The Mexican Latin pop group “RBD” announced Jan. 19 that their reunion tour would start Aug. 25 of this year at the Sun Bowl Stadium. An event was hosted at the local club Hush Hush located at 533 W Franklin, fans lined up hours before the announcement to sing the band’s most popular songs and mingle with people who also grew up watching the show.
For those who do not get the hype, RBD comes from “Rebelde” which was a teen soap opera that aired in Latin America from 2004 to 2006, according to IMDb. The show followed the lives of six students from a private school called Elite Way School.
Throughout the three seasons Anahí (Mia Colucci), Dulce María (Roberta Pardo), Maite Perroni (Guadalupe “Lupita” Fernandez), Alfonso Herrera (Miguel Arango) Christopher Von Uckermann (Diego Bustamante) and Christian Chávez (Giovanni Mendez), overcome their differences and problems through something more powerful and important to them; music.
While the show was airing, the cast toured as RBD from 2004 to 2008 around Latin America, performing to promote the show and their music. Songs such as “Sálvame,” “Este Corazón,” “Rebelde,” and “Solo Quédate en Silencio,” among others.
For fans of all ages, the return of the band brings back memories of their childhood and early teen years.
Valeria Rodriguez, a 22-year-old law student from Ciudad Juárez, recalls watching the show when she was five years old, and how the morals of the show helped shape her character.
“I’m so excited for them to come back, cause when they were doing the show, I was too young to go to a concert, so I would watch their shows on YouTube,” Rodriguez said. “This is my chance to see them on stage for the first-time.”
The show had the purpose of teaching young people about stereotypes surrounding social class and how to defy them through friendship and love. For Rodriguez, the show helped her to be happy and to find a deeper meaning to the word “rebelde.”
“Being yourself in a world that wants to trap you in certain stereotypes is being a rebel, and that’s what the show taught us to be,” Rodriguez said. “They taught us to accept ourselves for what we are, and for what makes us happy as long as we are not harming anyone. They showed us that we have the right to show our essence and who we really are, and that no one has the right to judge us for that.”
Another fan of the show, Francisco Aguire, a 27-year-old psychologist from Ciudad Juárez, who was nine when the show aired said he is excited about their tour. He also reflects on growing up with the show while continuing to listen to their music even years after the band separated.
“It is the best thing ever! I’m so happy I can’t believe it!” Aguirre said. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve been dreaming about this moment, no joke. I would love to see them live; I can’t miss this opportunity. I’m willing to go to more than one concert, if possible.”
As someone who was about to hit his teen years, Aguirre shares how the show and music are meaningful and have shaped generations of children.
“I think that as time goes on, their songs have more meaning, are more relatable and are the most wonderful things ever,” he said. “I loved the show because it was trendy and had so much drama between students who had unreal problems that seemed (like) something from the everyday life of every teenager. It was the utopic ideal world.”
Like Rodriguez and Aguirre, fans across the world wait for the tour to begin and relive their childhood memories one last time.
Maria L. Guerrero Duran is the web and copy editor and may be reached at mlguerrerod@miners.utep.edu; @bymariaguerrero on Twitter and Instagram.
