"Wait, you ain't never been to a Concert?"

What up! What up! Oh my, I couldn’t wait bring you another crazy tale from my CRAZY LIFE. Haha! For this tale, we ain’t have to purchase no flight, no hotel, no Lyft, and no…a MAN didn’t pay for these either. I’ll save my chapiadora antics for another trip and another prospect. Muahahaha. What is a chapiadora? My God, must I teach you everything? Don’t worry, I’ll put you on…just keep reading.

So for this tale, we are right in my back yard- MIAMI, FL for my FIRST CONCERT EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! Ever? Yes! Ever! It was actually quite funny to receive so much flabbergasted feedback from my friends and family when I shared the news this was my first time attending a concert. Due to the fact that I am that girl that lives her to the fullest, I suppose it was rather un-freaking-believable that I'd never been to a concert before. But that is correct, i never really have. I guess I never really had the chance or just didn't know how to find out about upcoming shows. I just happen to really love this artist and when I found out how cheap tickets actually go for, I was all over it.

I have been to versions of concerts like….

Calle 8
Dominican Festival (They need to bring these back to MIA)
HaitianFest
Grupo Vena Live at Le Boulevard Café
El Varon De La Bachata Live at Partyland Sportsbar
Amaris Camilo Live at Marlins Park
Dj Mannie Fresh Live at Wynwood Yard
Kat De Luna Live at Bongos Nightclub
1970’s FREESTYLE Concert Featuring Stevie B at Miramar Park
Carimi LIVE at _____ Lounge. (I don’t remember the name??)
Church Revival Concerts …And that’s about it. But let me tell why none of the above count. Because none of them required ticket sales, none were at a convention center or arena of some sort, none required security check-in, and furthermore and probably the biggest reason is because those "concerts" are all normal, everyday activities to do throughout the day when you live in SoFLo. There’s always an artist performing at a club and there’s always a festival or carnival to attend on a weekendly (totally NOT a word) basis.

But THIS RIGHT HERE was NOT that. I was getting ready to go see my BAE! Whom, if I can be super honest, I can’t really stand because he’s a little arrogant for my taste- but he’s still a GAWD! His music will never die and quite frankly, will keep me dancing UNTIL I DIE! Yup, I went to go see none other than my favorite urban-contemporary BACHATA artist of ALL-TIME, Romeo Santos in his return to American Airlines Arena (AAA) for his Golden Tour LAST NIGHT (IN REAL TIME FROM THIS BLOG POST)! AHHHHHHHH! ROMEO!!! (<---PRETTY Much all I kept saying all night.)

Who is Romeo Santos?

For those of you who may not know who this is, let me give you a bit of insight on his muscial journey. I’ve been a fan of Romeo before he was even solo Romeo. My love for him and his super girly voice, goes back to when I was like 7 years old when he was the lead singer of the Bachata boy-band Aventura. They were like the N'Sync of Bachata, established in 1999 pero then the group split in 2011. (QUE THE VIOLINS…)

A MOMENT OF SILENCE for Aventura *sniffles*....

Aventura went their separate ways, something we (the fans) never saw coming. Romeo and Henry Santos explored solo careers and Max and Lenny joined Steve styles from former Duo Xtreme, and developed a new band called Grupo Vena. Looks like breaking-up was trending around that time. Nonetheless, though Henry was actually my favorite from the group, his solo career didn't make it too far. PERO, Romeo kept it going honey! Hit after hit, record after record, and he collaborated with some of the best and biggest names in Hip Hop, Reggaeton, and RnB. I just HAD to make it my BUSINESS to go see him! (I had already missed him in March, so there was no way I was going to allow this one to also pass me by.)

#THEGOLDEN TOUR BABY!!

Before I even keep going, let me let you in on a little secreto- I always kinda reserved a space in my heart for either Romeo Santos or Tono Rosario to be the first concert I ever attend. Boy talk about accomplishing my goals! I did it! All I kept thinking was,

"I am going to watch the man whose songs I’ve been singing at the top of my lungs since I was 7-8 years old. " Being Dominican and so rooted to my culture, it’s rather inevitable to be prone to the sweet sounds of Bachata and Merengue, so this was certainly monumental for me because I actually kept my [own] word.

So how exactly was my first experience?

Dolling up

So as I got ready for one of the biggest nights of my life (YES, It’s THAT serious), I had to get in the right head space, so I played a FULL Romeo HITS mix so I can start practicing my facial expressions and warming up my vocals. Setting the mood is first and foremost. My girl Dani came over, and were poppin! Sips, laughs, and girly tingz. (Once we were getting ready together, it dawned on me that this was really happening.)

Pregame

Now if there’s one thing about me, is that no matter how many adventures I go on or how many amazing things I do in life, I will ALWAYS BE FRUGAL! With that being said, allow me to let you in on another little secret- I NEVER spend outrageous amounts of money on drinks. For what when liquor is free and in much higher quantity for my buck right at home.

