Kristina Argentina

Maná en Buenos Aires

Bebé te lloré todo un río 
(bebé, bebé)
bebé, te lloré a reventar 
(bebé, bebé)
oh no no no, no tienes corazón, 
no te vuelvo a amar.
te lloré todo un río,
ahora llórame un mar.

Living in Madrid with Mexicans, there were a few artists that I hold very dear in rememberance of those times. One of them is Maná, and listening to Alberto and Ale sing it, him punctuating the last word in every phrase, and her trying to keep on tune. Ah the good ole days.

Back in November, I had gone through my friend, Luis’ music meticulously in an attempt to transfer all his knowledge of Latin American rock that I should know in one day. Although we never finished, I did get to show him that I knew some rock en español! There is something magical about musical exchange with people - and at least for me, it always sticks with me (as someone once said, you can never replace the mix tape, but going through someone’s hard drive is pretty similar). So when Luis said he had an extra ticket, you must appreciate my excitement at finding out that he had saved it for me because he knew I liked them! 

We rushed out to the Estadio Vélez Sarsfield and made it just in time for the opening of the concert. We were pretty far back, but could hear the show perfectly. Maná is basically the U2 of Latin America. Full of rock songs about mariposas - butterflies, palomas - doves, rivers, oceans, hearts: a lot of imagery in general. The crowd was a pleasant mix of older couples, and women who were still in love with these stars who had been rocking since the 80s. And having Luis sing next to me was almost like having Ale there, with their similarly passionate yet not always on tune voices.

The drummer had a fantastic solo to prove that they had the right to be there, and right afterwards the band moved to a platform at the back of the stadium, very close to where we were. They kept periodically telling the crowd they had just gotten back from Mendoza, and chugging full water bottles of wine to prove it - effectively getting drunk by the end of the night. Got a few fantastic videos, and the show closed with some impressive fireworks.

Nothing like bringing your past close to your present! Although they only played a quick chorus from Te lloré un río, they did play Marco Antonio Solis’ super-ballad, Si no te hubieras ido. Can now die a bit happier after seeing them :)