The Chicano star is currently on tour in celebration of his album, Ridin’
Cuco turned Mexican Independence Day into a cumbia celebration Monday night at the Greek Theatre. The Chicano soul star lit up the sold-out Los Angeles venue in green, white, and red, as fans swayed and sang along to his unexpected dive into cumbia classics.
Midway through the show, Cuco loosened things up with his cumbia-inspired 2021 one-off “Under the Sun” before surprising the crowd by pulling out the güira for a rendition of “Llorar,” the standard by Los Socios del Ritmo. The energy jumped again when he transitioned into “La Negra Tomasa,” the Caifanes anthem that had the audience on its feet.
“I gotta tell you how many cumbia parties I’ve been to,” Cuco said onstage. “Y’all, I never realized how hard it is to sing that song, ‘Llorar,’ it’s a lot of tongue twisters for me. But that is fun as fuck to play. I hope you guys enjoyed that shit.”
The star took the time to celebrate some of the deluxe standouts on Ridin’, making way for “Sin un Corazón” from the extended project. Earlier in the evening, Cuco welcomed Jean Carter to perform their collab “Bossa No Sé,” and also a rendition of “My 45” from his recent project, Ridin, which Rolling Stone lauded last month.
“His blissed-out performances flow by perfectly, and the tunes stay with you. More than just historical cosplay,Ridin’makes an old-school sound feel joyfully present,” read a reviewof the album.
Cuco just started his Ridin tour last week in Oakland and is set to tour the United States, stopping in cities such as Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver, Dallas, Nashville, Kansas City, and New York City through the end of October.