Manu Chao-Los Angeles

I went to see Manu Chao this past Saturday at the LA Sports Arena and by the end of the night most of my pictures turned out like the one above: fuzzy and out of focus. We all got a little drunk thanks to Javier (Radio Bemba’s keyboardist) who kindly brought us huge cups of whiskey and Garbancito (Radio Bemba & ex-Mano Negra’s percussionist) who shared his bottle of wine with us. (He said it was “a good French wine” but the bottle said Washington.) The generosity of the musicians went beyond just sharing their drinks, they also indulged us with spontaneous bits of music and performance. Flamenco! Jazz Manouche! we demanded and they were happy to comply. I even attempted a bit of palmas and Alegrias cante with Javier who was nice enough not to laugh at me. I’m amazed and surprised when random, unexpected people are so open, unassuming and friendly. It’s these small events of joy and festivity that make me remember another world is possible.

Earlier in the night, I watched the concert from the side stage area where fans who jumped the barriers were released back into the crowd. I was so captivated by their tiny but mighty journeys, I decided to capture these moments for the rest of you to see.

One girl lost both of her shoes when she was pulled out of the crowd. It was amusing to watch the security guys come back with random shoes (never pairs) asking if they belonged to her. She indignantly kept pointing to her foot and gesturing that the shoes they were bringing were too big for her feet. It seems a lot of folks went home barefoot that night!

Thanks to Manu Chao, Javier, Leila, Cinthya and Emiliano for an extremely enjoyable evening!