It was not coffee, but public that Juan Luis Guerra made it rain in the Palau Sant Jordi until it was completely filled, which reaffirmed the love felt in Barcelona for the Dominican artist, the king of bachata and merengue. Last year he achieved a resounding success at the Cruïlla festival. This time he came alone to sell all the paper (16,000 tickets) offering a soundtrack with love as the standard, songs that have gone around the world more than a satellite.
The one from Santo Domingo returned to Barcelona once again accompanied by the band 4.40 with the Entre mar y palmeras tour, without new material or the need for it. Because his concerts do not disappoint, it is known that I hope it will rain coffee, that bachata will be danced and that bilirubin will rise, themes that add up to years in perfect condition thanks to a musically impeccable live performance.
The public of Sant Jordi was clear about it, in whose corridors flowered shirts, flags of Santo Domingo, Cuba, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela were seen, and multiple Latin American accents were heard as part of a representation of all ages with a female majority and a lot of people who had not been born when Juan Luis Guerra was already signing the very danceable hits that were heard last night. A crowd wanting to dance, as was shown as soon as a DJ came on to warm up the atmosphere by playing arrangements of songs by Guerra himself.
The six-foot ninety Dominican (20 minutes late), with a cap, brown suit and white shirt, made his appearance with Rosalía, a merengue from 1990 that exploded with the 15 members of 4.40 playing at full speed. The Caribbean sound continued to overflow with La travesía and La llave de mi corazón, a mambo key that raised the crowd, also in Vale la pena and Como yo, massively chanted and celebrated, like the rest of the songs.
The dance and the lyrics launched at full speed dominated the concert with few exceptions such as Kitipun, a soft merengue that sounded in the first part of the performance, being the only song from Literal, his latest studio album, released in 2019. The rest of the evening went through the pieces of his first albums to the joy of the public, delighted to tour Niagara by bicycle, ask for a Visa for a dream or lament the cost of living, remembering that his country is made up of a race "black, white and Taíno ” and wondering “who discovered whom”. A demanding repertoire that demonstrated the good vocal level of Juan Luis Guerra who took a break in the middle of the performance, leaving the band performing You and Like a bee at the honeycomb, which included a request for a hand among the audience broadcast live on the screens Before the ecstasy of the public, who was able to attend the request on their knees, he did, and see how the groom sang the song to his fiancée.
There are so many songs amassed throughout Juan Luis Guerra's career that on a couple of occasions he opted for a mix of salsa, (Razones, Ayer, Oficio de enamorado, Carta de amor) "How many want to dance salsa?" he asked, or bachatas (Little stars and goblins, Pretty girl, The little ant, Bachata in Fukuoka, Give me your love, My blessing, Cold cold or Bubbles of love, performed by the public to remember that "I would like to be a fish to touch my nose in your fishbowl").
Nor did Juan Luis Guerra forget to give his love to God without giving up joy and dance, with religious praise such as Para ti or Las avispas, a theme with which he said goodbye to return in the encores with new costumes and a repertoire from the Bachata album. pink. It began with a lively A request for her hand to let the dedicated public sing Bachata rosa in chorus and, as a climax, he let everyone shout for La Bilirubina before interpreting it as the climax to a night that made Sant Jordi tremble. as few artists can.
