Besame Mucho Festival: The Recap
Written by Leydi Gonzalez on March 5, 2024
The tremendous one-day fest of Besame Mucho Festival in Austin, TX happened this past weekend. Full of legendary artists throughout the decades and different genres, this festival had something for everyone. The sun was out but the wind blew a crisp breeze throughout the night; here is our recap of the artist we saw!
Kinky
The first act of the day that we caught was the Mexican alternative band Kinky. The band has been active for more than 20 years. Even though their set started with technical difficulties, the crowd remained as excited as ever. On the Rockero Stage, they performed some of their biggest hits like “Resistere”, “Soun That Mi Primer Amor”, and “Despues del After”.
Cusillos
On the Beso Stage, Jalisco’s very own Cusillos De Arturo Macias was next up. With their iconic native green outfits and the whole band rocking a huge smile, the band had the people moving. They sang crowd favorites like “Mil Heridas” and “Perdoname” from their big comeback album Mil Heridas.
Kumbia Kings
Over on the Te Gusta El Pop? Stage the Mexican-American Cumbia group, Kumbia Kings, from Corpus Christi formed by A.B. Quintanilla was ready to hit the stage. They all showed up in matching red shirts and black pants outfits. Known for their high-energy spirits they did not miss in their performance, they hit choreography and went into the crowd for the fans.
Elvis Crespo
The stage did a 180-degree turn and the hitmaker Elvis Crespo was on next. Known for his superhits “Tu Sonrisa” and “Suavmente” the New York native had the crowd moving. He brought out a full cumbia band and was dancing all over the stage. At one point, he went with the camera operators and took over their job. He began to man the camera and was panning to the crowd. Elvis Crespo had so much fun on stage and that was reflected in the crowd.
La Adictiva
On the Beso Stage was the band La Adictiva. The Mexican band has been in the game for more than 30 years and they continue to pull thousands of fans to gather to their stage set. La Adictiva hit the stage with their matching red suits and their 16-man band. They had the crowd moving with hits like “En Peligro de Extincion”, “JGL”, and “El Amor de Mi Vida”.
Belanova
Now back on the Te Gusta El Pop? Stage, the Mexican pop icon Belanova has arrived. Known for her sweet vocals and mega-hits like “Por Ti” and “Rosa Pastel” , her performance was one to remember. She was very charismatic when performing and full of smiles.
Reik
The last act we caught on the Te Gusta El Pop? Stage was pop trio, Reik. The Mexican group is known for its ballads and great vocals. They mentioned that they usually don’t do many festivals but because of the massive Latinos that came out for the festival, they were more than happy to be there. Reik ran through their deep discography and performed songs like “Noviembre Sin Ti”, “Creo en Ti”, and “Ya Me Entere”.
Banda El Recodo
As the night fell, we decided to end the night on the Beso Stage to catch legendary Mexican Bandas; one of them being Banda El Recodo. Formed in 1938 and with Grammy’s under their belts, Banda El Recodo has been a trailblazer for Regional Mexican music. The Sinaloanse band is composed of 17 members under the Lizarraga family. They wore matching black suits and had the night crowd dancing throughout their whole set. The band performed songs like “La Mejor De Todas”, “Vas A Llorar Por Mi”, and “Te Presumo”.
Los Tucanes de Tijuana
Before the night ended the iconic Los Tucanes de Tijuana came on stage to remind people why they have been successful for more than 35 years. Pioneering the Norteno sound in Mexico, the five-man band had fireworks and lasers as they began their performance. The crowd was roaring back the words to the band as they performed international hits like “Amor Platonico”, “El Aguila Blanca”, and the track that had everyone going crazy “La Chona”.
Banda MS de Sergio Lizarraga
The stage hit the final 180 turn and one of the headliners of the night shined on stage. The legendary Banda MS has come to close out the first Besame Mucho Festival in Austin, TX. The group wore matching suits and had a tremendous stage presence. The members were smiling from ear to ear from the warm welcome of the Austin crowd. You had multiple generations of fans in the crowd singing back their songs like there was no tomorrow. The band performed their iconic discography and played songs like “El Color de Tus Ojos”, “Me Vas Extranar”, and (my absolute favorite) “Hablame De Ti”. As the night ended Banda MS said their goodbyes to the lovely crowd of the Besame Mucho Festival.
This festival truly brought fans of latino music from different genres and eras together for one day, it was truly beautiful to see.
