Mexico’s ‘Corona Capital’ Music Festival Played On Despite Heavy Rains · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Corona Capital Festival. Photo taken by the author, J. Tadeo.
Poor weather and complaints from fans about the concert's faulty electronic bracelets marked the fourth annual Mexican music festival, Corona Capital, which took place on October 11 and 12, 2014 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Rodríguez Brothers Racetrack) in Mexico City.
The festival featured popular bands and international musicians such as the Black Kids, MGMT, Weezer, Belle & Sebastian, Jack White, and Damon Albarn. On the first day, Massive Attack, one of the most awaited performances, had to wrap up early due to inclement weather, upsetting many attendees. Giggy Zúñiga made the following comment on Twitter:
Ni para decir que va a valer la pena la neumonía que me va a dar, porque bajaron a Massive Attack #CC14 Maldita lluvia.
— Giggy Zúñiga (@re_cyclablemoon) octubre 12, 2014
Now that Massive Attack has left the stage, it’s not even worth getting pneumonia over. Damn rain.
Meanwhile, Armando Prssr E stated:
Lo mejor del #cc14 cancela por motivos “técnicos ” o sea #MassiveAttack , que mal quedaron @CoronaCapital
— Armando Prssr E (@Syv_Armando) October 12, 2014
The best of #cc14, that is, #MassiveAttack, is canceled for “technical reasons”, this made @CoronaCapital look really bad.
As it rained on Saturday, Twitter user D a m expressed her disappointment:
Yo ya ni ganas tengo de venir mañana #CC14
— D a m (@madarispe) October 12, 2014
I don’t even feel like coming tomorrow.
Nevertheless, there were some that enjoyed the weather, such as Ana Laura Calzada:
Hace mucho no disfrutaba mojarme como hoy! ❤️ #CC14
— Ana Laura Calzada (@analauracalzada) October 12, 2014
It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed getting soaked like I did today!
The severe climate conditions, heavy rains, and muddy terrain recalled the experience at Glastonbury Festival, the planet’s biggest and most important music festival, where performances are hardly ever canceled due to bad weather.
Another reason for people’s dissatisfaction were the electronic bracelets that organizers, among them a renowned beer company, introduced to the Mexican concert industry. All attendees had to have them activated when turning in their tickets upon admission.
Sergio Villalobos noted that donning the bracelet did not help speed up entry to the event:
La entrada con brazalete a la par del acceso con boleto. Omito comentarios…. ¡Fatal! #CC14 pic.twitter.com/1DeHnawbqm
— Sergio Villalobos (@El_Gran_Pa) October 11, 2014
Entering with the bracelet or a ticket is the same. No comments… Fail!
UserCynthia mentioned a “failed bracelet system”, meaning they no longer worked as designed, resulting in cash and credit cards being used as a substitute in order to purchase food and drink.
The bracelets would be the used as a system to get access to the event as the only payment method for food, drinks and official merchandising, and for checking in at the different locations for the festival. They ended up working only for entering and not that well.
día desafortunado, 1 hr para entrar, se cayó el sistema de brazaletes, llueve suspenden a massive attack, 1:30 hrs de esperar a Jack #CC14
— Cynthia (@cynuribe) October 12, 2014
What an unfortunate day, an hour to get in, a failed bracelet system, rain suspends Massive Attack, and a 1.5 hour wait for Jack.
Jack refers to Jack White, another artist that took part of the festival. Oscar Ro wrote to OCESA, a Corona Capital organizer and the ones responsible for the bracelets, the following message:
Su pulsera ha sido la peor experiencia que he tenido de todos los eventos que han hecho… @ocesa_total #CC14
— Oscar Ro (@OSROAN) October 12, 2014
Of all your events, this bracelet has been the worst experience I’ve ever had…
At the end of the festival, Andrés Olascoaga pointed out the problems he faced when trying to remove the bracelet:
Oigan @CoronaCapital ¿Con qué pinzas de mecánico puedo quitarme la pulsera del #CC14? #EstáDurísima
— Andrés Olascoaga (@AndresOlasToro) October 12, 2014
Hey @CoronaCapital what type of pliers can I use to take the #CC14 bracelet off? It's really tough
Last year’s festival experienced a letdown when John Talabot canceled his performance a few days prior to the event due to the insecurity posed by the country’s organized crime, becoming yet another one of its victims.