Maná
November 12, 2016
The Forum- Los Angeles, CA
Mexican rock band Maná announced a four-night stay at the Forum in Inglewood, California as part of the Latino Power tour. Throughout their career, Maná has received many awards including four Grammy awards, eight Latin Grammy awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, and nineteen Billboard Latin Video Music Awards. They are considered to be the most influential and successful Latin American band of all time with 40 million albums sold worldwide. As comparison, they can be called the U2 of Spanish rock. This was the third of four shows at the forum and it being a sold out show, the venue was packed with fans of all ages.
The stage was covered by a curtain which was brought down as the band started the show with Manda Una Señal (Send a Sign). The fans got up on their feet and started cheering and screaming for the band. The stage was bathed with flashy lights that made their stage presence even more stunning to see. The second song played is one of their biggest hits titled Oye Mi Amor (Hey, My Love) and the audience could be seen singing along and dancing. Aside from the regular dancing and love songs they have, Maná also have their more earth-friendly songs like ¿Dónde Jugarán los Niños? (“Where Will the Children Play?”) where all the members of the band except frontman Fher Olvera wear gas masks depicting a time where the Earth’s 
environment would be too harsh to live, and so where will the children play?
During the performance of Mi Verdad (My Truth), Maná brought out a guest, Mark Goffeney. He’s known for playing a guitar using his feet due to him not having arms. The crowd cheered at his talent and made him feel welcomed and loved. A short break, lead guitarist Sergio Vallín took the stage to perform a beautifully executed guitar solo where you can clearly hear his classic rock and rock and roll influences. Up next was one of the band’s biggest hits, Mariposa Traicionera (Treacherous Butterfly) and lots of fans could be seen singing along to its Latin sound. Each song Maná plays, you can hear the different influences from each genre they play. They played song like: De Pies a Cabeza (From Head to Toe), Como te Deseo (How I Want You), and Me Vale (I Don’t Care). The band took a quick break while drummer Alex González performed a lengthy drum solo with flashy lights and a turning drum kit. The stage went dark and silent for a bit before it was revealed that Olvera and three other members went to a pedestal near the back of the venue to give fans back there a chance to be up close to the band and perform a few more songs. Maná paid tribute to the late and legendary Juan Gabriel by preforming a cover of Se Me Olvidó Otra Vez (I Forgot Again) and all the fans throughout the venue could be heard singing along. The band finished up the show with a cover of The Wailers‘ Get Up, Stand Up and left the stage. The fans weren’t too eager to leave just yet and so after a few minutes, the band came back out to perform a couple of encores. The first encore was Rayando El Sol (Scraping The Sun) which was the band’s first single in 1990 and helped gain them commercial success. The finale of the show was Clavado en un Bar (Stuck in a Bar). Maná wrapped up their show, bowed to the audience and left the stage once again as they were left in awe by the response of the audience as they will for sure return to the city of angels.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
Mana