Turn-up SQUAD:

What's a fun concert if you don't have fun people to go with? (Wait seriously, do you think people go to concerts by themselves like they would the movies? GASP!) I was so happy to treat my girl Dani, who is one of my best Bachata students and long-time dance friend, for her birthday to see Romeo Santos! (She's not even hispanic, YET knows ALL the words!) It was her first concert experience too, so it was def meant to be. But you know 2 rookies can't just be left out in the cold. So I also invited one of my long-time closest friends Rafiki (yes, that's his actual name, how cool right!?) to also join us. He too is a big Romeo fan and amazing Bachata Dancer. Plus he's Dominican, again- it's a default setting embedded in our DNA.

The Ride

If you ever read my very first Blog post in my #aFrankieTale Art Basel Edition, you know exactly what I think of Miami traffic. But (oh snap, I didn't type 'PERO' this time) surprisingly enough, the ride was a smooth sail. No cars on the road, no blockage, and no delays. I was actually quite shocked and impressed. That was a clear indication was going to be a great evening.

Parking

Living in SoFLo, you kinda get used to having to deal with cumbersome parking if you want to embrace your social life and partake in the nightlife festivities. You also get accustomed to spending lots of money for parking. Welp, NOT for us! We were lucky enough to find $10 parking...but it was a little trek though. Nonetheless, the walk is always worth it because along the way you create memories and more importantly SAVE MONEY!

Walking into the Arena

NO LONG LINES! Is that normal or did we just get lucky? The devil did try to play with us though when my birthday girl couldn't load her ticket and was being denied entry. We literally tried everything. Even tried to log her in through another phone, nada. We waited for about 15 minutes while her phone got its life together and loaded her ticket. But those 15 minutes felt like an hour. OMG! Never again! Lesson learned here: Never transfer your tickets until the day of. Oh, I also left my spare tickets I printed for backup- so I was extra pissed off at myself. So that was like a 2-4-1 lesson.

My View

So this is too funny not to share. So first of all, let me tell you how we were all up in these girls faces about OUR seats, and WE were in the WRONG section. Yeah, we were looking for 323, but somehow were at 324. If that's not bad enough, when we got to 323- our row was hella packed. Of course me not knowing any better, I chose concert seats like I choose movie theater seats- in the DEAD CENTER! When my friends and I saw all those legs we had to jump over, we were like, yeah...we're just gonna sit here. Here was so much better! We sat in the row below ours, at the aisle's first 3 seats. Those seats so came in clutch! But what we failed to consider was the amount of heart-attacks we were about to undergo. Every-time patrons walked in and looked puzzled or seemed to be eye in our direction- for I don't know...THEY'RE ACTUAL SEATS THAT WE STOLE, a sudden rush of anxiety began to take over mine and Rafiki's body. It was hilarious but also nerve-wrecking.

Waiting for "El Chico De las Poesias"

We sat and waited for Romeo for about an hour, which I thought was pretty impressive seeing as though I assumed all artist are always HOURS late to their concerts just because they can do that. Oh and yes, we survived the sneak seat swap. In fact, we had no choice but to sit pretty and sit still because our seats were also savagely taken. But it was A-OK! The seats we caught a lick on were much, much better by like 3%.

Romeo....omg...he's HERE!

Photo By Romeo's Official Photographer Erniel Rodriguez

Pero y este PINK?

As soon as he stepped out on stage, he came with the fire and super high energy. He was dressed so normal in a pink tee, bleach-washed skinny jeans, beige loafers, and a pink coat jacket- that to me resembled a the Pink Ladies Letterman jacket from my favorite movie all time- Grease. I was quite surprised to see him so casual. I know hi, for being flashy, clean-cut, and super GQ. BUT....I wasn't mad at his decision to dress like a papi from The Bronx. Was it a tribute to Breast Cancer month? Was he just tired? My friends and I agreed that it looked like he just rolled outta bed and said, "Alright guys- Let's have a Great show! So Nasty!"

Am I reaching when I say all my favorites were all up in my face:

Fav Artist: Romeo

Fav Color: Pink

Fav Movie Grease

....Nah, I am not reaching. That is really the case here.

He chose to wear pink, not me.

SHOWTIME

From the moment he walked out on stage, the energy was high. The arena was covered in thousands of screaming fans and lots of little lights from the crowd's cellphones. The stage was beaming beautiful optical illusions, and I....I was screaming and dancing my

little heart out, como una loca! I don't really have any complaints besides I was hoping he'd bring out a special guest to co-headline. Oh, and just as a note to self...I will definitely be buying better seats in the future! (No more anxiety) But other than that, I had a blast! I wasn't hot, my feet didn't hurt, and my sandals came in clutch for the long-ass walk back to the car. Lol. Though AAA was packed, that didn't stop us from making it home speedy and safely. AGAIN...thank God! Yall know traffic make my nerves bad.