The Rolling Stones roll through Latin America
The Rolling Stones returned to Latin America after 10 years of absence. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Mexico were the countries chosen to perform 12 concerts in the Stones’ current ‘Olé’ tour, which began on February 3 in the legendary Nacional Stadium of Santiago de Chile, attended by nearly 50,000 spectators.
“Olé, Stones!” was the cry of joy and excitement with which the Chilean public greeted their “Satanic Majesties.” The song Start Me Up was the prelude to a memorable concert of two and a half hours with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts, doing honor to the Latin proverb of “Rolling stones gather no moss.”
Next the Stones went to Argentina where they gave three concerts in the ‘City of La Plata Stadium’ in Buenos Aires with 53,000 people who chanted their songs. Saying goodbye to the Argentine public with a powerful concert, there were emotional moments and promises to return “soon.” The “Grandparents Rockers” returned to prove that their show is the most exciting thing that the rock world can offer and made it clear that, despite the years, the band sounds better than ever and keeps alive the flame that, along with the Beatles, changed forever the life of the popular music in the 60s.
From Argentina they jumped to her neighbor Uruguay for a concert at Centennial Stadium in Montevideo where there were an estimated nearly 76,000 fans.
And the tour continues: Saturday 20 February the band will return after a 10 year absence to Rio de Janeiro to fill the Maracanã, the Temple of Soccer that will house some 78,000 spectators. In 2006, the Stones marked a milestone in Rio bringing together nearly 1.3 million people at a free concert on Copacabana beach.
Wednesday 24 and Saturday 27 of February, the caravan of the rock legends will be come to Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadium, with the capacity for 67,052 spectators. The Stones previosly visited that city in 1995, as part of their promotional tour for the album Vodoo Lounge.
Wednesday March 2 they will close the Brazilian tour in the Beira-rio Stadium of Porto Allegro, in front of 51,300 fans.
Sunday March 6, Lima will receive the band at the Monumental Stadium, whose expected capacity is 80,093 persons, one of the largest on the tour.
On Thursday, March 10 the Stones will fly to Colombia. Initially it was said that the host city would be Medellin but finally it was decided that the concert will be in the El Campin Stadium of Bogotá, with 48,600 seats.
Finally, the Stones will be the in the Foro Sol of Mexico on 14 March, where more than 60,000 of their followers await them.
Tickets ran out quickly for each concert. It is not easy to define with certainty the charm of the Stones; some identify easily with their songs, others opt for the symbolism and the nostalgia, but there is great agreement among their followers: the important thing is that Jagger and the group continue the battle against time and that their music will continue rumbling for many generations to come. (La Semana).