This past weekend, Amazon Music invited me to attend Vibra Urbana Music Festival in Miami. It is the largest reggaeton festival in the country. It was a two-day event that included some of the hottest stars in the game, including Young Miko, Farruko, Ivy Queen, Anuel AA, and my favorite Rauw Alejandro.
I started my day on Saturday by attending a press brunch hosted by Amazon Music at the fabulous Mamey Miami restaurant. Located in Coral Gables, it’s a mix of Latin and Asian cuisine. They had a family-style menu that did not disappoint. We had the shrimp Poké bowl to begin with, which was amazing. Then we had some traditional avocado toast, followed by Mamey’s Benedict, which included vacca frita, tostones, hollandaise sauce, and some pickled onions. We then ended the feast suit for a king with some chicken and waffles, and eggs.
Once we finished our brunch, we made our way to the festival. As soon you arrived, The energy and vibes you felt were nothing but excitement and joy. Every Latin flag was present to represent all our beautiful Latin countries. The flags weren’t the only representation either. The food vendors from all over came to show off their traditional foods. There were al pastor tacos from Mexico, arepas from Columbia, and arroz con gandules from P FKKN R!
I had access to Amazon’s Music Lounge and VIP Lounge, which had games, a photo op, and an upstairs balcony where you could oversee the entire festival and locate all three stages. You could also create content for your social media, get access to makeup artists, and have a dedicated bar area.
Saturday’s lineup included Young Miko, Jay Wheeler, Farruko, and the headliner Anuel AA. To name a few. Young Miko is an upcoming female trap artist from Puerto Rico featured most recently on Bad Bunny’s latest album.
Jay Wheeler did not disappoint, performing all his hits, such as “La Curiosidad’ and “Dime que Si.”
However, Farruko surprised everyone by performing all his old hits despite turning his life over to God last year and now being a dedicated Christian singer. The Crowd could be heard loud and clear singing all his songs “Calma’, “Si Se Da” and the crowd’s favorite “Pepas”
Headliner Anuel AA was more than fashionably late his set time was 9:45 and he did not come out until 11:15, according to him his flight from the NBA All-Star Game was delayed. But he definitely made up to his fans by bringing on Ozuna as a surprise guest, and then all was right in the world.. well, the reggaeton world, that is. They performed their hit collabs such as “La Ocasion”. Despite the delayed set, all the artists killed it on stage.
This year was the first year Amazon was live streaming the event viewers at home were able to join the festival from the comfort of their own home via Amazon Music and Amazon Music En Vivo‘s Twitch pages, as well as on Prime Video. The stream ran for eight hours each day. YouTuber Chente Ydrach and Amazon Music host Grecia Lopez were on-site conducting interviews and giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the festival.
We had a chance to ask Rocío Guerrero, the Global Head of Latin Music at Amazon Music, what inspired Amazon Music to Livestream the festival this year, she explained.
“At the core of what we do is getting fans and artists closer than ever before with unique experiences. Igniting fandom, so we think a lot about how we can do that and what tools we have to continue that mindset, and the strategy to live stream seemed to act like the perfect marriage of that, so we are igniting fandom even when they’re home watching TV. They can be with their friends and with their family, or they can be alone. They can be present at a music festival that is in a different country.”
Overall, Day 1 of the Vibra Urbana Festival did not disappoint. It was a celebration of one of the most popular Latin genres, and this event proved that, at least for now, the PERRERO is not stopping!