As sunset crept in, the Sueños festival felt for a moment like a dream with Maluma as its main star — that is, until the nightmarish rain showed up.
Sandwiched between two corrido bélico acts (Gabito Ballesteros and Peso Pluma), Maluma had the difficult job of keeping his audience entertained during an era that is unwaveringly focused on música Mexicana. Maluma has dabbled in that world himself with collab hits like “Segun Quien” alongside Carin Leon and his newly release feature on Grupo Frontera’s “Por que sera”
For all the smoke and fog, Maluma’s entrance was a breath of fresh air as he kicked off his set with “Coco Loco,” a merengue-laced reggaeton song that got everyone shuffling their feet in the mud.
| Alex Wroblewski/For the Sun-Times
| Alex Wroblewski/For the Sun-Times
| Alex Wroblewski/For the Sun-Times
The 30-year-old has been in the music industry long enough to deliver an outstanding performance filled with nostalgic hits and compelling ad libs, highlighting his collab songs “Vente Pa’ Ca” with Ricky Martin and “Chantaje” with Shakira in his shortened set.
“There is nothing more beautiful in the world than being Latino,” the Colombian star said, giving a nod to the diaspora.
He shared a bit of his own journey as a fresh-faced singer from Medellin who had newly arrived in the U.S. to pursue his dreams as a singer. His story set the stage for a more sentimental pace, one that became the tempo for a more melodic rendition of his hit song “Hawaii.”
Though he started to sing along to the catchy beat, he broke away from his gold mic and let the fans take it away with their own a cappella version. Surprisingly, and rather beautifully, people kept up.
And as the clouds started to fill the skies again, Maluma embraced the crowd singing along to his music with his bare chest puffed up to the heavens.
At this point, Maluma had to have known the festival would soon come to a close, and if he didn’t, Sueños attendees were already looking at the weather advisory on their phones.
Halfway through “Felices los 4,” Maluma bid his farewell rather gracefully despite the circumstances.
“You guys keep singing — they made me cut my set short,” he told everyone, as madness ensued among the crowd. “Thank you, Chicago. This was not me. This was not me.”
Even in an abbreviated set, “Maluma baby” proved he’s got way more to give.
