RICKY MARTIN BURSTS THROUGH IN CONCERT AT AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA

Ricky Martin bursts through in concert at American Airlines Arena

By Jordan Levin
jlevin@MiamiHerald.com

Ricky Martin has made another breakthrough, very different from – but perhaps as important as – the one he made when he burst into mainstream American pop culture and ignited the “Latin Explosion” of the late nineties.

In his concert at the AmericanAirlines Arena Saturday night, Martin wasn’t just out and proud (and happy), but as charismatic and assertively sexy as he’s ever been. Screaming women far outnumbered screaming men in the sold-out crowd, which had a substantial celebrity presence, including Gloria and Emilio Estefan, singer Olga Tanon and , several Spanish language TV personalities, and photographer Bruce Weber. There were couples of all genders and preferences, but you’d see more gay men at a Lady Gaga show.

No comparable English-speaking star comes to mind who is gay, an overt sex symbol, and appeals directly to the mainstream; Martin has leapfrogged past longstanding prejudice in Latino culture to a new place in pop music.

“He’s such a huge sex symbol that he came out of the closet and he still drives all the girls crazy,” said one man. “That makes him huge.”

The show, called Musica+Alma+Sexo for Martin’s latest album, was as much concept musical as concert, a parable of Martin’s personal and pop journey. It’s not subtle, but there is something strangely affecting about Martin, in the spotlight since childhood, playing out his most intimate feelings in such a hugely amplified way. He spoke little, letting the songs and choreography talk for him, a consummate pro still filled with seemingly limitless energy – his gleaming smile happier and more open than ever.

The opening section is dark, frustrated and sexually hyper-charged, starting with an enormous video of the bare-chested Martin struggling in chains. The screen drops to reveal a towering three story metal scaffold, with Martin in a padded, skintight black outfit that’s almost an S&M caricature, howling out Too Late, a power-ballad liberation anthem, pleading “don’t be afraid to feel”, before toppling backward from the scaffold into the arms of his dancers. In Dime Que Quieres (Tell Me What You Want) two musclemen guitarists flank Martin, his feet spread and up on a railing, pumping his hips to the crowd. It was practically pornographic - and the audience ate it up. He ended with Vuelve (Come Back), begging a lover to return – except Martin was singing to himself.

In the second section Martin mocks his Vida Loca era persona and the surrounding hysteria, a showbiz clown rising from the stage in Vegas-esque white jacket, hustling with his dancers through a parody of the famous Vida Loca video. For She Bangs, ludicrously writhing female dancers fall across his lap and spread their legs behind his head, catfighting as Martin stalks away. Shake Your BonBon and Loaded become jazzy New Orleans slash Chicago-esque, retro-style show numbers, with strutting horn players in 30’s-era gear. He ends with Basta Ya, (Enough Already), a power ballad of personal liberation from MAS.

The third section started acoustic and content, musicians on Spanish guitar and box drums accompanying a flamenco-ized version of Maria and a medley of older ballads, then segued into even darker disillusion with Frio (about how women leave him cold), with Martin harnessing corset-wearing, whip-wielding women, and a masked orgy on I Am.

But liberation is at hand; another enormous video showed a nude Martin in yoga poses, then hurling bright colored paint and his body through the air. For the finale, he returned to his roots – rocket-powered, tropical flavored dance-pop; the title track from MAS, Lola, La Bomba, and a samba-rhythm, carnivalesque rendition of The Cup of Life, with Martin and dancers in shimmying white. That song was a global anthem of celebration - this time it was also Martin’s personal celebration. The crowd, standing and screaming adoringly, cheered with him.

For the encore Martin sang the ebullient, lilting Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tu (The Best Thing About Me is You). “I love you,” he told the audience. “You and me are the same.” His relationship with his audience may be a big part of his struggle to find personal happiness. But he can’t complete it without them.

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