No. 1 Latin Producer of the Year: How La Paciencia and Bad Bunny Revolutionized Latin Music (Yet Again) in 2025, and What’s Next

For Roberto Rosado, better known as La Paciencia, the key to his craft has always been in the name.

With a steady hand and an ear for emotive storytelling, he’s quietly become one of Latin music’s most important producers, all while staying laser-focused on achieving the perfect sound. “What I do in the studio is mix his voice to make sure everything sounds perfect,” La Paciencia tells Billboard Español about his work with Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.

That voice, an instantly recognizable timbre on Debí Tirar Más Fotos, reached record-breaking heights in 2025. La Paciencia helped Bad Bunny craft an era-defining album that smashed every conceivable barrier, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Latin Albums, staying at the top for multiple weeks.

“Right now, I can’t see myself working with anyone else,” says La Paciencia, referring to his deep connection with the megastar. Long before the groundbreaking moments of Debí Tirar Más Fotos, it was the Vega Baja creator’s work on songs like “Diles,” “Me Acostumbré” and other SoundCloud-era Latin trap gems that first shaped Benito’s initial rise to global stardom. Eleven years later, the producer-artist duo has now grown into a powerhouse, constantly rewriting the rules of what Latin music can be.

The success of the album was not an individual studio effort. While La Paciencia played a crucial role in the creation of the album, other key producers like Tainy, MAG and Big Jay were also hugely fundamental to the process, bringing their expertise to life and helping create a historic masterpiece that broke barriers.

While continuing to elevate Bad Bunny’s music remains paramount, he also hopes to expand his influence as an independent collaborator. “My priority right now is for people to hear a little bit of what I can do as a producer and enjoy it at home or in their car,” he says.

La Paciencia spoke in-depth with Billboard Español.

Congratulations on reaching No. 1 on the year-end Latin Producers chart! Did you expect this recognition, especially with the work you’ve done?

Not at all, honestly. I saw the message they sent me saying I’m the [No. 1 Latin] producer, and I was shocked. Yes, I was part of the album, but there are also great producers on the album like Tainy, MAG, Big Jay, Irizarry, Anthony — a lot of people who contributed so much to the album and made it special. I didn’t think I’d be the one to take it. It was almost like a Christmas gift. I’m grateful for this recognition from Billboard.

We have to talk about the creation of some tracks from the album — for example, “Café con Ron.” What was the creative process behind the song?

One day Benito says to me, “Hey, what if you turn on the mic and we sit down to record?” When we sat down, he sang and showed me the idea. For me, it was super amazing. MAG is the other producer on the track. The whole experience was incredible. And the fact that the track was recorded a year, almost two years, before the album came out, for me, it’s something I carry in my heart — a very special track.

And “Nuevayol” — was it inspired by your trips to New York and seeing the Puerto Rican community? What did you take from that?

Most of the time, we’re in Los Angeles or New York, and yeah, we’ve spent a lot of time in New York. I couldn’t really tell you if it was specifically inspired by the culture or the Puerto Rican community there, but it must’ve taken something from it, because Puerto Rican culture is something else. They’re so proud to be Boricua. And about the Gran Combo track (“Un verano en Nueva York”), he drew some inspiration from that, like we say here, from that musical muse. The video is super beautiful with a great message. It was really nice to create that song from scratch and to see how it went from the beginning to what it became today: New York with an L.

What’s your personal favorite track?

From the moment we went into the studio to work on the track, I listened to what she sang, and I was like, “Wow.” I don’t know if you’ve seen the Spongebob meme where he’s blasting off out of bed, but that’s how I felt every time I heard her [voice]. I don’t know if it did big numbers, but when I’m in the car and that track comes on, it makes me so happy. I enjoy it a lot.

Editor’s note: “Perfumito Nuevo” reached No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart dated January 3, 2026. The news was published on Tuesday (December 30). This interview took place on Monday (December 29).

Your connection with Bad Bunny has resulted in unforgettable music. How would you describe the vibe in the studio when you’re creating together?

I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s been almost 11 years now working together. We had a lot of mutual friends… so collaborating in the studio just happened. It all came very naturally. Right now, I can’t see myself working with anyone else. He’s my brother. Beyond the personal connection, musically, it’s beautiful to work with him, I find it very special. We spend so much time making music together, whether it’s in the studio or at writing camps. I think his personality makes everything even more special. He’s an amazing person, super smart. When he goes into the studio, he’s focused, he knows exactly what he wants to do, he doesn’t waste time. I really enjoy making music with him. He’s my favorite artist right now.

[Several] members of Benito’s crew are from Vega Baja, like Anthony and DJ Orma. We all knew each other before the music.

A lot of the tracks we started working on aren’t really out there anymore because they were on SoundCloud. If you’re on SoundCloud, you can still listen to them: “Diles,” “Tú No Vives Así,” “Me Acostumbré.” Almost everything he has on there, we worked on together. My tags used to be on those track [covers] back then. “Diles” was one of the first, almost 10 or 11 years ago. We were in the studio not expecting anything, working on it with care and love, and the public loved it — it was crazy. That’s where his career took off, and he continued being the artist he is today.

Tell me about how you got started in music production.

I had a stepdad who had a studio. He didn’t make beats or instrumentals, but he was an executive producer, the one who provided the studio. And when I was a kid, I would always go there to kill time, to keep myself entertained, doing something fun. I really liked recording and mixing vocals. I paid a lot of attention to the dialogue, making sure it sounded super clear. And I ended up really falling in love with it. I can tell you that, since I was a kid, probably around 12 or 13 years old, I was already in the studio watching other artists record.

Who were your musical idols?

I was crazy about Arcángel, he was my No. 1. I really liked Don Omar and Tego Calderón — my stepdad introduced me to him. I still listen to Tego Calderón and think, “That instrumental sounds futuristic for something that came out 15 years ago.”

In English, I liked 50 Cent and Eminem while I was growing up, but I leaned more toward Latin music, and I can tell you it was pretty much the whole [urban Puerto Rican] genre. I used to buy the $5 CDs they sold at Walgreens and would spend all day recording music.

I can tell you that I’m with him about 99.9% of the time. If he wants to record, I’m always on it. What I do in the studio is mix his voice to make sure everything sounds perfect. I record him live so that he has the right tone, so it sounds just like it does on the record, and so people can really appreciate what he does. So yes, my answer is that I’m with him for the whole tour. I’ve been touring with him since 2018, doing the same thing. I really enjoy being on tour.

Besides being on tour, we’re going to do the Super Bowl.

Now that you’ve reached No. 1 on our year-end Latin Producers chart, what’s next for 2026? What’s your personal goal?

I’m not promising anything, but once the tour is over, we’re going to work on a new album. You come into the studio full of energy, knowing that the album [Debí Tirar Más Fotos] was something people really enjoyed. We’re going to work on what’s next so that people can keep enjoying it — the music and Benito as an artist.

If I had to say a goal, I’d say releasing my own music so people can enjoy a bit of what I do as an independent producer with other artists. What I bring to the table with Benito, I want people to see that with other artists too. For example, working with Arcángel, who’s an artist I’ve liked since I was a kid, and collaborating with producers like Tainy or MAG in the studio. My priority right now is for people to hear a little bit of what I can do as a producer and enjoy it at home or in their car.