Two decades after triumphing with Colombian rhythms like “La gota fría” and “Fruta fresca”, Carlos Vives’s still soldiering with the success of ‘La bicicleta’, and returned to Malaga yesterday – stopping off at Starlite Marbella.
Vives got the audience to forget about the summer heat for a night as they enjoyed a show full of rhythm and ethnic sounds. As might be expected, the Colombian arrived on stage with all the members of his band, La Provincia, to the sound of his latest hit “La bicicleta” and got the crowd on its feet and in the mood for more.
Vallenato’s child never lost contact with the crowd, showing himself to be a man who likes to get up close to his audience and also one who knows how to liven things up. The music and Latin rhythms continued with “La gota fría”, “Ella es mi fiesta”, “Déjame entrar” and “El mar en tus ojos” keeping the crowd dancing.
It’s been a while since Starlite’s amphitheatre has seen such a party with Vallenato rhythms and the sounds of “La tierra del olvido” and “La foto de los dos” really managed to get the crowd rocking. Vives prepared his first farewell with “Nota de Amor” and “Volví a nacer” but the crowd were screaming for more, and as expected he happily returned for an extended encore with “Carito”, “Cantor Fonseca” and “La Fantástica”. But of course, he couldn’t leave Marbella without performing “La bicicleta” for a second time.
Vives started out as a soap opera actor but soon found his true vocation: releasing an important record in the history of commercial Latin music in the 1990s, Clásicos de la Provincia that took his country’s musical style to new heights. In 2015, Vallenato was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
