Payne Arena prepares for palenque after El Alfa farewell show
HIDALGO — The energy hasn’t slowed down one bit for Payne Arena this week.
As their team shut the curtain on El Alfa’s retirement tour concert last Saturday, they immediately jumped into preparing to host what they believe is the country’s first-ever Palenque featuring internationally adored musicians including Christian Nodal, Alejandro Fernandez and Gerado Ortiz.
FAREWELL EL ALFA
Dec. 18 will be the last time Dominican dembow global superstar El Alfa will ever perform live, and the Rio Grande Valley was lucky enough to have their own opportunity to say farewell last weekend.
Also known as “The King of Dembow,” El Alfa’s “El Ultimo Baile” tour made a stop at Payne Arena in Hidalgo on Saturday night to say goodbye to his passionate Valley fans.
The arena was pumping with the energy of over 2,000 attendees dancing, gyrating their hips and pumping their fists at the sky to Alfa’s rhythmic, explosive and bass-heavy songs like “La Mama de la Mama,” “Suave” and “4K.”
With over 20 million monthly listeners on Spotify, he’s collaborated with other international superstars like Bad Bunny and Cardi B.
Hailing from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, he embraces his culture as a dembow champion, utilizing his native tongue’s slang, humour and cadence, and highlighting barrio energy through his dance moves, style and attitude.
At times he has been experimental with his music, carving out a unique street style sound, but he always incorporates a fast, syncopated Dominican percussion.
El Alfa announced his retirement after 10 years of dominating the dembow music scene in the wake of his beloved grandmother’s death early this year.
“Today is one of the saddest days of my life. I lost the love of my grandmother … Since I came into this world, she has always given me all the love in the world and more. I’m devastated,” he wrote on the day of her death.
According to Javier Luna, Payne Arena Marketing Coordinator, what brought El Alfa to the Valley on his last-ever tour was the region’s people and their love for Latin music.
“He’s got all these hits burning up social media and everyone knows his songs,” said Luna. “We wanted to give everyone a cool sendoff on his behalf.”
His Saturday night concert was like a huge Valley party, and El Alfa embraced his deep connection with local fans by constant and intimate audience interaction. But what really stole the show was his unwavering solemn smile as he got lost in enjoying putting on his electric and playful performance, knowing it would be one of his last.
LEGENDARY PALENQUE HIDALGO
Without losing momentum following El Alfa’s high-energy show, Payne Arena’s team immediately threw themselves into preparing for Legendary Palenque Hidalgo.
The nine-day concert series featuring seven performers is slated for Nov. 21-29.
Less than a week later, collaborating with the artist’s show teams, Payne Arena erected an impressive 40-foot by 40- foot stage in the center of the arena to give audiences a 360-degree experience – “where every seat feels like front row.”
According to Luna, with the audience completely surrounding the artists, the shows’ production value will be the cherry on top for the unique experience, featuring immersive audio and spectacular lighting effects.
The nightly concerts aim to foster a never-before-seen-in-the-region week of celebration, culture and entertainment.
Multi-Latin Grammy winner Christian Nodal will kick off the palenque on Nov. 21, followed by Tejano icon Bobby Pulido on Nov. 22.
The next day, Nov. 23, Gerado Ortiz — the undisputed leader of modern corridos and banda — will show audiences why he’s one of the most influential artists of the past decade, with hits like Fuiste Mia and Damaso.
Fast forward a couple days until Nov. 25, Alejando Fernandez, a living legend of Mexican music, will showcase his powerful mariachi songs and romantic ballads.
On Nov. 26, viral comedian Brincos Dieras will have audiences laughing on the edge of their seats with his boundary-pushing humor.
Young revolutionary musical duo Hermanos Espinoza will celebrate Valley talent on Nov. 28 with popular anthems “Prueba de Fuego” and “Dios Por Delante.”
Multi-Grammy winners Intocable — one of the most important groups in the history of norteno and Tejano music — will bring the week’s series to an end on Nov. 29.
“These types of things are a part of what makes our culture down here,” said Luna. “It’s history.”
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