On Sunday, June 23, Mexican Pop band Belanova finished their U.S. tour in Houston, TX in celebration of their 24th anniversary with their Vida en Rosa tour, and it was nostalgic. The show was held at The Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land and fans showed up in their cutest outfits inspired by the trio from Guadalajara. It was as though everyone time-traveled back to the Mexican pop scene in the 2000s! When Belanova debuted as a band, they not only influenced the Pop music genre but also set trends in fashion. The audience’s looks were a perfect preview of what types of looks we would see from the lead singer, Denisse Guerrero, during the show.
When they arrived on stage, the crowd of dedicated fans immediately stood up, shouted, and started dancing along to “Me Pregunto” from their second album, Dulce Beat. Their fans gave them the sweetest welcome-back greeting after their six-year hiatus from touring and I feel so privileged to have witnessed it. Then, after endearingly performing “Niño” for their Houstonian fans, Ms. Guerrero introduced the next song, “Tus Ojos” from their debut album Cocktail, as a very special song that helped them get noticed by a major record company.
After “Tus Ojos” Belanova performed various songs from their discography, including popular albums such as Fantasía Pop. The songs were beautiful, electro-pop fusions with iconic choruses, smooth vocals, and synth-pop melodies. A perfect example of this was their track “Escena Final” which had an enchanting hook, and irresistible sounds, as the crowd shone their flashlights in the audience. Then, Ms. Guerrero told the backstory of their next song “Cada Que…” and its inspiration. She heard a saying at a party, which inspired her to write the song for a guy that she was there having drinks with.
During the show, Belanova added to the music nostalgia by doing covers of Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno” and Selena Quintanilla’s “Como La Flor” for their Texan fans. Their Latino fan base sang along to every word of both songs that were near and dear to their culture. In continuation of their setlist, the band also opted to play some of their more emotional tunes like “Toma Mi Mano”, “Mírame”, and “Hasta el Final”.
Near the end of the show, Ms. Guerrero invited a group of her best-dressed fans from the audience onto the stage to talk about the inspiration for their looks and then they stood onstage while she sang “Mariposas” as they danced along to the song. The pop band finished off the night with some of their greatest hits like “Por Ti”, “Baila Mi Corazón”, and “Rosa Pastel”. It was the best night with the best of Pop Latino music from the mid-’00s. Belanova is set to tour in Mexico this fall and will perform at the Besame Mucho Festival in Los Angeles at the end of this year.
