Residente and Jessie Reyez Deliver a Heart-Rending Live Rendition of ‘El Encuentro’

Residente and Jessie Reyez have shared a stripped-down version of “El Encuentro,” their lovelorn collaboration from Residente’s latest LP, Las Letras Ya No Importan.

“El Encuentro” is a heart-on-sleeve duet about a late-night encounter between two former lovers, neither of whom can ultimately bring themselves to go through with the meeting. While the studio version of the song is already a largely acoustic affair, the new live session version finds Residente and Reyez accompanied by just a guitarist and a string quartet. It’s an emotional performance, with Residente and Reyez singing, at times back-to-back, until they’re finally able to turn and face each other at the end of the clip.

The “El Encuentro” live session video follows a similar one Residente released back in May for another Las Letras Ya No Importan track, “Entre Los Escombros” (or “Under the Rubble”), featuring Palestinian singer Amal Murkus. “I wrote this song from pain, in between the bombings in Gaza. I see my son in each of the massacred children,” Residente wrote on Instagram at the time. “Through music, I try to manage the helplessness I feel of not being able to do anything more than this. The truth is that I do not understand the silence of many fellow artists, it makes me lose hope in humanity.”

Residente released Las Letras Ya No Importan back in February. It marked his second solo album and first since his 2017 self-titled debut, which he made after stepping away from the influential reggaeton group, Calle 13. Along with Reyez, the album features contributions from Rauw Alejandro, Christian Nodal, Busta Rhymes, SFDK, Ricky Martin, and even Penélope Cruz (who provides narration and appears in the video for, “313”).

“I love all those collaborations,” Residente told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “What I love about this album is that  organically, it includes people who I appreciate, who appreciate me, who deserve to be there, and where there’s this mutual respect.”

Residente will hit the road this fall in support of as Las Letras Ya No Importan. The trek kicks off with shows in Spain, September 14 and 15,  followed by gigs in New York and Los Angeles on Sept. 18 and 20. After that, Residente will tour South and Central America through most of November, before delivering a hometown show in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Dec. 7.