I’ve photographed a lot of concerts, but Ivan Cornejo at the Dos Equis Pavilion was different. I didn’t grow up listening to him. I barely knew his music going into that night. But by the end of his set, standing there with my camera strapped to me and my ears still ringing, I felt like I had just witnessed something really, really special.
The night opened with fog.. so much fog. It curled around the stage and spilled out into the crowd like a scene from a dream. Before Ivan even stepped out, people were already losing it. The pavilion was completely full. I mean packed. There wasn’t an empty seat or a quiet person in the place. Fans had their phone flashlights up, chanting his name, yelling for him to come out, screaming like they already knew this night was going to live rent-free in their heads for a while.
And then he came out.
No grand entrance, no crazy effects. Just him. Calm, confident, and somehow still soft around the edges. The second he started singing, everything clicked. His voice-seriously-was so smooth and emotional it felt like it cut straight through the noise. I don’t speak Spanish fluently, and I didn’t know most of the lyrics, but it didn’t matter. You could feel what he was saying. That kind of voice doesn’t need translation.
Everyone else around me clearly did know the words. I’ve never seen so many people singing with that kind of intensity-like they weren’t just reciting lyrics, they were reliving them. Phones were up, people were shouting and crying and smiling so wide you could see it even in the dim light. I kept trying to take pictures, but I kept getting distracted just watching everyone be so in it.
And honestly? That’s what I remember most. Not the setlist. Not the lighting cues or the camera settings. The energy. The way it felt to be surrounded by that many people all feeling the same thing at once. I’ve been to shows where the crowd is polite, excited, chill. This wasn’t that. This was full-body, scream-it-from-your-chest, let-it-all-out kind of energy. The best kind. Then, near the end, it got even crazier.
Out of nowhere, Becky G walked onstage.
The moment she appeared, the crowd exploded. Like, shook-the-ground kind of exploded. It felt like the air got punched. I saw people’s jaws drop, people jump up on their seats, someone literally threw their phone in the air and caught it mid-scream (iconic). And when she and Ivan started singing together? Forget it. Their voices together just worked. No over-singing, no fighting for the spotlight. It was effortless and beautiful and kind of surreal.
You could tell the crowd wasn’t expecting it, but they were so ready for it. It felt like a bonus gift at the end of a night that was already perfect. And the chemistry they had onstage wasn’t fake or performative. It felt genuine, like two artists who respected each other and just loved singing that song in front of people who cared.
Ivan has this really calm stage presence. He’s not over-the-top or flashy. He’s just real. He lets the songs speak. And that night, they spoke loud. You could see it in the way people reacted. Hands to their chests, eyes closed, arms wrapped around friends or strangers or whoever was next to them. It didn’t matter if you were there for a good cry, a good scream, or just to feel something real for a little while. You got it.
By the time the show wrapped up, people didn’t want to leave. I overheard someone say, “I wish he could just stay out here forever,” and the girl next to her nodded without saying anything. Everyone was kind of dazed, in that good way you feel after something that hits harder than you expected. Like you’re not quite ready to come back to real life.
And me? I walked out of that pavilion thinking, Okay, I get it now.
Ivan Cornejo’s music is about heartbreak and pain and healing and youth and the stuff we all go through, even if we don’t talk about it out loud. You don’t need to have the same background or speak the same language to feel it. That’s the power of what he does. And watching him do it live, in front of a crowd that knew every word and sang it like they needed it, that was unforgettable.
I came to shoot a concert. I left with a new artist on my playlist and a bunch of photos that probably won’t capture the feeling fully, but I hope they get close. Because that night wasn’t just a show. It was a moment. And I’m really, really glad I was there.
