Sueños Music Festival was held in Chicago’s Grant Park this past Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 28th and Sunday, May 29th, 2022. The Latin music festival’s lineup included Natanel Cano, Fuerza Regida, J Balvin, Ozuna, El Alfa, Wisin y Yandel, and many others. Grant Park was a beautiful setting for the festival because it is on Michigan Lake’s lakefront and near several of Chicago’s iconic structures like Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Buckingham Fountain.

Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot went onstage the first day of the festival and celebrated the Latino communities of her city. She said the crowd of 50,000 was the largest ever in the city for a Latin music festival. Mayor Lightfoot went on to shout-out local DJ Miriam who hosted part of the festival. DJ Miriam has Guatemalan roots and is from the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago.

As a Chicano writer, I will first focus on the performers with Mexican-American heritage. On Saturday, the Mexican Natanel Cano from Hermosillo, Sonora came on stage dressed in a blue puffer jacket, Travis Scott Fragment Jordan shoes, and two thick chains around his neck. He is known for blending hip-hop with corridos; he calls that fusion corridos tumbados. He performed his music at a slower pace than the reggaeton and Latin-trap that would be played throughout the festival. He smoked what appeared to be a marijuana cigar, drank from a bottle of Don Julio 1942, and generously shared those with his fans. Those fans, several with Mexican flags draped around them, sang along to his music throughout his set.

As a fan of Fuerza Regida, their Sunday performance seemed a bit underwhelming to me but the crowd seemed to have really enjoyed it. I must remind myself that the crowd is what is important. Lead singer Jesus Ortiz Paz came onstage with his group and a band. The large band provided an iconic Mexican backdrop for Fuerza Regida’s performance with their chrome instruments and bright pink jackets. Several songs into his set JOP, as Jesus Ortiz Paz calls himself, asked for a Mexican flag from his fans, received it, draped himself with it, and continued his performance. Sueños Music Festival fans carried flags from many other countries in Latin America including Peruvian, Dominican, Colombian, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, and several others. Fuerza Regida’s hit “Radicamos En South Central” was reinterpreted for the local crowd with JOP changing the lyrics to “radicamos en Chicago.” The crowd responded with energetic cheers of appreciation.

Jesus Ortiz Paz of Fuerza Regida by Roger Martinez

On Saturday, the Puerto Rican singer Farruko played a relatively calm set which was followed by Myke Tower’s performance. Myke Towers, also from Puerto Rico, performed with his more energetic music that excited the crowd just as the sun was setting. Jowell performing without his partner Randy worked off the energy Mike Towers had built and really brought that Latin reggaeton energy fans had been anticipating. His performance of “Se Acabo La Cuarentena” set off the crowd. He also invited a fan onstage who he danced with to the delight and entertainment of those in attendance. Then the charismatic El Alfa followed teasing his recent hit “La Mama de la Mama” throughout his performance and eventually playing it. The Chicago crowd constantly cheered and clapped approvingly. Ozuna closed the night with a memorable performance one would expect from the gifted and experienced singer.

On Sunday Wisin y Yandel performed to their legendary expectations with an incredible performance. The fan’s cheers seemed to reach a higher level when the pair reached the stage. They performed many of their hits including “Anoche Soñe Contigo.” The headliner J Balvin performed after the sun had set with mesmerizing videos playing behind him as he faced the beautifully lit Chicago skyline. The Colombian singer came out onstage jumping and running around as he animated the crowd. Several fans told me he was their favorite performer from the festival. Sueños Music Festival was a beautiful demonstration of Latin unity in a city with a lot of Latin culture and history.

https://www.suenosmusicfestival.com/