Sunshine and smiles in sight, a judicious mix of local and international artists, human warmth from Latin America… the second edition of the Fuego Fuego festival, whose program this year extends over two days, is already a sure success.
The Olympic Park, on this superb weekend in May, has become a veritable bubble where Spanish temporarily replaces the French-English bilingualism of the metropolis. A summer bubble, enthusiastic, and which gave an entire community the opportunity to celebrate (in a big way) its culture.
In front of 23,000 people and a full site, Jhayco ended the evening in style. The Puerto Rican rapper opened the final act of the ball rolling with his hit Tarot, then followed up with many of his songs popular with Latin music fans.
Cap turned upside down, leather pants and a big long-sleeved sweater, the one we also know as Jhay Cortez was having fun. He invited his audience to raise their arms in the air on many occasions, which was always respected. It was a beloved, acclaimed, fitting finale.
Penultimate to step on the boards, Becky G appeared before thousands of pairs of eyes like a pink and white star in the falling night. “Spanish or English, Montreal?” exclaimed the Californian singer of Mexican origin, in both languages. “I am very happy to be here, thank you for having me! “, she continued.
Visibly accustomed to the stage and full of confidence, the one who is also a dancer hit hard from the first shot with Mayores. She only continued on this pretty momentum with Sin Pijama or Mamiii, among others.
Manuel Turizo, barely 23 years old, knew how to thrill the crowd as soon as he arrived on stage. Each of his interventions was followed by loud applause, which was also observed from the first notes of each of his songs.
Dressed in a simple white tank top and loose pink pants, the reggaeton singer also performed the greatest hits from his catalog, in addition to listing Latin American countries for his respective representatives to be heard. It was his own, Colombia, that got the biggest reaction.
It’s as if the entire Latin American community of the metropolis had met in the same place, at the same time, to share a moment around a common love: that of Latin music. And that, by the way, she had taken the opportunity to invite the curious from here who wanted to live an immersive experience.
It didn’t take long before visitors were hooked and invested. In the middle of the afternoon, shortly after the doors opened, there were already several thousand of them singing along to the lyrics of the songs they know well. DJ ND, DJ EP and DJ Luian skillfully took care of feeding their ears.
If they were obviously not on site, it’s as if Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Daddy Yankee or Farruko were part of the lineup, as we could hear them.
And the more the day progressed, the more the site seemed crowded. When we stood a little higher, we saw a sea of people.
The only notable glitch: singer Sech, originally from Panama, was unable to show up for his performance scheduled for Saturday night. He failed to obtain his visa to enter Canada. The crowd and its sustained vigor, however, more than made up for it throughout the day.
Mariana Gueza, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, was the first to perform on stage all weekend. She has been living in Montreal for a year.
After getting into music in the spring of 2020, the 28-year-old artist presented her repertoire in front of such a large crowd for the first time in her career.
“It was like an epiphany,” she told La Presse after her show. It’s the manifestation of everything I’ve worked for since 2020.” Endearing and visibly emotional, she had nothing but gratitude to express for the energy of the crowd.
His dream ? Mariana promised her mother when she dropped out of college that she would one day win a Grammy “as compensation, instead of a degree.” Her career couldn’t be complete without it, she believes, knowing she’s aiming high.
Does she want to come back and play Fuego Fuego? “Yes, absolutely,” she replies in Spanish. I invite them to invite me later, and that my name is bigger on the poster, “she says with a laugh and a smirk.
The Latin music festival will end this Sunday. Puerto Rican duo Wisin y Yandel will headline it, followed by Colombian singer Feid and Dominican rapper El Alfa. Arcangel, Tokischa, Landy Garcia, La Materialista, Demasiado Eleg, DJ Danny Castro, El Melodiko, Tr3ppy and DJ Peruluno complete the line-up.