Photos and words by NATASHA AFTANDILIANS
Sunday’s unexpected rainshowers weren’t enough to keep people from lining up down the block to see Colombian pop singer Kali Uchis at the Park Plaza Hotel; despite the sudden cold (by LA standards) snap, fans who had been waiting eagerly for the free Red Bull sponsored show were treated to a night of tropical vibes to help dance away the chill.
LA locals Quitapenas got the night started with their festive cumbia rhythms, while Atlanta rapper Rome Fortune stepped up the swagger quotient by a few degrees. With DJs playing techno-infused Latin dance music between sets and Red Bull serving cotton candy and fruity cocktails to the few over-21 attendees, you could hardly realize it was November night in downtown LA.
Like so much of the sweetly-spun cotton candy being thrown to the crowd, Kali Uchis drifted out to her rabid fans as if floating on a pink cloud. Decked out in a red silk cheongsam with a thigh-high slit and a veil of gold crowning her bleach-blond tresses, Uchis recalls a hybrid of Marilyn Monroe and Amy Winehouse, and has the same mixture of attitude, sass and soul as her doppelgangers.
Hailing from Colombia, Uchis’ fan base has grown rapidly amongst hispanic teenagers (partly due to her recent collaborations with provocateur Tyler, The Creator), and they were there in spades with their cellphones out for the entirety of her short set, recording every moment.
Between bringing some lucky fans on stage for a sultry love song and taking time to open fan mail and care packages strewn on stage, she charmed the crowd with her reggae swaying and Sixties pop nostalgia. Though her debut album has not been released, Uchis had plenty of adoring followers there Sunday night to vouch for her newly discovered talents, and she didn’t hesitate to reward them for their patience and passion.
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