Latin Grammy Award winner draws diverse crowd, impresses audience

Chris Botti performs with his band at "An Evening with Chris Botti" on January 17th at the Adrienne Arsht Center in the James L. Knight Center. Luisa Andonie // Contributing Photographer
Chris Botti performs with his band at "An Evening with Chris Botti" on January 17th at the Adrienne Arsht Center in the James L. Knight Center. Luisa Andonie // Contributing Photographer
Chris Botti performs with his band at “An Evening with Chris Botti” on January 17th at the Adrienne Arsht Center in the James L. Knight Center. Luisa Andonie // Contributing Photographer

An audience of old, young, local and visiting attendees crowded the University of Miami’s Gusman Concert Hall on Friday night for a serenading performance from singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade as a part of Festival Miami.

Lafourcade, a three-time Latin Grammy winner, is originally from Mexico. Her most recent album, “Hasta la Raiz (To the Root),” debuted at No 1. on the Mexican sales charts.

According to Gusman Hall staff, more than 600 people attended the concert, traveling from across the U.S. and all around Florida for the event. The show attracted many students, both from universities in South Florida and from other states.

Minutes after seeing an Instagram post from Natalia Lafourcade, Sam Wood, a senior at Mercer University in Atlanta, purchased her tickets and said that she couldn’t have made a better decision.

“She’s very genuine with her lyrics and she adheres to the Mexican culture way more than other Mexican artists,” Wood said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Lafourcade kicked off the show with her song “Para que Sufrir (To Suffer)” after saying a few quick words of appreciation to the audience. Throughout the evening, other songs that Lafourcade performed included “En el 2000 (In 2000),” “No Mas Llorar (No More Crying)” and “Lo que Construimos (What We Built).”

As the pop-rock singer performed her set, the energy from the audience was contagious, with endless cheering, bobbing heads, tapping feet and swaying to the beat during every song Lafourcade played.

When she began to live-record songs using only a few repeated basic melodies, the crowd went wild.

“You’re amazing, girl!” one audience member shouted.

Lafourcade also brought meaning to the songs in her performance by explaining the origin of each new tune. She spoke of her travels in South America and of love and reconnecting with the universe.

At the end of the night, the audience cheered and chanted for Lafourcade, begging her for an encore. Staying loyal to her fans, the singer returned to the stage and performed two more songs, “Maria Bonita” and “Nunca Es Suficiente.”