Vibra Urbana 2024 Had a Rocky, Wet Weekend

Stepping out of my Uber at the Miami-Dade County Fair & Expo, it was exciting to be walking into Vibra Urbana. Expectations were high, not only for the acts performed throughout the weekend but also because AEG Presents, the concert promoter whose subsidiary Golden Voice is behind the festival behemoth Coachella, now has a stake in the Latin music festival.

However, a mix-up at the entrance gates as far as where those with media and guest passes were supposed to enter forced me to miss the first acts of the day. This should've been my first indication of how the weekend would go.

After the setback, I decided to view what the festival had to offer besides music. I walked into a VIP section where the local barbershop, the Spot, was holding a pop-up booth. I went for it because how many opportunities do you have to get a haircut at a music festival?

After the haircut, I caught the second half of Chesca's set as she gave a Michael Jackson tribute and performed hits like "Ella Perrea" before I dashed over to the Trap Stage to check out Ovi.

The Cuban rapper's set was even more chaotic than what I had expected, feeling like a fever dream. Ovi had brought along viral social media personality BabyAlien to hang out and chill on stage — those who knew who BabyAlien were baffled to see him there of all places. There was also a guy in a shark angel costume designed in a Bathing Ape red camo colorway somewhat reminiscent of the sharks that danced with Katy Perry at the Super Bowl. Then there was also Ovi himself, who wore a custom Bathing Ape set with his name adorning his shoes, hoodie, and even his boxers. Despite the short set time, Ovi gave one of the most memorable performances on that stage due to sheer sensory overload as he sang bangers like "No Me Importa un Carajo" and "A Los 16."
Over at the Vibra Stage, Álvaro Díaz was performing a late afternoon set before the crowds had turned out. He opened with a dark Disney-esque cinematic video as the speakers began to blast the intro to "Paranormal," which everyone needed to experience. He greeted the crowd and played deep classics like "OG Black" and "Chinita Linda" along with newer cuts like "PLN." He has great crowd work and stage presence, and added pyrotechnics helped amplify the experience. Combining that with his amazing natural voice, by the time he dove into "Problemón" and "Llori Pari," it was clear he was among the most underrated acts on the lineup.

After Díaz wrapped up his set, the crowd grew as everyone waited for the arrival of Puerto Rico's current princess, Young Miko. Alongside Mexico's Peso Pluma, she might be the biggest name in Latin music right now. The crowd definitely let her know as they chanted, "Miko! Miko! Miko!" Suddenly, she burst onto the stage like a rocket, and everyone went crazy, screaming and crying as she rapped "Putero." From that moment on, she had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand, rapping and running around the stage as fans cheered her on for every little comment. The loudest it got was probably when she mentioned the "Contigo" video that she and Karol G dropped on Valentine's Day.

Even with mic issues at times, the fans kept pace with her throughout the entire performance, to the point that some of them even started throwing flowers at her, along with one particular fan who threw a pair of panties on stage. At one point, she picked up an LGBTQ flag and draped it over herself as she sang "Classy 101" to end the set.

Over at the Trap Stage, the crowd had grown in size, with festivalgoers eating up all available space. Clearly, organizers hadn't anticipated the stage to draw such a turnout. With no giant LED screen to project what was happening on stage, people could barely see what was happening, and plenty of women resorted to getting on their boyfriends' shoulders for a better view.
Dei V, Luar La L, and Yovngchimi commanded the stage for hours, delivering back-to-back-to-back bangers. Songs like "Gatita Gangster," "Bonnie and Clyde," and "La Routa" had everyone going nuts. Even Lunay came out to perform "Soltera," a Miami classic if you ask me, and Chimi brought out Dei V to bang out their hit "Tu$$i."

During this time, performances also started to blow their scheduled set times. Farruko took to the Vibra Stage 15 minutes late, while Yovngchimi took a whole 35 minutes to get started.

But no one was more guilty of this than headliner Anuel AA. The Puerto Rican rapper had been scheduled to perform at 9:45 p.m. but was nowhere to be found. By 11 p.m., when curfew finally hit, fans booed and clamored, "Anuel! Anuel! Anuel!" DJ Mario Duran did his best to entertain the fans, but even he gave up at one point. Fans started leaving in droves, and some asked if they would receive refunds if Anuel was a no-show.

