Samba, football and tacos: Dua Lipa seduces Latin America with eye on local culture

She danced samba in Rio de Janeiro, cheered on teams at a football stadium in Buenos Aires and enjoyed the delights of Lima’s cuisine: British-Albananian singer Dua Lipa seduced Latin America by making the most of passions and melodies of the countries she visited her own during her recent tour of the region.

Attractive, charismatic and with a string of hit songs, the singer had the audience in the palm of her hand even before arriving in Buenos Aires at the start of November, where the tour began. Once on Latin American soil, the fascination was total.

“She’s one of the few pop artists who shows such genuine interest in truly getting to know the culture of the places she visits, and in connecting with her fans that way,” said Sara Canto, a 34-year-old Mexican engineer, who attended one of the concerts wearing a black-beaded outfit that she had sewn over three weeks ahead of the show.

Canto travelled on two buses and a plane across the 900 kilometres separating Coahuila, the state where she lives, from Mexico City to get to the show.

In the capital, a taquería bearing her name, La Dua, opened temporarily in Mexico City, where fans long to see her arrive to try the tacos named after her songs, before she closes her tour on Friday.

'Eduarda Felipa'

The delight with which Dua explored each city defined the tour.

In Rio de Janeiro, she lived like a true carioca (a native of Rio): she danced samba in a popular escola samba school) danced the traditional forró rhythm (a northeastern Brazilian music and dance style) at a well-known bar and enjoyed the famous Ipanema beach sunset, according to her posts on Instagram .

This devotion was rewarded with a (symbolic) Brazilian ID card presented by a popular TV host, bearing the name “Eduarda Felipa,” as her Brazilian fans nicknamed her.

In Buenos Aires, she embraced Argentina’s great passion: football. She visited La Bombonera – Boca Juniors’ iconic stadium – to watch the Superclásico against River Plate, dressed in the national team shirt.

With the singer in the stands, Boca won 2–0, in a match many fans on social media dubbed "el dualipazo" (“the Dua Lipa miracle/phenomenon,” a playful fan-invented term).

Peruvians and Chileans also celebrated Dua’s interest in their cultural highlights.

In Lima, she dined at one of the restaurants of celebrated chef Gastón Acurio, who brought Peruvian cuisine to the global stage, and at Maido, considered by some experts to be the best restaurant in the world.

Meanwhile in Santiago, she visited Viña Concha y Toro, a regular stop on Chile’s wine route.

Musical romance

But it was the music that sealed the romance.

As she has done in dozens of cities worldwide, Dua Lipa prepared for each concert a version of a popular local song.

In Buenos Aires, she performed songs by the legendary bands Soda Stereo and electronic group Miranda! 

In Chile, the chosen tracks were by Mon Laferte and La Ley.

She raised the stakes in Brazil by inviting Carlinhos Brown and Caetano Veloso to her concert in São Paulo to perform the classics 'Magalenha' and 'Margarida Perfumada,' while in Rio she sang the emblematic 'Mas que nada' by Jorge Ben.

In Bogotá, she captivated the audience with a rendition of Shakira’s 'Antología,' while in Peru, 'Cariñito' (a beloved Peruvian cumbia classic), was sung as a duet with Mauricio Mesones, thrilling the 30,000 people people in attendance at her show in Lima.

In Mexico, she performed the bolero 'Bésame mucho' on Monday, and on Tuesday surprised fans with 'Oye mi amor' by Maná, singing alongside the band’s vocalist, Fher Olvera.

“It’s very good that she sings in Spanish, it’s a sign of respect,” said José Santos, a 61-year-old accountant who attended the concert with his children.

For Mexican media analyst Mauricio Cabrera, the success of artists such as Dua Lipa lies in creating impacts that go “beyond their performances” and turn them into “cultural events,” wrote the expert in his newsletter Story Baker.