Tropicalia 2019 By The Minute Review

Tropicália By the Minute Review

Cynthia Rebolledo and Nelson Rodriguez

Saturday, November 9

1:15 p.m. This year’s Tropicália lineup is one of its best yet. Changing the venue to the Pomona Fairplex only enhanced the festival even more by providing a better layout filled with amazing decor, great vendors, and good stage design. 20 mins and I’m already sensing the good vibes. (Nelson Rodriguez)

1:30 p.m. They need to hand out fast passes for this Tropicália backdrop line. (Cynthia Rebolledo)

2:20 p.m. Inspector hit the Tropicália main stage and excite the crowd with their ska vibes. (NR)

2:40 p.m. You know the main stage has a stacked lineup when the 2pm band (Inspector) gets a few different mosh pits going. (NR)

2:45 p.m. Inspector pay homage to last years performer Leo Dan by performing their ska version of “Te He Prometido.” (NR)

3:00 p.m. Heading over to the Mango Loco Stage to catch É Arenas’ quebradita-merengue jams but not before I stop to take a photo in front of a large Walter Mercado photo backdrop. Mucho mucho mucho amor! (NR)

3:30 p.m. I’m seeing a lot of girls channeling Lyn Hernandez from Vida out here.

3:50 p.m. Chicano Batman’s Eduardo Arenas has been getting quite the following with his solo project É Arenas. Today he’s armed with a 6 piece band who hit the stage and perform their hit “Mar Iguana” which instantly gets the crowd to form a quebradita mosh pit. (NR)

3:55 p.m. É Arenas closes his set with his homage to Tommy’s “La Fila de Tommy’s” in which he sings about how fucked up his stomach gets when he eats there. The quebradita mosh pit grows even stronger as he starts shouting out many Latino cities in SoCal including Santa Ana! (NR)

4:05 p.m. As I head over to the Toyota stage to catch the end of Natalia Lafourcade’s set the Toyota DJ booth is blasting the Spanish version of “Achy Breaky Heart” which causes a large amount of people walking by to break into a line dance Including a man wearing an El Chapo mask! (NR)

4:15 p.m. The schedule conflicts haven’t been too bad since I was still able to catch Natalia Lafourcade perform “Sí Sabes Quererme” which sounds simply stunning! (NR)

4:20 p.m. The crowd at the Tropicália Main Stage has doubled and it looks like no one is going anywhere because it’s back to back hits starting with Zoè who begin their set with the catchy 80’s synth vibes on “No Hay Mal Que Dure” (NR)

4:35 p.m. Zoé announce that this is their last show promoting their Grammy award winning album Aztlán but let the crowd know that a new album is coming next year (NR)

4:40 p.m. While watching Zoé, I witness a guy my age with his dad come back from the beer booth and hand his mom a beer – only a festival like Tropicália can bring families together like this. (CR)

4:50 p.m. Zoé perform the single “Azul” which is the perfect song to soundtrack the golden hour before sunset. Everything suddenly looks dreamy and magical as Zoé singer Léon Larregui serenades us all. (NR)

6:15 p.m. 1980’s Argentinian and Spanish rockers Enanitos Verdes and Hombres G begin their 2 hour joint set. They’re going back and forth with each other’s songs and the crowd is singing along to hits such as “Marta tiene un marcapasos” and “La muralla verde” (NR)

6:56 p.m. I’m digging these sax solos between Enanitos Verdes and Hombres G. (CR)

7:30 p.m. This arrangement of going back and forth between songs has turned into a competition of which song the crowd sings louder. Will it be Enanitos’ “Lamento Boliviano” or Hombres G’s “Devuelveme a mi chica”??? Can’t tell because the audience chant loudly to both which signifies how perfect this pairing of legends truly is. (NR)

8:15 p.m. Latino Coachella aka Tropicália is still owning the main Tropicália stage. Just like your standard Rock en Espanol pandora/spotify station would do Caifanes is up next and the new wave vibes of “Viento” is just what the crowd wanted. (NR)

8:45 p.m. Caifanes’ drummer Alfonso Andre shows of his drum solo skills in the middle of “Perdi mi ojo de venado” yet another classic from Caifanes’ debut album. (NR)

9:00 p.m. Just like the earlier rock en espanol bands have done all night, Caifanes deliver their long awaited hit “La negra Tomasa” which gets the crowd roaring. (NR)

9:30 p.m. The crowd in the GA side of the Toyota Stage are packed like sardines while the VIP side is light and mellow. As soon as Panteon Rococo hit the stage, the GA fans hop over into VIP and the crowd starts pushing towards the barricade which prompts a swarm of security and police to force GA fans back into their section. (NR)

9:45 p.m. The back to back sets of 80’s rock legends comes to an end as it is now time for some norteno jams courtesy of Los Tigres del Norte! (NR)

9:55 p.m. The female Tigres fans came wearing their favorite tiger striped dresses. All the tigresas cheer loudly as Los Tigres start playing “La mesa del Rincon” (NR)

10:05 p.m. Los Tigres bust into their heartbreak song “Golpes en el Corazon” which starts the slow dancing in the audience. Maybe next year they can get Paulina Rubio to join them on stage for this song. (NR)

10:15 p.m. It’s not a Tigres concert without an epic performance of “La Puerta Negra” which brings people back that were thinking about getting a head start on the parking lot exit. (NR)

10:30 p.m. Overall the Pomona Fairplex was a wise decision made by Goldenvoice and it benefited everyone involved to capture yet another bigger and better Tropicália Festival. (NR)