And Atlanta makes 5.........

...... : ) RICKY MARTIN : ) concerts I have been to. Yes, the 5th. The first time I ever saw him was in Madrid in Sept. 1997. I remember seeing the advertisements all throughout Madrid when I got there, and I remember thinking hum, I think this guy was in "Menudo". The concert had actually been postponed til after my arrival day in Espana, and it was fate that it was b/c since then he has been my hero. All of my friends and family know that if I were to meet anyone famous, dead or alive, it would be him hands down. He is the greatest entertainer, appreciates life and simple things (hence the title of his latest album), loves people and loves helping them (espec. kids), and loves foreign cultures and the diversity foreign music can bring to his music. His concerts are SO full of energy and incredible sounds. I just can't do him justice by describing him on my blog. (Picture here courtesy of this site). This post will be long though b/c I LOVE RICKY.

So, as I said, my 1st concert was in Madrid in the bullring called La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas. As soon as I saw this man dance, it was over for me. We were the first ones in line, so we got right up to the stage for the concert, and had a great view. I will never forget standing in the dirt watching Ricky!

Then I went to other concerts in NYC, Orlando, and Tampa (Livin' La Vida Loca Tour '99, Vuelve Tour '98, etc.). And this past Sunday to Atl. I try to go to a different city every time. This past Sunday I lost my voice screaming for him.... he hasn't been on tour in a while, so I was more than ecstatic to go! Here are some pics. The first one is of the line of people before the concert that wrapped around a couple blocks. The next three are inside the Tabernacle where it was held. The place was so cute and special and had a personality all its own. Perfect for Ricky. Not some big boring arena.

This one here is waiting for Ricky to come out, when my heart was racing with excitement.







AND HERE IS THE CONCERT! He opened with songs from his new album like "Drop It On Me" and "This Is Good". Ricky also performed slower, very cool versions of "She Bangs" and "Livin' La Vida Loca", and had an amazing flamenco dancer that you can see here in the white. Ricky is clapping.
He sang "Vuelve" (here in the red shirt) which is a slow song, and the crowd went NUTS. He danced in the fog here.... it was like a dream.
Here is his traditional pose of his hand over his head (yes its blurry-he kept moving a lot). And then his shirt popped open, and I almost died. He ended with "The Cup of Life" (the 1998 World Cup theme song), and Ricky glitter came out. It was just tissue paper, but I took some to keep-one each of red, blue, and white (in Madrid silver things came down too, so I have Ricky glitter from 2 concerts now). The last pic is the souvenir stand. I bought the t-shirt to the far left. In all, it was the best night ever. I was in the same room as Ricky. That's all that mattered. Thanks to my good friend Michael for going with me too. He got stuck watching me have like 10 heart attacks each time Ricky came on the stage with a different outfit. He's a great sport! VIVA RICKY!!