There was a lightening storm and heavy rain, but the real storm was on stage with Manu Chao. Gwynne Hogan gives us her impressions of one of the hottest events in Mendoza 2011.
An unseasonably raining night greeted Manu chao on his return to Mendoza. The show on Friday 19th November was held at Andes Talleres, a local football stadium, and was once again in benefit of several local charities based out of Barrio de la Gloria, one of Mendoza's roughest neighborhoods.
After about fifteen some odd years of touring and playing shows, Chao still puts on quite an act. The concert was energy packed and magnetic from the very moment Chao stepped onstage in his traditional garb--shirt unbuttoned, green baseball cap, and the notorious scarf wrapped around his waist. Chao is definitely the on the man on the planet who can make a waist scarf look good.
Despite golf ball sized raindrops and the lack of alcohol (concerts are always dry in Mendoza), the crowd was wild with love for the musician, chanting all the lyrics and bouncing around in the mud. Wine Republic reporters did their best to replicate the band's signature dance--jump, four steps back, four steps forward, finished by another jump. Old classic tunes were intertwined with newer ones, in a total of four different languages. Spunk, style, culture, cause...Chao still brings all of these things to the table every time he plays.
