbeat music)

Follow a Musician’s Journey To Find the Roots of Reggaeton | Business Insider

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