Fuerza Regida • September 6, 2024 • Delta Center
Reviewed and Photographed by Marlo Matamoros
Fuerza Regida brought their Pero No Te Enamores tour to Salt Lake City on September 6th. The band consists of lead vocalist J.O.P., requinto guitarist Samuel Jaimez, tubist José Garcia, and guitarron player Khrystian Ramos. Fuerza Regida is part of this rising popularity with música Mexicana in the United States. Last month they shared the top of Apple Music’s daily trending chart with Sabrina Carpenter, and Kendrick Lamar. They are currently sitting in the top 5 most-played songs in Mexico with NEL and share the chart with the name Peso Pluma.
“PERO NO TE ENAMORES” is the name of their new album and it also shares the title of their tour. A month ago, Fuerza Regida joined Apple Music to talk about this album and talk about the inspiration of this new album. Fuerza Regida has been dropping a lot of new music recently. With this new album Fuerza Regida knew it was going to be a risk with it’s new sound and if the project wasn’t successful, they knew they would bounce back. J.O.P. is very vocal about the amount of work that is put in everyday and the results that follow.
I was excited about this concert because of the group and the opportunity to shoot from the pit. Prior to this concert, I hadn’t had the opportunity to shoot from the pit at the Delta Center. It was a later concert, so I was curious how the atmosphere was going to be. Downtown was packed with food vendors and merchandise being sold around the outside of the arena. The party had already started with throwback songs being played with arena dancing before Fuerza Regida would step on stage.
The stage design was great for J.O.P. and the band. There was one main stage and a smaller one shaped in a square. It was great for the group to reach all areas of the arena. I have shot concerts at Delta before but haven’t done a concert that was designed with a full 360 walk-around design. Finally, Fuerza Regida hit the stage and the crowd erupted. J.O.P. was very interactive with the crowd off the bat. The stage was surrounded with lasers and smoke creating the perfect scene for photos.
Mexican flags surrounding the arena, J.O.P. shaking hands with the VIP holders, and the group asking Salt Lake City to make noise is what I remember off the bat. I appreciate when an artist or group has a tag stating their name or when a producer included their tag in a song that they had produced. Fuerza Regida has a tag in most if not all their songs that states their name and that tag was repeated around the arena when it was played. They played one of their classic songs titled TQM before they went on a throwback segment. The stage turned red and the words “De Psycho Bunny o de Burberry” could be heard throughout the arena and their famous Fuerza Regida” tag.
Fuerza Regida had a segment where they brought in band reinforcements. Band members walked to the stage with instruments in hand each one wearing a ski mask. Fuerza Regida would go on to play many of their classics back-to-back. The extra instruments made a difference and was a great addition for stage presence. I was excited for moment they would play their new music from their new album titled “PERO NO TE ENAMORES” which had been released this year.
The 15-song album has a new dance sound mixed with their classic lyrics. J.O.P. would play these songs back-to-back from a mixer on the smaller stage. One thing that I had recognized from this new album is their missing tag line. Some of the songs that were played were TUQLO and SOFIA with more songs off the new album to follow. The arena enjoyed the new album being played just as much the older music. The arena was out of their seats and dancing. If you weren’t standing, you would miss the show below because of the people standing in front of you.
This has been one of the bigger shows that I have photographed from production to audience. Everyone was dressed up Friday night ready to enjoy the show. The energy on the floor was the same energy that you could see in the upper bowl. Fuerza Regida has sold out the first half of their tour making this stop much anticipated. From interviews to the show itself you knew how much work Fuerza Regida has been putting in. Photographing Latin artists recently has been great and a good mix up because they haven’t had any openers.
The concert was over late, and I thought the atmosphere outside was going to be quiet, but it was the opposite. The food and merchandise vendors were still outside blasting the new Fuerza Regida album through their speakers. Fuerza Regida has a big influence and fan base here in Salt Lake City and I am glad the two were able to party together.