Latino music icon Juan Luis Guerra showed he has lost none of his appeal during his fleeting visit to the Canaries at the weekend.
The much-loved singer from the Dominican Republic, recognised worldwide for his Merengue and Bachata hits, included major gigs in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz on his current La Ruta 4:40 tour, which kicked off in Mexico in late June and has seen him perform in Spain’s biggest cities this month.
For an artist who reportedly never sought commercial fame, the songs of Juan Luis Guerra have become Latin America’s most famous and most enduring ever since he shot to stardom with the release of his legendary Ojalá que Llueva Café album in 1990.
That appeal is nowhere more evident than in the Canaries, which are heavily influenced by latino music due to the islands’ strong ties with Latin America – the favoured destination for many Canarian emigrants in the past.
Guerra’s two concerts drew a total crowd of 50,000 on Saturday and Sunday night, with thousands more who failed to secure tickets setting up camp outside the venues to take in the atmosphere and hear their idol perform his timeless melodies from afar.
Now aged 68 and dressed in his iconic waistcoat and flat cap, Guerra showed no signs that four decades of touring and studio work have taken their toll. He treated his adoring fans in both Canarian capital cities to almost two hours of energy-filled entertainment of a level only he can guarantee.
Songs such as the aforementioned “Ojalá que llueva café», «La bilirrubina» and «Burbujas de amor» had old and young on their feet and dancing both from their seats and in front of the giant stages, reliving the heyday of Guerra’s music.
Tenerife fans of the Dominican icon still have fond memories of his stellar appearance at the Santa Cruz Carnival in 2019, which drew almost 400,000 people on one of the Carnival’s most famous nights ever.
Photo: RTVC /Mar Abierto Producciones
