A long line of people walks down the street next to the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. Carlos García, a young man of 22, stands at the end of the route. She doesn’t lose her smile, but she still has to wait a long time to reach the beginning, where official articles of American singer Taylor Swift are sold: “She’s my favorite artist, she’s my top 1. Ever since.” It’s the first time that she is coming to Mexico. I think we all share that sentiment.” García is one of the hundreds of Swifties — as the singer’s supporters are known — who like him traveled alongside the venue and Foro Sol this Wednesday to shop and pick up these licensed products. Swift has been causing quite a stir with her The Eras Tour over the past few months and over the coming days – August 24-27 – will pack the massive Foro Sol with 65,000 people on each of the dates.
One of Swift’s songs, “August,” blares out of a sweetbread vendor’s loudspeaker, signaling the event that is taking place just a few yards away. The gathered swifties don’t mark a specific pattern. The phenomenon led by the American singer has managed to enthrall both men and women; young people, adolescents and even older adults. Almost everyone in town is carrying boxes with the singer’s face and the name “The Eras Tour” on them, which they picked up at Foro Sol across the street. These are the official packages that come with the concert ticket.
In front of the gates of the Palacio de los Deportes, the traders take advantage of the moment. They set up four small stalls selling some unlicensed products like t-shirts, sweatshirts or glasses. One of the shop assistants doesn’t even know who “this girl” is that everyone is talking about and who mobilized people, but she is holding some keyrings that bear her name: “It’s 100 pesos.”
Carlos García had tried to catch the singer at some of her performances in the US before, but he never got tickets (“those dates were crazy,” he says). Now that he’s secured his ticket, all he can do is hope that the performance will be as incredible as he’s seen up to twenty times in documentaries and on the internet. “I have high expectations and am really looking forward to reliving all the eras and all of his previous records. “It triggers great emotions in me,” he confirms enthusiastically. In her concerts on the Eras Tour, Swift attempts to journey through the seven stages that have led her to her current success: the Red Era, the Lover, the Fearless, the Evermore, the Reputation, the Speak Now, the Folklore, the 1989 , and the midnight.
The queue to purchase official merchandise for American singer Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. Nadia Murillo
Swifties for Mexico
Swift has gathered supporters from across the republic, north and south, in Mexico City. Alejandro Chávez (26 years old), Carolina Chavira (25) and Rocío Denova (22) are three friends who came from Chihuahua for the occasion. They preferred to collect the packages that arrived next to the entrance this Friday so as not to have to carry them during the concert. “It’s difficult, you could pick it up today, on the day of the concert or later,” explains Chávez. The young man began listening to the American a long time ago and is experiencing the hours leading up to the concert full of emotions. “I’ve waited for this moment for 11 years. I always expected Mexico to be on every tour, but never. And just with the Eras Tour, Mexico City popped up and it was like, “Okay, it’s now or never,” he explains.
Chavira has never been motivated by concerts, but in recent years he has developed a fondness for it. Another of her friends didn’t listen to Taylor Swift, but she “fucked and fucked” until she liked it: “She said that even though she wasn’t a fan, she wanted to come along.” songs of the American, one of the most repeated comments from followers. “They make the feelings go away every time you hear a certain song. it’s too cool And you also get in touch with a lot of people. Right now we have formed here, a very nice community has emerged and too much positive energy,” he comments.
The bracelets of this song
There is order in the queue at all times. No one sneaks in, no one yells, and no one argues with anyone. Chavira was given a handmade bracelet. These bracelets have become one of the Swifties’ icons. It all started with a line from the song You’re On Your Own, Kid: “So make the Friendship Bracelets”. This cutout has sparked a movement of pride in belonging to the Swiftie movement and even given strength to supporters.
Paula Arríala, 25, stands in a row with her mother. She is a singer and has chosen to work for artists like the American.
—Why do you like Taylor Swift?
“It’s like asking why I like my son.” It’s complicated. She is an artist who has been working for her goal, for all of us, for all of us, for many years. She inspires me a lot, and especially for me as a singer she was the first artist who inspired me to say: “Yes I can do it, yes I can follow my dreams, yes I can be a singer” –, she explains.
The singer performs for the first time at the Foro Sol in Mexico City. Nadia Murillo
Swift has accompanied Arríala through her moments of heartache and happiness. He entered his life without knowing when, but inspired him in every moment. “He’s the person who guided me in a way,” he says. Her mother Claudia smiles at her. She is no stranger to the Swiftie movement. “It’s the happiest moment in the lives of many, many, many. It’s really something we haven’t seen in Mexico for a long time. Very important artists came, but Taylor never came. Yes, it causes a stir. I hope everyone sticks to it and enjoys it in a healthy way,” he says.
Arriala wears several of these bracelets, which the pendants began to make by hand. A few minutes ago she exchanged them with another young woman standing behind her. “That means we’re fast and support each other,” he explains. And she jokes, “Somebody said we have to make bracelets, and now we all suffer from chronic anxiety because we have to make bracelets.”
The fashion for bracelets this Wednesday reached Arturo Zaldívar, minister of the Mexican Supreme Court, who has confessed his love for Taylor Swift, the “fastest minister” (as some of the singer’s supporters are already calling him). Zaldívar met with some of them to exchange the colorful bracelets.
Swift had performed in Mexico before when her career was still on the rise and she had just released “Fearless,” one of the big stepping stones to her current success. It was January 2011 and the American was singing on the Allure of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
Swift’s arrival in the Foro Sol is counted in hours. René Camuñiz, 23 years old, wears a flock and a bleached curl in his hair. He tried to go to one of Swift’s concerts in Denver in 2017 but couldn’t. Now he waits for the hours to pass and does not hide his illusion. “Since it’s going to be three hours, I’m very excited.” In other concerts on the tour, Swift has performed a total of 45 songs; and during her time in Mexico, Sabrina Carpenter will also be attending as a special guest. Now it will fill one of the largest concert halls in the country four times in a row.
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