Riviera Maya Jazz Festival 2019
The 17th edition of the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival started with the presentation of the band Sr. Mandril, who immediately ignited the public with their mix of funk, electronic music, groove and jazz. The crowd was so energized that the sax player of the band came down the stage to walk among the people who were enjoying the concert and dancing in the sand rubbing off on this energy.
Later, it was Magos Herrera’s turn, a Mexican singer considered as one of the biggest performers of contemporary jazz, who delighted us with her sweet voice to the beat of Latin American rhythms which were the perfect match for a night under a starry sky at the seashore.
Demonstrating the richness of Afro-Cuban music, Chucho Valdés – the seven-time Grammy award winner, who is well-known as one of the best piano artists and listed as one of the four best jazz players around world – got us all dancing to the beat of the bongo rhythm with his Jazz Batá.
The second night of the concerts started in a very particular way, completely different from what we had experienced in the last 16 editions, as the acrobats of Joyá by Cirque du Soleil came to share their talent with us, leaving the whole audience speechless. The artist revelation of the year, Natalia Marrokin, delighted us with her fusion of jazz and bossa nova; followed by Eliane Elias, who showed her great talent on the piano. We said goodbye that night at Mamita’s Beach Club with the energy and joy of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. The crowd started dancing, immediately they got up on the stage and kept applauding and cheering, and there were times when the whole beach did a choreography moving their arms from side to side. It is definitely one of the most epic nights that have been lived throughout the festival!
The last concert night was embellished with the musical elegance of the New York Voices, the quartet whose melodious vocals started the wonderful evening; followed by the band PBug, who immediately had everyone dancing to the purest funk rhythm; and how could we forget about the magnificent closing event of this edition, led by the English popular pop reggae band UB40.
The more than 40,000 attendees sang along with the band’s biggest hits such as “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” and “Red Red Wine”. The crowd wouldn’t stop asking them to keep playing and wouldn’t let them leave the stage asking them for more.