Bachata Rosa World Tour is the first concert world tour by Dominican recording artist Juan Luis Guerra and his Band 4:40 to promote this blockbuster album Bachata Rosa (1990). It started at July 5, 1991, in Puerto Rico and ended on July 4, 1992, in Los Angeles, and was sponsored by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi and the European leg by Bitter Kas. With tour stops throughout the Americas and Europe, it broke several attendance records and drew over 350,000 fans.

Background In 1989, Guerra released his fourth studio album Ojalá Que Llueva Café. The album met with universal critical acclaim and commercial success on Latin markets. To promote the album, the group made several concerts. In March 1990, Juan Luis Guerra and 4:40 made their first concert in Miami at Calle ocho and in November 1990 Michael Dukakis proclaimed October 21 as "Juan Luis Guerra y 4.40 Groupo Day".

Following the unexpected success of the three singles "Como Abeja Al Panal" "La Bilirrubina" and "Burbujas de Amor", Guerra next album was pushed back to December 1990. In Chile, Juan Luis Guerra performed for the first time in February 1991 at XXXII Viña del Mar International Song Festival. By June 1991, Bachata Rosa topped Billboard Latin charts for 21 weeks. On the same month, Guerra announced his plans to do a World Tour to promote the album including an 11 city stop on United States. Ten more concerts were planned for a second US Leg in Summer 1992 sponsored by U.S. brewer Anheuser- Busch. Guerra did performed the first concerts in Los Angeles, however cancelled the rest of the concerts to focus on recording his next studio album. The last leg of the tour that was scheduled to visit some countries in South America and Brazil, was suspended due to an eye surgery.

Reception

Critical reception The tour receive mostly positive reviews. Enrique Blanc from Los Angeles times gave a positive review to the concert at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles writing "Guerra's music has opened a new path, where traditional forms of Latin music can be re-explored and taken beyond their prior limits". Jon Pareles from New York Times, attended the concert in New York and wrote a review titled "A Dominican Sound With a Broad Appeal". In other Hand, Ramiro Burr wrote a positive review titled "Guerra's salsa moves feet, hips, hearts" praising Guerra stage presence and production.

Commercial reception Following the success of Bachata Rosa, high expectations were around Guerra next tour. Billboard stated that "The first U.S. tour by Juan Luis Guerra & 4.40, the Latin equivalent of Michael Jackson's tour". The leg broke attendance records and the average price ticket was $35, higher than many rock stars at the time. According to Cashbox, the world tour drew over 350,000 fans throughout the Americas and Europe. The concerts in New York on 25–27 November 1991 at the Paramount, drew more than 15,000 and Los Angeles gig on 23–24 November, at the two concerts at the Universal Amphitheatre had an attendance of 10,889. In Miami, the concert at Miami arena was sold out and drew over 12,000 fans. Tickets for the Laredo and Houston concert were between $20 to $50 and $80.

Media reported that the concerts in Spain had total attendance of 250,000 fans on 17 concerts. The concert in Madrid, Spain were sold out with 22,000 tickets sold while thousands of fans were left outside and 20,000 in Barcelona. Also, over 20,000 fans show up at the Estadio Bailados and 15,000 at A Coruña. Following the concert, local authorities decided to lowered the capacity of the venue for concerts to 13,000. Over 30,000 tickets were sold at Gijon. According to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, Guerra earned over US$75,000 per show during the summer leg of 1991.

El Siglo de Torreón stated that the success of the South America leg were unprecedent. The concert in Quito, Ecuador, broke records in tickets sales with 60,000. Over 10,000 tickets were sold in Alajuela, Costa Rica and 30,000 in Asuncion. In Montevideo, the attedance was 15,000 despite the low temperatures. In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Guerra performed at Estadio Olimpico with a record audience of 80,000 fans on 24 December 1991. However, the concert in Veracruz reported low tickets sales and the concert at Madison Square Garden on August 2, 1992, was cancelled citing low tickets sale because no new music was release. Eventually, all the concerts of the second leg, except of Los Angeles, were cancelled.

Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueJuly 5, 1991BayamonPuerto RicoColiseo Rubén RodríguezEuropeJuly 10, 1991ZaragozaSpainPlaza de los TorosJuly 11, 1991Las PalmasEstadio InsularJuly 13, 1991BenidormJuly 15, 1991ValenciaPlaza de Toros de ValenciaJuly 17, 1991BarcelonaPlaza de TorosJuly 18, 1991HuescaPlaza de Toros de HuescaJuly 19, 1991BilbaoPlaza de Toros Vista AlegreJuly 20, 1991SantanderEstadio el SardineroJuly 22, 1991MadridPlaza de Las Ventas de MadridJuly 23, 1991July 24, 1991SalamancaPlaza de Toros de SalamancaJuly 25, 1991Puerto RealJuly 27, 1991MalagaPlaza de Toros de MalagaJuly 28, 1991AlmeriaAugust 2, 1991VigoEstadio Bailados de VigoAugust 3, 1991A CoruñaColiseum da CoruñaAugust 4, 1991GijonHipodromo de MestasNorth AmericaSeptember 7, 1991Mexico CityMexicoAuditorio NacionalSeptember 8, 1991September 12, 1991Palacio de los DeportesSeptember 19, 1991GuadalajaraEstadio Tecnológico UniversitarioNovember 15, 1991Washington D.CUnited StatesPatriot CenterNovember 22, 1991San FranciscoCivic AuditoriumNovember 23, 1991Los AngelesUniversal AmphitheatreNovember 24, 1991November 25, 1991New York CityThe ParamountNovember 26, 1991November 27, 1991November 29, 1991BostonMatthews ArenaNovember 30, 1991OrlandoOrange County Convention and Civic CenterDecember 1, 1991MiamiMiami ArenaDecember 6, 1991LaredoLaredo Civic CenterDecember 7, 1991HoustonSam Houston ColiseumDecember 8, 1991AustinFrank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events CenterDecember 14, 1991East RutherfordMeadowlands Convention CenterDecember 15, 1991Latin AmericaDecember 22, 1991Santo DomingoDominican RepublicJuan Pablo Duarte Olympic StadiumMay 13, 1992SantiagoChilePista Atlética del Estadio NaiconalMay 14, 1992May 15, 1992May 18, 1992AsuncionParaguayEstadio Defensores del ChacoMay 19, 1992May 20, 1992May 22, 1992Buenos AiresArgentinaLuna ParkMay 23, 1992May 24, 1992May 25, 1992May 29, 1992MontevideoUruguayEstadio CentenarioJune 5, 1992LimaPeruEstadio Alejandro VillanuevaJune 9, 1992QuitoEcuadorEstadio Olimpico AtahualpaJune 17, 1992Alajuela Costa RicaEstadio Alejandro Morera SotoJune 20, 1992ManaguaNicaraguaEstadio NacionalJune 21, 1992North AmericaJuly 4, 1992Los AngelesUnited StatesUniversal Amphitheatre

Box office data CityCountryAttendanceBox officeNew YorkUnited States15,466 / 17,400 (89%)$589,402Los Angeles10,889 / 12,000 (91%)$332,664Buenos AiresArgentina32,000 / 32,000 (100%)$808,080Total58,355 / 61,400 (95%)$1,730,146

Cancelled concerts +List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, and reason for cancellationDateCityCountryVenueReasonSeptember 3, 1991TorreónMexicoEstadio de la RevoluciónLow Tickets Sales and Bad weatherDecember 8, 1991El PasoUnited StatesEl Paso ColiseumSchedule ConflictJuly 3, 1992Los AngelesUniversal AmphitheatreJuly 5, 1992Health IssuesAugust 2, 1992New YorkMadison Square GardenPoor Tickets Sales

References