‘Latin music is here.’ A Salsa superstar will perform at Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
He’s one of the most famous salsa artists in history, and he’s coming to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Jerry Rivera’s hits like Cara de Niño and Amores Como El Nuestro made the Puerto Rican singer a star in the 1990s. He continues to tour around Latin America and the United States. And next year, Biloxi will join places like Miami, Los Angeles, and Lima, Peru on his list of destinations.
Tickets for his show at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on Sept. 24, 2022 went on sale on Friday on Ticketmaster.
Rivera’s performance will mark a milestone for the Coast’s Hispanic community: It is likely the first time a Hispanic artist whose lyrics are in Spanish will perform at a major venue in the region.
“I think it’s important because I think the Hispanic community needs to see how big our numbers actually are, and how many of us are here,” said Lazaro Rovira, the Jackson County realtor who reached out to Rivera and organized the show.
And for the salsa superstar, who has performed in over 40 states but never been to Mississippi, it’s a new adventure and a new challenge.
“It’s like putting like a flag that even in Mississippi, Puerto Ricans are here, Latin music is here, Latinos are together,” said Rivera’s manager and booking agent, Rafael Caban.
Show target’s growing Latino community
A few months ago, Rovira and his family were driving down U.S. 90, past the Coliseum and the casinos. Looking at the signs for upcoming shows, Rovira realized he couldn’t remember ever seeing one for a Hispanic comedian or musician.
Growing up in a Cuban family in Miami, Rovira was surrounded by Hispanic art and culture. But on the Coast, where he has lived since 2014, he found little in the way of entertainment by and for Hispanics.
He wondered if he could organize a show that would give the community something to enjoy.
At first, he let the idea drop. But one day, when about 10 Hispanics were gathered at his office for a lunch, he asked the question: “If I was to bring someone like Jerry Rivera over here, would you guys come to see him?”
The response was enthusiastic. Rovira reached out to Rivera’s manager, and then to the Coliseum. The show will take place during Hispanic Heritage Month next year, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
Matt McDonnell, executive director of the Coliseum, said that in 35 years he can’t remember a Spanish-speaking artist ever headlining a show at the Coliseum.
“We are always excited to bring new types of entertainment to the community,” he said. “If this proves to be successful we will look to do more events like this in the coming year.”
Rovira thinks that the show will sell out.
The 2020 census showed the Hispanic population in every south Mississippi had increased since 2010. Among the 20 biggest cities in Mississippi, Pascagoula and Biloxi have the largest shares of Hispanic residents, at 15% and 9% respectively.
Coast band to open for Rivera
Rivera’s opening act at the Coliseum will be Zona Libre, a band comprised of four Ingalls Shipbuilding employees originally from Puerto Rico. All four members live in Jackson County.
Singer Vilmarie Mendez said that normally, she talks with every member before confirming the band will perform.
The call she got about opening for Jerry Rivera was different.
‘I just said, ‘Alright, we’re going,’” she said.
Zona Libre performs music from Latin American genres like merengue and salsa, as well as bilingual versions of U.S. hits like Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” Their performance at Pascagoula’s Festival Hispano in October included a shoutout to all the nationalities represented in Jackson County’s Hispanic community: Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republican and many others.
In 2016, the Puerto Rican merengue singer Elvis Crespo performed at Level Nightclub in Biloxi. But Mendez said that was the last time she could remember a high-profile Latin American musician visiting the Coast.
“People don’t have any place sometimes to dance, and go and relax and have fun and hear music,” she said. “I think it’s gonna be a huge community there, and a lot of people.”
Rovira says the event will raise about $20,000 for college scholarships for local Hispanic students.
“What excites me the most about this is the fact that we’re gonna get Jerry Rivera over here, it’s gonna be exciting for the community and at the same time we’re gonna give scholarships,” he said.
