Hot! Hot!! Hot!!! Jerry Rivera & Tito Nieves at Lehman

By Jessica Schira

Photography/Videography by Trent Love

Latin Grammy Award winner Jerry Rivera had his female fans swooning October 13 as he performed one of his most popular songs, “No Hieras Mi Vida” during a three-hour concert at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts that drew more than 1,800 people.

Rivera, who shared the stage with Latin singing legend Tito Nieves and a fellow Puerto Rican, had the audience screaming with excitement. His energy was contagious as fans spontaneously sang along with him.

Fifty-two-year-old fan Maria Caraballo said it didn’t matter that Rivera was a couple decades younger than she is.

“I am an old lady and I like young boys like Jerry Rivera,” she said. “He is so handsome and I love all his songs!”

Caraballo, who lives in the Bronx, said she had never been to Lehman’s performing arts center. “I love this place,” she said enthusiastically.

The concert was organized in commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Despite the cold weather, there were people who came from New Jersey — either by car or public transportation  — to see the one-night show.

The majority of the audience appeared to be Puerto Ricans, but there were also people from Peru, Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Some came with their families, other with friends or with their significant other to enjoy a night of this popular and dynamic music genre.

Take New Jersey Sheriff Mayra Ranson, 40, who came with her boyfriend Juan Marín, 40, a private contractor from Central, New Jersey.

“Oh my God Jerry Rivera is so hot and Tito Nieves is awesome and old school,” said Ranson. “I like everything. It is worth it!”

There were women and couples who wouldn’t stop dancing on the side of the auditorium and in the back aisles throughout the concert. People from the top balcony went down to the orchestra to take pictures with the artist using iPads, iPhones and digital cameras. Security guards had a tough time keeping things under control as more women constantly went down to the front row to be close to the artist.

Rivera appeared to drive women crazy with his salsa movements and remarkable voice.  During the song “Dame un Beso Asi” (Give me a Kiss Like That), he was holding hands of fans singing to them and gives them kisses. He managed to interact with fans and pose for pictures while he was singing.

He sang most of his classic songs such as “Ese”(That Man), “El Amor Existe”(Love Exist), “Mi Niña”(My Little Girl) and “Mi Libertad” (My Freedom), a song written by his idol Hector Lavoe. His interpretation and introduction to the song “Soy Cara de Niño” (I Have a Child’s Face) was very comical because he changed the lyrics, singing “I am not a child anymore. I have the beard of a man.”

Rivera’s dancers had each other’s back covering whatever confusion happened on stage. One male dancer got lost and found his way to catch up with the other dancer. They had excellent stamina and the mistake wasn’t that noticeable.

Women screamed every time they heard Rivera’s typical phrases like “Baby te reto” and then in English he said, “Baby I challenge you” or “I love you, baby.”

The setting of the stage was simple. The band was center stage and beautiful red, blue and yellow lights gave the setting a romantic cast.  At times the music stopped and Rivera sang a capella.

He closed his act with the song “Vuela Muy Alto” (Fly So High) and the audience gave him a standing ovation.

After a 15-minute intermission, Tito Nieves appeared on stage. Nieves made people laugh with his jokes before he started to sing.  “Women if you don’t want a man to tell you lies, stop asking questions,” he said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

Nieves flirted with one fan, asking her, “How do you want me to take the picture with you  — with the jacket or without the jacket? You decide.” Then he started singing the song “Eres Linda” (You are Beautiful.)

“You have to be happy because there is only one life to live,” he said. After Nieves sang his last song,  “De Mí Enamórate” (Fall in Love with Me), he bade the crowd good night.  But as people started to stand up to leave, Nieves suddenly came back to sing, “I Like it Like That.”

People started dancing and he went down to the audience to hug, kiss and take pictures with them while he was singing.

All in all, it was a great show that took me back to my childhood and teenage years, when I first fell in love in the Dominican Republic, my country.