13 years ago, he had to have acted at the Rock In Río Festival, but canceled his performance a few hours before for strong pains caused by fibromyalgia. His fans had to settle for their meaning on Twitter: “Brazil, I’M devastated” (Brazil, I am devastated). The phrase toured memes, parodies and tributes for years. Until this Saturday. The American diva came out its pending debt with Brazil in style: a free, massive concert, on Copacabana beach, as Madonna already did last year (more firewood on the fire for those who feed the comparisons between them). According to the official balance of the authorities, Lady Gaga congregated 2.1 million viewers, surpassing the pop queen, which in May last year summoned 1.6 million.
Gaga landed in Rio to present. It was the third stop of his new tour, after the applauded start and two full in Mexico City. The expectation was maximum, with thousands of fans waiting for days at the doors of the Copacabana Palace hotel, in front of the sea, where the singer was held almost a week. The mother monster He did not disappoint. With a scenography in the form of a sumptuous opera theater, he put on the table all his baroque and mutant imaginary: he started with Bloody Mary And immediately linked with Abracadabrahis last success. The first surprise came when under the spectacular red dress from the beginning appeared another with the colors of the Brazilian flag and a cross strip that could well be that of a president.
It was not the only wink of the night to the local public: after placing a Brazilian flag at the top of a box of her particular theater, the singer stopped the concert to read an emotional speech that was translated by an interpreter: “No one makes history alone. Without all you, the incredible people of Brazil, I would not have this moment. Thank you for making history with me, you are the reason why I can shine (…) More than ten years, ”he said without being able to contain tears. He quickly replied to sing Alejandro and continue with a show which was interspersing his most popular successes with those of the new album. Of the classics did not miss Poker Face (in which he faces his alter ego in a violent game of chess), Paparazzi or the anthem Born this Waywhich led delirium to the public, possibly the largest concentration of gays per square meter ever seen in the southern hemisphere.
The rainbow fans were lost in the immensity of a crowded beach where, luckily, there were 16 huge sound towers with giant screens. Near one of them was Felipe Santos, 21: “Lady Gaga is my childhood diva. My mother did not let me see her video clips, I thought it was a bad influence, but I was going to a friend’s house to see her. She ended up being a reference in the discovery of my identity,” he confessed excitedly. The majority of the public was around thirty and although there were also groups of foreign tourists, most came from all corners of Brazil. More than 500,000 visitors arrived in the city in recent days, according to the City Council.
Faithful to his grandiloquent style, Lady Gaga was accompanied by a large dance body and even an orchestra, resurrected under the sand, danced with skeletons and still had time to sit the piano for the most intimate moments. He linked the ballads Blade of Grass y Shallowthe song for which he got an Oscar. It was one of the most chanted of the night along with, by surprise, Vanish Into Youfrom his new album. It was the time chosen by the artist to go down to the track and greet her fans, after telling them that he had been listening to them every night from their hotel. One day he even sent them some pizzas.
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, her real name, was seen at all times euphoric and excited before the most massive concert of her career. For final apotheosis left Bad Romance. After the aggressive grimaces and the iconic claw movement, there was a time that seemed out of the script: the song ended, everything possible had already stretched out, from the sea, artificial fires and Gaga came out and their dancers simply sat down to contemplate the show. She took her hands as incredulous with what she had in front. A sea of people in front of the ocean shouting “Gaga, eu I love you.”
The beach had been filled from early in the morning to exceed two million attendees. Beyond the inevitable agglomerations at the exit, the night passed without incident and the Cariocas can boast again that they know how to organize macro events with note. Police blocked access to some streets and installed 150 control points to review everyone. 5,300 agents, facial recognition cameras, drones and even vessels in the sea were deployed.
Gaga’s free concert was possible thanks to several sponsors (the main one, a brand of beer) and for the injection of 30 million reais (4.7 million euros) of public money, approximately one third of the total cost. The authorities justify it for the huge economic return: hotels and restaurants to be overflowing, record tax collection … A study in charge of the City Council estimates a direct impact of more than 100 million dollars, in addition to international advertising for the brand of the city. The project Everyone in Rio Every May and its main driver, the mayor will be repeated, has already advanced that he works so that next year the Irish U2 or, which seems more difficult, Beyoncé. “If I get it, literally, I will be the king of the gays,” he joked a few days ago.
