How Live Nation’s Hans Schafer Redefined Latin Touring’s Global Potential: ‘It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All’

In 2021, Hans Schafer took what may have been his biggest roll of the dice in a career full of them.

That summer, as the live sector restarted following the pandemic, the legendary grupero band Los Bukis decided to reunite after 30 years.

At the time, Schafer explains, Los Bukis “was not an Instagram phenomenon.

There was no viral moment.

There was no real, current streaming story that fully explained what was there.” But Schafer and his team understood the band’s intangible “cultural ­currency” — and how it could “open the gate for something that seemed unrealistic, that hadn’t been done before.” Under Schafer’s guidance, Live Nation put Los Bukis in the Los Angeles-area SoFi Stadium for two nights that August.

The shows grossed $13.8 million, according to Billboard Boxscore, a figure that “exceeded what we thought we could do,” he says.

Those shows forever altered touring for the biggest Latin artists.

“The scale became bigger than what people expected and helped redefine the stadium ceiling for Spanish-language touring in the U.S.” Previously, stadium touring had been nearly unheard of for even the most popular Latin acts.

“We marked a turning point in the concept of stadium shows, a phenomenon unseen [in Latin touring] until the Los Bukis reunion tour, Una Historia Cantada ,” Los Bukis’ Marco Antonio Solis says.

“I know [he’s] there even when [he stays] out of the spotlight, and that’s what matters,” Solis says of Schafer.

“We see the tree, but never the root that nourishes it.” And Schafer and his team didn’t stop with Los Bukis, soon plotting stadium tours for ascendant new artists including Bad Bunny, Karol G and Fuerza Regida, as well as veterans such as Shakira.

Schafer will sit down for a panel with Rawayana during Billboard Latin Music Week.

For schedule and registration, go to billboardlatinmusicweek.com .

Related Latin Power Players: Billboard’s 2026 List Revealed ‘Music Game, Street Game, Same Game’: Pitbull’s Guide to Music Biz Longevity Hilary Duff to Receive Outstanding Pop Tour of the Year Award at 2026 Billboard Live Music Summit In one form or another, Schafer has been making these bets — successfully — for the last 20 years.