Arjona’s voice was heard offstage singing a haunting version of “Iluso” from his latest album, Adentro (which, incidentally, won the Latin Grammy for best male pop record). At the beginning, images of a train flashed down the three screens, flickering over a make-shift subway platform. The stage was set like a subway station, giving the concert a theatrical look.
The concertgoers knew every lyric and were glued to their seats (except when they jumped up for their favorite songs).
The second New York concert proved that Arjona’s unprecedented Latin American popularity can translate to a U.S. Although he has been successful on the Latin Billboard charts, his only albums to chart on the Billboard 200 were Galeria Caribe in 2000 (it peaked at 136), and Adentro in 2005 which peaked at 126.Īrjona’s success can be attributed to the fact that his groundbreaking music, though often lumped together with “Latin pop” or “world music,” is characterized by political statements, sweeping orchestral ballads, songs about women and love, metaphoric language, and clever lyrics that transcend what people normally think of as “Latin music.” The Ricky Martins and Shakiras out there have great rhythms, but Arjona has something to say. It was not until 2000 that he started getting critical attention. Though he has an impressive discography - over 11 albums - building a name was a slow process. His first career path was as a schoolteacher. And, he’s making big headway in the United States’ Hispanic community: the singer is currently in the middle of his most expansive North American tour to date, and has been selling out fairly large shows, including two at New York’s Madison Square Garden.īorn in Antigua, Guatemala, Arjona learned guitar at a young age. When he arrived at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires last September, he was mobbed by fanatics, and his 34 shows there sold out in just hours. Forty-two-year-old Ricardo Arjona is a Guatemalan singer-songwriter who has yet to break the North American market, but he’s quickly becoming one of the most popular artists in Spanish-speaking countries.
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