MEXICO CITY — It isn’t often that a boy band becomes a matter of international diplomacy.
But this, after more than a million K-pop fans in Mexico tried and failed to buy tickets for a three-night run of shows by the beloved band BTS, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent a letter to her counterpart in South Korea, pleading for more concert dates.
The Korean president wrote back apologetically, saying that she had inquired into the issue, but BTS was unable to accommodate more shows in Mexico during its world tour.
This week, ahead of the band’s shows at Mexico City’s GNP Serguros Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sheinbaum invited its seven members to the National Palace — an honor typically reserved for visiting diplomats. They showed up in well-tailored suits, their sleek hair perfectly coiffed.
K-pop fans are known for their frenzy. That is especially true in Mexico City, which is ranked as the No. 1
city for BTS streams on Spotify.
The National Palace visit was announced with just five hours’ notice. Still, an estimated 50,000 fans managed to fill the Zócalo, Mexico City’s central square, in time to see the president and the pop stars waving from a balcony.
“I love you, I adore you. Thank you very much!” singer Kim Nam-joon said in halting Spanish as a cacophony of screams erupted from the crowd.
Sheinbaum drew more cheers when she announced that she had invited the band to play again in Mexico again in 2027. How’s that for pop music populism?
Photographer Alejandra Rajal documented the band’s visit to Mexico, including thousands of members of the ARMY, as the BTS fanbase is known, who turned up outside the stadium despite not having tickets to enter.
Rosa Gabriela Hernández Flores, 22, had traveled from northern Sinaloa state in hopes of finding a way in. Her heart fell when she realized scalpers were selling seats for around $3,500 a pop.
But sadness and envy morphed into joy when she realized she had found a spot where she could hear a bit of the music coming from inside, and see the corner of a massive screen where the band’s movements were projected.
She and a crew of fans sang along to hits such as “MIC Drop” and “Swim.”
“I cried, I laughed, I screamed — I did it all,” Hernández said. “Those minutes with them felt magical.”
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