Following the highly successful run of the Mañana Será Bonito Tour—which solidified Karol G’s global star power when it became the highest-grossing tour by a Latina and led to her becoming the first Latina to headline Coachella—the Colombian singer kicked off her “Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour” on Friday, July 24, with two sold-out shows at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL.
The “Tropitour” isn’t just another stadium concert. It’s evidence that Karol G’s becoming one of the defining live performers of this generation while expanding what’s possible for Latines, but more specifically Latinas. Seeing La Bichota live and in command of a colossal-sized crowd makes it clear why she’s become a worldwide phenomenon: she combines spectacle, intimacy, and an unapologetically feminine vision in a way few artists currently can. The real impact of Karol G’s work isn’t the elaborate productions or sold-out stadiums. It’s how she has turned a genre that has historically sidelined women into a space where thousands of women see themselves centered.
An hour before Karol G even took the stage, it seemed as if every single one of the 62,000 seats was filled and buzzing with fans (dressed mostly in orange and pink) eagerly waiting for her to take the stage. The Venezuelan artist Elena Rose opened the night with songs like “Caracas en el 2000,” “Gangsta Ángel,” and “Carteras Chinas.” The opening act on the “Tropitour” is set to change and will also include Becky G and Greeicy.
A countdown clock appeared 80 minutes later on the massive screens, giving fans 3:15 minutes to get to their seats. The screams began long before Karol G appeared and only got louder as the show progressed. The concert opened with an animated video telling the story of a woman who remembers the power of her voice. The three-minute montage ended with the tagline “Forever wild, forever free,” before “Latina Foreva” was projected on the screen and the beat for the empowerment ballad dropped, signaling the start of an electric night.
She then moved into a “Tropicoqueta” vibe for the song, complete with an elaborate headdress, massive feathers and climbing up an elephant-sized parrot to sing “Papasito.” The all-female group Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles came out playing Son de la Negra as the stage’s colors flashed to green, white and red for the Mexican flag, before backing Karol G up as she sang “Ese Hombre es Malo,” “200 COPAS” and “MAMIII” (sans Becky G).
For the second half of her show, Karol G made her way down to the crowd and performed from a second stage located in the middle of the floor. There, she set off high-octane dance party vibes with Daddy Yankee’s “Rompe,” “Dile Luna,” Bandida Entrenada,” and “Ojos Ferrari.” From there, DJ Daiky Gamboa took over to remix some of Karol G’s hits that wouldn’t be performed live. It gave her time to get back to the main stage and do a costume change into the last set of her show. The pace began to slow down as she transitioned to salsa beats (her band played Willie Colón’s “La Murga” before jumping into Tusa) and began to wind down for the night. Fan interactions were sprinkled throughout the show, including one moment in which she agreed to send a lucky couple to Paris for their honeymoon.
She ended the night with sweet, melancholy hits “Milagros,” “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” and “Viajando Por El Mundo,” where fans held up their phones to make sure they made those final moments last.
In terms of surprises, one of the highlights of the night featured a new song debut. Rather than take the stage for an encore, Karol finished the night backstage, projected onto the big screens, singing and dancing to her new song “Matadora.”
So, Was It Worth It?
This was my first time seeing Karol G in concert. I was a fan of her music but never considered going to see her live. However, during the Mañana Será Bonito Tour, my Instagram feed was constantly filled with photos and videos of friends at her shows having a blast. That was enough to pique my curiosity and get me to tune in to “Karol G: Tomorrow was Beautiful” on Netflix.
Watching the documentary on the tour made me realize what she’s doing is rewriting the rules, and in the process, we get to watch history be made. She had to fight an uphill battle to get the Mañana Será Bonito Tour greenlit, and it ended up being one of the most successful endeavors for Latine music. Reggaeton is a male-dominated genre full of misogyny, obstacles, and hypersexualization of women. The space is designed to keep women out, and yet Karol has risen to the top. She’s done it with a smile on her face, owning her femininity, embracing and being unapologetic about her sexuality, with thousands of girly pop fans cheering her on along the way.
While Shakira recently set the record for the highest-grossing Latin tour of all time with her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, Karol G is only the second Latina in recent decades to mount a global stadium tour of this scale. It’s a path laid out by Selena Quintanilla (which Karol pays homage to in the documentary and during night two of her Chicago stop) but still too few women at the top.
The nearly two-and-a-half-hour show was an over-the-top spectacle with elaborate set pieces, vibrant colors, and heart-thumping beats that gave you no choice but to move your body. Critics took to social media to say the concert was a repeat of her Coachella performance, which I would have never known if I hadn’t read the comments. Even if true, it’s a show worth taking out on the road with its extravagant set pieces and the energy Karol, her dancers, and musicians brought to the night. Given she already mixed things up on night two at Chicago with visuals, fans can likely expect changes as the tour progresses.
If these two sold-out stadium shows are any indicator of what’s to come, it stands to reason that Karol G’s Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour is set to break her own records and pave the way for a new generation of entertainers.
That, to me, is worth the price of admission.