Finally, at 11:10 p.m., the lights dimmed. Anuel came out in a custom blue Amiri top with his rose-shaped microphone, and all was quickly forgiven. He came out with energy, playing tracks "Mas Rica Que Ayer," "Ella Quiere Beber," and "Culpables." He also explained why he was late, saying his plane had been stuck on the runway for five hours.

The rumba continued as Anuel brought out Luar La L and Hades66 as his first guests of the night to perform "Pacto." He gave the pair props as the next artists in the Latin trap game. The surprises didn't end there, with Anuel bringing out Ozuna and Dei V to perform "Bad Boy." After the song, Ozuna stayed, and the duo known as Los Dioses continued to go into "Baila Baila Baila," "China," and "Adicto." The grand finale had Anuel announcing that they were going to cut off his mic as "Amanece" began to play, and the crowd went into acapella as he walked off.

Still, all the hiccups on the first day couldn't have prepared anyone for day two.

The festival alerted everyone on Sunday morning that the gates would open at 2 p.m., an hour later than scheduled. But after arriving at 3 p.m. I was informed that no one would be let in due to strong winds and heavy rain. Everyone was advised to wait in their vehicles for what seemed like an eternity.
I decided to wait it out at the nearby Cuban restaurant Doña Neli, waiting for the go-ahead from the festival. Little did I know the crowds were let back in at around 4:50 p.m., but the festival waited to send out an alert until 6 p.m. Nicki Nicole was already on stage, which meant I missed the opportunity to view one of Argentina's biggest artists at her only U.S. stop.

Many performers were scrapped altogether, including Puerto Rican singer Gale, but those who weren't were forced to have their set times reduced. Ivy Queen, the queen of reggaeton, only performed three songs. She was almost cut off during "Quiero Bailar," but thankfully, organizers weren't dumb enough to cut off the queen during one of the most iconic reggaeton songs of all time. After the song ended, Ivy walked off, clearly annoyed, and the crowd was left wanting more. There was barely any time to breathe as Arcángel quickly followed.

Bizarrap came out to deliver a full set, but it took a while to set up his decks, leading to a 20-minute delay. When he took the stage, he gave a performance that wouldn't be out of the norm at Ultra Music Festival, complete with plenty of tracks he produced. Because of the unique nature of his set, he wasn't able to bring out any guests like so many other artists, but he was able to deliver the show as intended — or almost. Another downpour started during his set, with those of us who decided that wearing a jacket would be enough to stave off the rain quickly finding out how wrong we were. Nicki Nicole did pop in at one point as the crowd was forced to keep moving to stay warm.
Finally, the festival closed out with Sunday's headliner. At 10:48 p.m., Rauw Alejandro launched into "Quiero Volver a Repetir" as the rain continued to fall. He then rolled into "Todo De Ti," which seemed like a bold choice considering the hit is tailormade for the encore. His set mainly consisted of collaborations and remixes such as "Hey Lil Mama," "Tiroteo," and the first-time live "No Hay Ley Parte 2." He also sprinkled in fan favorites like "Panties y Brasieres" and "Desesperados."

It was a unique set that featured less of what we have come to know Alejandro from albums like Saturno and Visa Versa. I wouldn't say it was disappointing, but a good number of fans agreed that if he were going to deliver a setlist full of deep cuts, it would have been better to know instead of expecting songs that everyone has loved for years. Alejandro has stage presence and dancing chops — don't worry about that. It's just that the circumstances, his choice of songs to perform lacked the punch the crowd had hoped for.

By the time he asked everyone to sing along to "Diluvio," the winds had only picked up, and I began to eagerly await the end of this set. He ended the set with "Baby Hello" as fireworks set off over the stage, signaling everyone that this wet and cold day was finally over.

Everyone dashed back to their cars as the rain grew stronger and temperatures continued to plummet, thanks to the strong wings. Here's hoping the festival has a much drier 2025 edition and the logistical kinks can be worked out.