• see video below

Raphael, Spain’s king of romantic ballads, delivered an outstanding performance at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, April 22, 2018, as part of his Loco Por Cantar tour.

In front of a nearly sold out theater, the 74-year-old singer performed non-stop for over two hours, sitting down only for a fraction of a song midway into the concert, amazing the audience not only with his strong and unfaltering voice but also with his impressive energy and signature showmanship.

While the tour means to promote his latest album, Infinitos Bailes, after two or three songs Raphael said that he knew what the crowd wanted – “Yo se lo que ustedes quieren” – and began to sing classics out of his 60-year-career repertory that were enthusiastically embraced by the public. Acknowledging his audience, Raphael also offered “un guiño a Mexico,” delivering a couple of Mexican standards that further highlighted his powerful voice and his enormous vocal range. For one song, he sang a tango in duet with a recording of Argentina’s pride, Carlos Gardel.

For those Angelenos whose teenage years were filled with unforgettables like “Como Yo Te Amo” and “Yo Soy Aquel,” Raphael’s concert was a delicious blast to the past, a musical voyage that satisfied the heart’s nostalgia.

Raphael’s U.S. tour continues at the Beacon Theatre in New York on April 25, at Houston Arena in Houston on April 28, and at the James L. Knight Center in Miami on April 29.

*****

The 16-minute video posted below is a medley of short recordings of about nine songs that were part of the concert. It was taken with a cell phone and it offers better sound than optics. Please consider it “home made,” as you’ll hear people singing, cheering, and sometimes unnecessarily talking (ugh). (The best part is the woman getting pulled off the stage towards the end.) Enjoy!

Advertisement