Musical icon Juanes took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl on July 16 for the first time since 2018, during which he advocated for peace, unity, and love. This concert was one of many the 52 year-old rock singer from Medellin, Colombia performed at for his 2025-26 tour of Latin America and the United States.
As audiences trickled into the Bowl, DJ El Marchante performed a pre-concert set consisting of songs from Latin America and the Caribbean. Then came LA LOM, a band of Los Angeles natives whose set fused funk, cumbia, and other genres.
LA LOM’s music did not capture my attention, particularly because it sounds like it wants to defy being categorized into a genre purely for the sake of being different or experimental. I couldn’t put a finger on their sound, but this was okay because I was there that night to see the renowned Juanes, whom I’d grown up listening to.
Eventually, the legendary Juanes arrived onstage in an all-black outfit: black pants, black boots, a black t-shirt, and a black leather vest with his hair down. He opened his concert with “Mala gente,” singing and playing the guitar as he hyped the crowd up. The many hits he played include “Nada valgo sin tu amor,” “Volverte a ver,” “Fotografía,” “Es por ti,” and so many others.
Juanes eventually moved off the stage and walked through the amphitheater to a smaller stage just before the middle of the audience. The lights went off, and we were in a dark setting except for the sea of cellphone flashlights and screens from fans recording the show. Here, Juanes was alone on a smaller stage: just him, an acoustic guitar, and microphone on a stand. He created an intimate feel in a packed amphitheater. Choosing to play “Para tu amor” on acoustic guitar in this setting felt so appropriate on that small stage, and was a nice treat halfway through the concert. After playing the song, he thanked the City of Los Angeles for being his home after having arrived from Colombia, and called upon Angelenos and audience members to remain united, now more than ever.
“I think this marvelous country [the United States] has never had a gift more beautiful than all the people who have come here from other places…” the singer said in Spanish. “That’s why I want to dedicate the next song to everyone…” He trailed off as he transitioned into playing “Odio por amor,” his 2008 song about love overcoming hate, the time and need to change, a call to stop wars, and a cry for unity and peace.
The night progressed as the singer rocked the stage, frequently running around the stage to greet fans. Needless to say, Juanes still has swag, particularly in his signature cool, calm, and collected attitude.
At about an hour and 45 minutes into the concert, Juanes asked the audience if we still had the energy to dance with him, and the intro to his upbeat 2013 song “La luz” started playing. The song — one about a blackout in a community that decides to keep partying despite the light going out — had the audience jumping up and down. At this point, concertgoers began walking out of the amphitheater — maybe they wanted to avoid the end-of-concert traffic? This is a big no-no: do not leave a Juanes concert (or any concert) early!
The song came to an end, and at this point, I thought to myself: What a great and appropriate song to end the concert on.
How naïve of me.
Violins and trumpets began to play. A whole mariachi walked onto the stage in a single-file line, playing their instruments in their gorgeous trajes de charro and sombreros. The iconic white Hollywood Bowl stage was transformed, lit with the colors of the Mexican flag all while Juanes and Mariachi Bohemio begin to play “El son de la negra,” a mariachi staple and must. To mariachi fans, those staccato violin bowing and trumpet notes at the start of the song signal we’re about to have a ball.
As if the night couldn’t get any better, Juanes and the mariachi begin to play “Si nos dejan,” another mariachi classic. I might as well be weeping at this point, because one of my favorite artists is singing one of my favorite songs.
Juanes tops this again as he and the mariachi sing Juan Gabriel’s “Se me olvidó otra vez.” My guest and I, and those around us, sang along and with glee. Juanes, a singer typically known for his rock and pop-rock music, showed us his musical range as he sang through these mariachi songs with emotion and finesse.
And as he sang his hit songs and other iconic tunes by Juan Gabriel and mariachi artists, I looked over to my right at my mother and out at the sea of people swaying side to side, singing along with Juanes. I thought about the power and beauty of the moment: so many of us in the crowd belonged to the Latine Los Angeles community, one made of and sustained by Latin American immigrants, like my mother who was at my side, listening to her favorite tunes sang by a Latin American immigrant to the United States like herself.
As Juanes stated earlier in his concert, the entire night was one of love, celebration, and community by us and for us. Juanes, an immigrant to the U.S. from Colombia, provided us with a safe space to be ourselves and be proud of being who we are when outside the Bowl, we are being attacked for these same reasons.
The legendary Juanes gave us two hours of music which he sang the entire time. There was no lip-singing and he never covered any song originally sung in English. To have an entire set list of songs in Spanish by Latin artists at the Hollywood Bowl was a treat in the heavily Anglophone-leaning U.S. music industry.
¡Muchas gracias, Juanes, por una noche increíble!
