A man and his son
I recently went to go see Rauw Alejandro perform for his Saturno tour. I didn’t notice them at first, but there was a father and his teenage son seated one row in front of us. While everyone else was decked out in black pleather pants, astro blue cropped tops, and chunky silver accessories galore, these two were donning simple t-shirts and jeans — everyday wear that you wouldn’t normally associate with a galactic themed concert.
While my friend Bianca and I were having the time of our lives dancing and singing along to the king of modern reggaeton’s soft and sizzling vocals, I couldn’t help but notice the father and son duo. The father was sitting down, nodding to the music, but clearly not a Rauw stan. He looked like he was vibing to the music, but he’d much rather be at home having dinner with a beer. The son on the other hand, was belching his heart out with his phone in his right hand recording every second of the show. A Rauw enthusiast, if I ever laid my eyes on one. It was fun watching these two — the stark contrast in behavior between a casual attendee and his avid fan of a son.
The moment that really made me smile was when the father stood up, put his arm around his son’s shoulders, and grabbed the phone from his son, volunteering to record so that his son could both enjoy the show now and later from the photo album in his phone. Relieved, his son began stretching and rotating his wrist, clearly exhausted from his endeavors of archiving every moment of the show.
And in that moment, I could feel this father’s love for his son from one row over. It was so thick and tangible that it made me smile this big goofy smile. While Bianca drove us home, I thought about this moment again. About this man driving his son to the hectic and congested gas south arena parking lot, to sitting through an extensive concert of an artist he probably did not care for, to becoming the camera man so that his son could enjoy the performance — this is a man who loves his son.
I hope this young man knows how much he is loved by his father — because I certainly felt it. And I hope he invites his father to many more concerts :)
