It only takes a few devilish guitar strings for the electricity of bachata to travel from hip to hip, thus bringing Barcelona’s multi-origin population to 17,000, who came on Friday night to pay homage to King Romeo Santos in a massive party. The Latin party that spread out on the concrete path of the Fira de Barcelona. The New York artist, of Dominican and Puerto Rican origins, returned to the Catalan capital – where he also performed yesterday – to excuse his latest album, Formula Vol. 3, but in reality he was returning to remind his people that they should not doubt their king, who has more than 20 years of continuous career, and does not plan to waver. And with shows like Friday’s, the king and bachata also have a long life outside of them. Already warming up with the DJ, who delayed the start of the concert by an hour, the show became a screening of nationalities. “Are there people from Venezuela?” Noise “Who’s Dominican?” More noise. “From Ecuador?” Winning noise Romeo Santos, former member of the Aventura Group, also repeated the game several times.
The King of Bachata appeared in an elevator on stage, operated by a wonderful orchestra, to open the evening with El Pañuelo, which he performed accompanied by one of his chorus girls in the role of Rosalía, with whom he had originally sung the theme. In the first part of the show, he reviewed other tracks from the good album that is the star of his tour, but he did not hesitate to quickly switch to more relaxed pieces of music, even though his audience spared no effort to respond to any of his tracks. Or the cues — the eye-catching screams as the singer moves sensually — because in the end, as the New Yorker put it, “the next two hours are about letting go of stress and personal matters and having fun and singing…and dancing.”
Romeo Santos also called for a ‘take’. [beure] “Responsibly” with a drink in hand, an easy number to introduce Bebo, the story of an alcoholic after a love betrayal. The singer constantly plays with sensuality, with her strong temperament. “Just today I am her husband and boyfriend,” he left her. After an initial pause, with a change of appearance that announced a change in register – leaving the dress, restraint, for an open shirt, a symbol of an imminent deconstruction of codes -, he belted out some collaboration-based chants: he highlighted the fiery Noche de sexo, with Wisin yYandel .
More quietly, while sitting on a large armchair – or throne – the Bachata King asked the audience for song suggestions to test his memory and his keen, distinctive voice, and he responded a cappella. He ended with more requests: “Do you want the new or the classic?” Hardly anything rivals the classics. And nothing compares to Obsesión, the overwhelming success of Aventura, or Propuesta indecente, the culmination of a formidable Latino party.
“Professional web ninja. Certified gamer. Avid zombie geek. Hipster-friendly baconaholic.”
