Rosalia at REBEL

Rosalía’s flamenco sound resonated strongly tonight at her only Canadian stop in Toronto at REBEL. The audience gave itself completely to the first show that this Spanish revelation performs in Canada.

You have to be very brave to start your concert with “Pienso en tu mirá”, a mixture of urban and flamenco rhythms particularly in your first visit to North America where flamenco is really an acquire taste more than anything else. But Rosalía is indeed a very brave young woman. She got on that REBEL stage like the diva she is, insultingly young, disconcertingly talented, dressed in a set halfway between the outfit of a trap queen and a flamenco dancer, with her fingernails full of diamonds and her unmistakable Spanish smile.

She was accompanied by a cast of six dancers who choreographed to the smallest detail all of her hits. Rosalía interpreted “Catalina” with tears sliding down her cheeck, maginified by the screen that surrounded her and that had the audience in tears as well moved by the passion embodied in that song.

Rosalía also play an homage to the 60’s Spanish music scene when she performed her version of “Te estoy amando locamente” a hit at that time of the band “Las Grecas”. I believe I could hear some “olés” being shouted by the audience.

The final touch of the night came from the hand of her hit “Malamente”. That song is solely responsible for the international outbreak of Rosalía and it’s contained in her second album, “El mal querer” (2018). The album that has been acclaimed by critics and won her two Latin Grammys.

Time went too fast and I can’t wait for her to come back to Canada and this time maybe do a stop in Montreal.