New concert record confirms Maná’s long-standing reign
Maná with their double platinum record for their most recent album, Drama y Luz.
By CINDY ORTIZ
If you’re a Maná hater then you can skip this. But even if you’re tired of the iconic Mexican band’s signature sound, you have to give them props for reaching yet another milestone.
Maná has just made history: bringing their total number of sold-out shows at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles to 11 – we’re talking more than Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Madonna or any other artist regardless of language. Wednesday, April 25 will mark the seventh sold-out performance at the venue on this tour alone. Not too shabby in an era where CD sales no longer account for an artists’ bankability but rather touring and endorsements do.
“All that Maná has done is worked and made songs that talk and communicate to people about their dreams and problems for Latinos,” said Maná’s drummer Alex González, at a press conference held last week in L.A. González makes their job as top artists sound like a piece of cake, but he also said, “It took us so, so much work to get to where we are at now. We will never forget our humble beginnings.” Guess that’s why they connect with audiences.
From drinking a tequila shot to serenading a woman from the audience, lead singer Fher Olvera gave the audience exactly what they wanted and more at the first L.A. show for the “Drama y Luz” tour on April 19. Maná ran through their early hits like “Me Vale” and also snuck in some of their more recent songs like “Latinoamérica.” The night ended with a big bang to “Corazón Espinado” as an encore.
With over 50 million followers on Facebook and over 25 years in the Latin rock game, Maná continues to be a foolproof formula. And for some reason, it never gets old.
“We do Latin rock from our Latin roots,” Fher told the group of journalists at the press conference. “The people look at our music as something special, and they say, ‘I like this… I like this shit.’”
Dying to see Maná? Fret not: they’ll be touring in the U.S. until May 11, where they will be performing their last show in Miami.
(Photo: Cindy Ortiz)
