Julión Alvarez: A Moment with Phoenix
(Featured Photo Credit: Carla Celaya/AZLatinos.com)
By: Carla Celaya
As I arrived at the venue, I was really skeptical about the turnout because not many people were entering the Talking Stick Resort Arena. But once 8 p.m. rolled around, everyone started to show up. Needless to say, the concert did start a few minutes late, but it didn’t seem to bother the audience.
A white cast completely covered his left hand—due to a very recent surgery—and the other hand was sometimes unsure on how to hold the microphone.
“I never sing with my right hand,” says Julión Alvarez in a mini press conference right after he stepped off stage.
Nonetheless, Alvarez switched the mic between hands throughout his whole performance.
The Mexican Singer, known as the ‘king of the box-office’, gave a 3-hour long concert in a space that was filled at about 70% capacity – with many of the tickets sold early in the day on Friday.
From the moment Alvarez set foot on stage, the crowd embraced his passion and humility with cheers, laughter and lots of yelling. The essence of the night fell at Alvarez’s feet because of the way he reciprocated energy to his fans: it wasn’t over the top exaggerated or distant and cold.
It was simple, real and full of little nuances: winks, smiles, thumbs up and waves.
Alvarez shared the stage with two guest artists, Pancho Barraza y El Coyote, and these three kept the crowd singing, dancing and clapping until the very last song.
The recent outcome of the election didn’t seem to affect the energy of the audience. It was a safe environment, where people enjoyed the company of each other. Even though Alvarez’s arm seemed to bother him from time to time, he showed up with a professional stance and danced on stage until the very end.