Chile’s Viña del Mar Festival: Home to toughest crowd on Earth
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Loading... - Remi Cartier
- 05 Apr 2023
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One or the other tends to await artists and comedians who step on stage to perform before the Viña del Mar International Song Festival’s audience/jury, which is nicknamed “El Monstruo” (The Monster) and has earned its reputation as the toughest crowd on Earth.
The displeasure of the crowd is occasionally so intense that artists are forced off the stage at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater amid chants of “Go home!” and thumbs-down gesturing that calls to mind a rowdy scene at the Colosseum in ancient Rome.
The latest instance occurred Tuesday night when Chilean comedian Belen Mora left the stage amid catcalls from the audience, who are not just paying customers but also decide the winners of the different Gaviotas (as the awards are known) with their shouts of “silver,” “gold” and “platinum.”
“Comedians get especially nervous and deal with greater uncertainty, because there’s no middle ground at Viña del Mar when it comes to comedy. It’s either a huge success or total failure,” Ricardo de la Fuente Puig, director of seven previous editions of the festival, told Efe.
In fact, the audience’s jeers have become so noisy in recent years that stand-up comedians like Natalia Valdebenito have come forward to demand “respect” for their fellow comics.
“A lot of work goes into every routine, and I ask for respect for my colleagues,” she said at last month’s Caleuche acting awards gala.
Latin America’s biggest song festival has opted this year for a line-up of urban music artists in a bid to appeal to a younger crowd, a move that is forcing comedians to adapt their own routines.
“There are comedians who have been working for many years and they keep telling the same jokes about their mother-in-law, people’s looks … You have to change that chip and adapt to the new times. Comedians need to stay current and have material that’s relevant,” Caroline Valenzuela, who is attending this year’s 62nd edition of the festival, which began last Sunday and will wrap up on Friday, told Efe. Read More…
