Over the summer, I received a text message informing me that my friend had bought 6 tickets to the Trilogy Tour, one of which was reserved for me. Considering my newfound willingness to attend any concert, I had no objection to seeing Pitbull, Ricky Martin, and Enrique Iglesias live. While I knew Pitbull from his multiple party songs, Ricky Martin was just a Puerto Rican singer and Enrique Iglesias was just a Spanish singer. Even considering my limited knowledge, I was ready for a good time.
Simply walking into the stadium revealed the electric energy. From people of all ages, I could feel the excitement exuding from everyone. The group I went with had placed their bets on the order already, Enrique Iglesias would open, Pitbull would bring up the energy, and Ricky Martin would be the big finish. However, after getting food, and settling into seats, nothing could have prepared me for what happened after the lights dimmed and the music started.
Our jaws dropped in shock when the first opening video began to play. Rather than seeing Enrique Iglesias, we were graced with Ricky Martin’s opening video. It had the same artful energy as most of his music videos. The anticipation spiked as the various clips of Martin played. And yet, nothing could have prepared us for when he stepped out on stage. While I knew very little about the artist, or even Puerto Rican music in general, Martin was amazing. His energy, his dance moves, and combined with his genuine happiness to be on the stage, made the entire stadium fall in love with him, even if they already were. His stage presence combined with his back up dancers set the stage for an amazing performance, even for someone who knew very little about him. Martin was even able to incorporate information about his foundation into the performance, as he wore a shirt that featured his foundation’s logo. He even had a meet-and-greet raffle available with entries being donations to his foundation. If I learned anything about him through his set, it was that not only was he a good performer/artist, but he was a good person. Unlike other celebrities, he is able to give back to the public and speak out against injustice in political systems. Overall, I had no expectations for his performance, and yet he still managed to knock my socks into the stratosphere.
Even though our first performer’s prediction was incorrect, Pitbull being second was correct. While Ricky Martin displayed energy in one way, Pitbull displayed it in a completely different way. In a way, he essentially raised the roof. Even though it seems like he only says “dale” 60% of the time, his songs enlivened everyone. Now, I see no point in hearing his songs at parties, purely because there is never going to be an environment that recreates the vibe of his live performance. Even though he may not have shown off his dance moves as much as Ricky Martin, his backup dancers made up for it. Seeing the flexibility and dexterity of the dancers gave me gym inspiration for days. In the same way that Ricky Martin called to his philanthropic efforts, Pitbull took time out of his set to discuss the school he built in Miami. He also dedicated his set to an audience member who beat cancer recently. Even though Pitbull’s music reveals himself to be a partier with little substance, his interludes during his set revealed otherwise. He constantly reminded the audience that while life may seem occasionally bleak, it will eventually get better. According to the Pitbull, regardless of how hard the past is, no one knows how the future will turn out. In his own words, everyday above ground truly is a great day.
Enrique Iglesias was the closer for the show. Even though I had no expectations for the other two performers, I did see a TikTok about Iglesias’ performance that slightly concerned me. Unfortunately, he did little to prove my concerns wrong. While his songs were infectious and got people on their feet, he lacked the stage presence of the first two attacks. Much of his set was him singing to specific portions of the crowd, and strutting across the stage. For this reason alone, Iglesias was a disappointing end to the show. While I am definitely inclined to listen to “Bailando” in my free time, seeing it live was not necessarily life changing.
Even though the seats were nosebleeds, the concert was a well spent three and a half hours.