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Music

We Talked to Fans at a Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias Concert in El Paso, Texas

"It has a lot of connotations. If you're in the party mode it's like, 'Let's go for it. Let's party it up!'"

Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias, photos by the author

No city loves Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull quite like El Paso. Or, at the very least, no other city on the pair's current joint tour loves them quite like El Paso, where a second tour date was added after the first one sold out.

It's understandable why. Iglesias and Pitbull (real name, Armando Christian Perez) are two of the—if not the—biggest Latin American artists in the world. El Paso is predominantly Latino and has a rich Mexican culture and history because it is literally on the border with Mexico (the Mexican city of Juarez and El Paso essentially run together). And not only is El Paso filled with Latino pride, the two artists do a great job of celebrating it. During his performance, Pitbull took the time to shout out Latinos/as from across the world: Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Paraguay, Uruguay, and, of course, Mexico.

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It's incredible just how well the two complement each other: Enrique is the pretty boy romantic who'll get ambushed by women (two women literally rushed the stage to try to make out with him), who will share a bottle of alcohol with a member of the audience as they sing "Stand By Me" (last night's pick was a 23 year-old who works at Krispy Kreme), and who will have you holding your significant other tightly, never wanting to let go. Then there's Pitbull, the bachelor bro whose negative to positive life story can be summed up in one word: Dale. When he's around you can't help but dance and shout "Culo" to no one in particular. He's Mr. Worldwide, and, regardless of what people think of his artistry, the guy is next level in terms of inspiration and positivity.

The night was nothing short of a really, really big party. Confetti was sprayed across the audience members closest to the stages, large balloons adorned with the words "Sex and Love" (the title of Enrique's latest album) floated across the venue, and people danced until they no longer could.

A lot of people were tired and ready to leave once the show was over, but fortunately there were a few people still energized from the experience to talk to me about their favorite performer, and what "dale" truly means to them.

Kareesha Chozick, 38; Brian Chozick, 43

Noisey: Who was your favorite performer and why?
Brian: I liked them both. I was impressed with Enrique, but I liked them both.
Kareesha: I liked them both also, but I came for Pitbull.

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What was your favorite moment of the show?
Brian: Enrique singing with that guy [Mr. Krispy Kreme].
Kareesha: That was really cool, I'm going to have to agree with him. And the ladies that got up and tried kissing Enrique!
Brian: I liked the dancers that Pitbull had onstage, too.
Kareesha: Those were good booties.

What does dale mean to you?
Kareesha: Like, give it. Give it to me.
Brian: Give it all you've got.

Abizzai Garcia, 32; Cristi Garcia, 30

Noisey: Who was your favorite performer and why?
Cristi: Enrique Iglesias.
Abizzai: Enrique Iglesias. He has music and talent—
Cristi: Looks.
Abizzai: And charisma.

What was your favorite part of the show?
Cristi: When the confetti fell.
Abizzai: The confetti falling was really awesome. Being down there in the floor section was just part of the party, you know what I mean? Bonding.

Are you going to keep your balloon?
Abizzai: It's for my baby.

Jose Salas, 28; Patty Duarte, 30; Claudia Solis, 30

Noisey: Who was your favorite performer and why?
Claudia: Enrique Iglesias. He's a cool dude.
Jose: Pitbull. He just gets everybody going. It was very unfortunate as far as Enrique Iglesias. I don't know but he just sounds very different live to the CD. He sounded like he was on something (laughs). He sounded like a cat. But overall: Pitbull. You get to the see diversity of all of the songs he has and how he integrates some of the artists he's worked with.
Claudia: It was super professional. I had never seen Pitbull in concert, and it was amazing.
Patty: Now her favorite performer is Pitbull.
Claudia: No, I still like Enrique! I love Enrique, but Pitbull was amazing.

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What was your favorite part of the show?
Jose: When Pitbull did "Fireball." That was a really good presentation. And what was the other one?
Patty: When Pitbull and Enrique closed together, that was so cool.
Jose: But you see, Enrique comes out, and his presentation is completely different.
Patty: Jose even forgot that Enrique was a part of the show.
Jose: When he came out for the last part of the show I was like, "Oh wait, he is in this concert." It's all going because of Pitbull.
Patty: Pitbull is full of energy. He drives the people, he's there for the people.

He's the party dude, and everyone loves the party dude.
Claudia: It's true.

Enrique Iglesias

So why do you like Enrique more then?
Claudia: Dude, I guess it's because I've had a crush on him ever since I was a kid. Like, when he first started and stuff. Some things don't change. Plus, he's 48 years old.
Jose: No he's not.
Claudia: He's not?

Context: During Enrique's performance he took a moment to talk about the first time he performed in El Paso, which was in 1997. He then began to talk about how long he's been an artist and how old he is, which then led to him saying that he's 48 years old when he's actually 39. Dude still looks good though.

Jose: He's 39. Because this one (points to Claudia) is like "He's 48" and I'm like "What, you cannot look like that at 48." So we googled his age and found out he was 39. He must be on something if he doesn't know his own birthday. What was your favorite part of the concert?

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Seeing the women run the stage to try and make out with Enrique.
Jose: Yes!
Patty: I wish I had balls like that.
Jose: They were older ladies, too.
Patty: Well because he said he was 48.

All the cougars just went for it after that point.
Claudia: Cougars are great.

What does dale mean to you?
Jose: It has a lot of connotations. If you're in the party mode it's like, "Let's go for it. Let's party it up!" But then at the same time some of his lyrics are motivational.
Patty: It's like "Just do it" from Nike.

Tiffany Morales, 16; Angie Mendoza, 19; Estrella Mendoza, 18; Zayecksy Morales, 18

In order for the girls to talk to me I had to scream "J Balvin" (the opener for the Enrique and Pitbull tour) with them, in hopes that the singer would hear our desperate cries and come out. I don't know if he ever did, but they were awesome.

Noisey: Who was your favorite performer and why?
Zayecksy: Pitbull because he had so many lights. They were so cool!
Angie and Estrella: J BALVIN! We just love his music and everything about him.

You guys are the first J Balvin fans I've gotten.
Zayecksy: What? Look at our sign. But all of them were my favorite. Enrique is hot, J Balvin is hot, and Pitbull is just cool.

He seems like such a cool guy to hang out with.
Right? Even just talking to him, I imagine him making people laugh all the time.

We all need to hang out with Pitbull some day.
We do.

J Balvin

What was your favorite part of the show?
Angie: When J Balvin sang.
Tiffany: When he played the guitar. It was so cute.
Zayecksy: When Pitbull sang—
Tiffany: "Timber"?
Zayecksy: No. It was one of his older songs.

What does dale mean to you?
Estrella: Go hard against whatever.
Zayecksy: Just giving everything you've got. Gettin' it!

How long are you going to try and get J Balvin to come out?
Until my phone dies. It's at 71 percent.

Elijah Watson is a writer from El Paso. Follow him on Twitter.