Sao Paulo
School uniforms, red ties, small stars on the forehead and pink cowboy hats fit back in time on the night of this Sunday the 12th at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, when the Mexican group RBD took the stage to the sounds of “Trás de Mi” on a hanging platform.
“The solar system and the entire universe are witnessing an unprecedented discharge of energy,” said an audio recording of the members’ voices, before the song’s distinctive guitar riff began to play in a crowded stadium full of pointing cellphones. to the stage.
It was the opening of an apotheotic evening that included the discography of the sixyear anniversary of the Latin band with the most successful performance in Brazil, fifteen years after its last visit to the capital São Paulo and its closure.
Even before the show began and even though the thermometer that day read 38°C when the stadium was alive with reggaeton songs, the audience’s anticipation already gave a taste of what was to come.
The stands sang almost a whole song, the stadium vibrated at the mere display of the sign printed on the screens, the group’s logo, and some fans even cried prematurely.
After the initial ecstasy and at the end of the second song, “Un Poco de Tu Amor”, Dulce María, Anahí, Maite Perroni, Christian Chávez and Christopher von Uckermann Alfonso Herrera, the sixth member were not ready to take part in the reunion all of them Dressed in the colors of the Brazilian flag, they greeted the audience individually.
They talked about the quintet’s devotion to the country, the importance of Brazilians in the band’s return and also mentioned phrases said on DVDs and memorized by the audience, who repeated them.
RBD capitalizes on the nostalgia that has gained strength during the years of isolation caused by the pandemic and has led to the revival of several musical groups and audiovisual productions. The band is part of both categories it was formed for the soap opera “Rebelde”, which aired on SBT, and then took on a life of its own.
“This is an evening to celebrate our inner children,” Anahí once said. In another, Christopher said: “We made history.”
Although the show is a celebration of the past, it features an RBD that also makes it clear that fifteen years have passed.
On stage, the now over40yearold’s various costumes are less daring than before, fewer body parts are on display, and the fanaccompanied choreographies and twists and turns are more punctual. In the audience, fans, early teenagers, watched the performance with glasses of alcoholic beverages in hand and fought less violently over the fence.
The stage structure is much larger than the five tours the band has undertaken in its six years of existence. For example, in “Inalcanzable,” Christopher was lifted onto a chair and then left on a piano. Anahí then appeared sitting on a star and sang “Sálvame”. The group was also accompanied most of the time by ballet and background singers.
Musically, RBD seems a little bolder than on recordings. Some grooves were altered by the more numerous backing band, who played more sophisticated solos and incorporated references to funk, soul and reggae, as well as adding more synthesizers, making the songs less dated.
However, with the intention of playing all of the band’s hits again in just over 2:30 hours, the song transitions in the medleys were temporarily shortened.
The show had several games with the audience, such as a kiss cam in “Bésame Sin Miedo” and five seconds of silence in “Sólo Quédate en Silencio” interactions that the band only managed in Brazil.
In fact, the then sextet found its main audience in the countryside and eventually recorded its first three albums with Portuguese versions of the songs. However, at the São Paulo show he left the language behind and only played the original tracks.
This is because the rerecordings were never particularly well received by fans, who generally preferred to follow the band at concerts in Spanish.
It’s interesting to note how the linguistic barrier of a language that doesn’t often reach the Brazilian mainstream still seems nonexistent for the Mexican band.
It is unusual for an artist singing in Spanish to fill stadiums here and find an audience like Brazil’s that knows by heart all the songs put on stage, including the only one written in the last three years, “Siempre He.” Estado.” Aquí” and “Cerquita from you”. The show even had room for an impromptu “Happy Birthday” when Dulce María said it was her mother’s birthday.
But the relationship is an exchange, and RBD is also an expert at dealing with the public and knows how to appease Brazilians’ egos with compliments, inside jokes and references to Brazilian culture, like when she sneaked a look at “Mas “Que Nada”. , by Jorge Ben Jor, and as Dulce Funk mentioned.
These moments of explanation permeate the entire presentation and also include the motivational speeches that the group has previously given.
During the “Mujeres” medley with Dulce, Anahí and Maite on stage, they talked about feminism, and Christian who came out as gay when the group was active talked about acceptance, for example.
“Now I come back at 40 years old and it’s me. Finally it’s me. The most important message for today is: Be yourself. It is never too late. If you want to wear makeup, wear it. If you want to be whoever.” “You want, be it, my flower. If someone doesn’t want you, fuck them,” he said before singing “Tu Amor.”
In “No Pares,” Dulce thanked her fans for company when she felt alone, Maite spoke about the meaning of new beginnings in “Empezar Desde Cero,” and Anahí sang “Sálvame” wearing a Tshirt with “I have never forgotten you.” “. printed on it. She urged the public to enjoy their lives. “We are the same, but older now. If I never come back, I want to ask you one thing: don’t forget me.”
After the group’s biggest solo hit, RBD closed the show with their two biggest singles, “Nuestro Amor” and “Rebelde.” In the band’s first and greatest success, they dramatically wore their famous red blazers the school uniforms of the soap opera and took their ties out of their pockets.
Before the song was over, the band stopped singing and, in a final act of nostalgia, turned to the screen, which played a series of clips from music videos and shows from the group’s history. The show ended with the refrain “Yo digo R, tu dices BD”, accompanied by the stadium and a shower of red and white paper cut into the shape of a tie.