Fans at long last got a glimpse of Mexican superstar Peso Pluma in Chicago this past weekend, with him selling out both Saturday and Sunday night at the United Center after two previously planned shows were canceled.
Lines to get inside the venue wrapped around the United Center, with thousands of people waiting to see the performance after a concert at Rosemont Theatre was postponed last year due to alleged threats from a Mexican drug cartel. Fans were disappointed again after his set at Sueños Music Festival in May abruptly ended because of severe weather.
The anticipation is evidence that corrido culture has spread beyond Mexico and Spanish speakers. Pluma is known for his style of norteño and narcocorridos, a long-established subgenre of Mexican regional music where songs detail the lifestyles of drug dealers.
However, the 25-year-old artist has shifted the genre with corridos tumbados, a modern version of traditional Mexican music incorporating hip hop and reggaeton, among other influences.
Guest artists featured in the Chicago leg of the Éxodo tour included Jasiel Nuñez, Yng Lvcas, Polo G, Rich the Kid, Estevan Plazola and Dareyes de la Sierra. On Sunday night, Pluma also brought on Offset and Tito Double P, his cousin who also writes his songs.
Decked mostly in all black, concertgoers sang to every song, like ‘“Lady Gaga,” “Rubicon” and “La Patrulla,” for almost three hours.
The Guadalajara native “did not disappoint,” said Logan Square resident Gabriela Baltazar, 33, who attended the concert on Saturday night. Pluma’s energy was infectious, jumping through the stage where dancers joined him. The sounds of the tololoche, guitars and a bajo quinto resonated in the cavernous arena.
The night’s highlight was when he performed “Ella Baila Sola,” a song that has become widely known after rising to popularity on Tiktok. The ballad was the first Mexican song to crack the top five on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. Last year, Pluma was the first regional Mexican star to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, and he was also the first regional Mexican act to perform on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
The Éxodo tour, which took off in July, ends next week in Miami.
larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
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