I have a confession.
I went to see Fuerza Regida.
People have asked me whether the music was good.
I shrug my shoulders.
I have no idea.
Apparently there was music.
There were musicians.
There were songs.
Thousands of people at Houston’s Daikin Park seemed to know the words. The Houston Chronicle reports that Fuerza Regida mixed norteño, corridos, cumbia, reggaeton and EDM into a stadium-sized spectacle built around a Back to the Future theme, complete with a Chevy 454 SS. (Houston Chronicle)
I will have to take the Chronicle’s word for it.
I was busy.
You see, Fuerza Regida discovered something Don Francisco understood about television decades ago:
Men have ears, but they also have eyes.
Those of us old enough to remember Sábado Gigante remember Miss Colita.
You could spend three hours watching Don Francisco conduct interviews, play games, tell jokes and give away refrigerators.
Then several beautiful women would appear shaking their asses, and suddenly every husband in America became deeply interested in Spanish-language television.
“Honey, what are you watching?”
“Cultural programming.”
Fuerza Regida apparently studied the classics.
There were female dancers.
There were outfits that appeared to have survived severe federal budget cuts.
And there was enough synchronized booty movement that somewhere Isaac Newton was probably screaming:
“THAT’S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN!”
So let me offer the most honest concert review you will read.
Was Fuerza Regida good?
Probably.
Jesús Ortíz Paz apparently commanded the stage. The Chronicle praised songs including “Igualito a Mi Apá,” “Una Cerveza,” “Harley Quinn” and “Tacata,” and described a crowd enthusiastically embracing the mixture of Mexican tradition, hip-hop and modern spectacle. (Houston Chronicle)
Wonderful.
I missed most of that.
I am 77 years old.
At my age, people expect you to attend a concert and appreciate the cultural significance of música Mexicana reaching American stadiums.
I appreciate it.
I am proud of it.
I am delighted that young Mexican Americans can fill a major-league baseball stadium celebrating music that comes from their culture.
But apparently 77 is not old enough to stop noticing a well-shaken ass.
That may disappoint some people.
It reassures me.
I don’t know how many more concerts I have left, but as long as I can walk into one, see the dancers and completely forget why I bought the ticket, something is still working.
So here is Meme’s official Fuerza Regida rating:
Music?
Shrug.
Production?
I suppose.
Cultural importance?
Absolutely.
Would I go again?
What time does Miss Colita start?
