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Aventura wows thousands of Puerto Ricans with fiery mix of urban bachata, lots of love
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Anthony "Romeo" Santos performs Dec.4, 2008 in Puerto Rico.
It was a night full of emotions, driven partly by popular rhythms long forgotten and a collective craving for a new sound. It was also a night like no other ever seen at the concert venue.
Sensuality, charisma and moving lyrics were the headliners, converging onstage to create an impressive display of showmanship that redefined bachata and proved that Aventura is the hottest Latin tropical act today.
The New York urban group of Dominican origin - dubbed The Kings of Bachata - marked a page in Puerto Rico’s musical history on Thursday at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, as it effortlessly won the acclaim of an audience that defied decibel levels and ignored the venue’s seats for nearly three hours.
“I’m finally at my other home. I swear to you that this is very personal to me,” said Anthony “Romeo” Santos, the band’s vocalist and composer. “I need to feel the love of Puerto Ricans tonight.”
The group of two brothers and two cousins – all with the last name Santos - kicked off the first show of a record-breaking, five-concert series as part of its 15-stop international concert tour titled “The Kings: Live.”
Not since the performances of Robi “Draco” Rosa or Calle 13, the relatively new venue has seen such an euphoric crowd (over 15,000 fans, mostly young women), cheering, dancing and screaming their hearts out all night to the infectious fusion of romantic bachata, R&B, hip hop and pop.
The opening acts were the Dominican balladeer Guaso, whom the crowd cheered on at the end of his set, the contemporary salsa band N’ Klabe and the Dominican urban/bachata group Zone D’ Tambora, a talented act comprised of young musicians who wowed fans with their original material and their renditions of classic merengue/bachata tunes by Wilfrido Vargas and Juan Luis Guerra. Two of the highlights were “El Jardinero” and “La Bilirrubina.”
The interpreters of the hits “Hermanita” and “Obsesion” jumped onstage one by one, leaving the band’s frontman to the end as the first notes of “Los infieles” burst onto the air amid the roar of the crowd.
While Mikey (bassist), Lenny (guitarist) and Henry (vocals) played a major role in captivating concertgoers, the star of the show is definitely “Romeo,” who, armed with a truckload of charm and good looks, knocked women off their feet with his sultry, sexy voice and passionate, romantic lyrics.
“Romeo” isn’t a shy guy. He kept talking all night about love, lost love, infidelity, sex, his native country, Puerto Rico, the beauty of Puerto Rican women, his success, the band’s roots and so forth, as if he were talking from the backyard of his home in The Bronx. Whatever came to his mind, he blurted it out. And people – especially young women - loved him for that.
One of the show’s biggest surprises was the special guest collaboration of Wisin y Yandel on “Noche de sexo,” which marked the climax of the event. The crowd just went wild after seeing the powerful reggaetón duo jump onstage to join Aventura and give a memorable live performance of the song.
Meanwhile, a letdown was a part toward the end of the show where “Romeo” dares a male fan to climb onstage and sing with him a duet of “Ella y yo,” the track Aventura recorded with Don Omar. “Romeo” said that if the fan nailed the lyrics, he would give him an autographed brand new guitar. After seven attempts, the stint was getting old, and some fans wondered if it was ever going to end. Finally, there was a lucky winner, and to the benefit of many, the show continued.
Not long thereafter, “Romeo” redeemed himself, though, when he waved and kissed the Puerto Rican flag, paying homage to his Puerto Rican descent (his mother was born in La Isla del Encanto). “Romeo” also struck a positive chord when he called on a female fan to climb onstage so he could sing and lap dance to her. Needless to say, women of all ages went berserk, imagining they were there next to their heartthrob while he sang and caressed them.
All in all, the festive spirit that reigned throughout Aventura’s show united Dominicans and Puerto Ricans alike in one big party that will surely pass on to history as one of the top musical events ever held on the island.
And if you don’t believe me, just ask the Dominican man who was sitting next to me. He must have shed at least five pounds after dancing non-stop for nearly three-hours, with a wide smile in his face, waving his country’s flag high.
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