Welcome to live coverage of the 2023 Bésame Mucho festival.
This year’s headliners are Maná, Los Bukis and Gloria Trevi. Other acts will include Los Lobos, Los Ángeles Azules, Natalia Lafourcade, Café Tacvba, Caifanes, Ramon Ayala, Pepe Aguilar and many more iconic Latino acts.
The festival, which sold out within 70 minutes of ticket releases for the single-day lineup, will be held at Dodger Stadium with four stages representing various genres and eras: Rockero, Las Clasicas, Beso and Te Gusta El Pop.
Doors open at 11 a.m., with the first performance scheduled for 11:25 a.m.
Follow along for coverage on performances, fan experiences and photos from Chavez Ravine.
1:00 p.m. Despite the forecast for cool weather, the sun is beaming down on the Dodger Stadium parking lot.
Attendees are already torn between what stages to attend. “The classic or rock stage?” a group of attendees debated, with one person in the group wearing a Caifanes shirt who will be performing at the Rockero stage later in the day. — Andrea Flores
1:20 p.m. “Y arriba Los Angeles!” Roberto Verduzco Ramirez, the lead singer from Industria Del Amor says to the crowd at the Beso Stage. Cheers from the crowd follow. They follow up with a cover of Rigo Tovar’s “El Sirenito,” and fans dance along. The performance even had event staff pausing to take videos. — A.F.
1:27 p.m. The first performance at the ¿Te Gusta El Pop? stage comes from Flor de Toloache, an all-female band who came dressed in pink jackets and sparkling pants. They performed Spanish covers of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.” — A.F.
El Buki bus parked at the West entrance of Dodger Stadium.
(Suzy Exposito / De Los)
1:53 p.m. Love is certainly in the air at the West entrance, where the El Buki bus is parked and primed for fan photos. Painted flamingo pink — and decked with portraits of the head Buki himself, Marco Antonio Solís — the bus blasts the band’s greatest (and weepiest) hits. Fans are allowed to board the school bus and role-play life on the road. — Suzy Exposito
2:27 p.m. Flanked by a mixed-gender ranchera band, Paquita La Del Barrio, Mexican queen of sass, leads a spirited singalong of “Rata de Dos Patas” from her cozy throne on the Clasicas Stage — dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief for dramatic effect. The men in the audience have been put on notice.
“Since 1947, I’ve received more applause than money, and that’s what matters most,” she tells the crowd. — S.E. and A.F.
2:49 p.m. Oscar, from the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, is visiting L.A. with his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Olivia. In fact, Bésame Mucho is the only reason that they are here.
“I grew up with my dad playing Cafe Tacvba in our car,” Olivia said. — A.F.
3:22 p.m. As the Rockero stage falls behind schedule, Maldita Vecindad tells fans to “Shake away the bad vibes and welcome new energy.” — A.F.