Eighty thousand people trudging around a rain-lashed muddy field may sound like a scene from a bleak World War I docudrama, but it’s actually a pretty fair description of last year’s Corona Capital music festival in Mexico City. The perseverance of the fans in the face of a meteorological wet blanket says something about the festival’s drawing power and continuing popularity — and maybe about the lengths some people will go to in the name of fandom.
Billed as the most important festival in Mexico dedicated to showcasing the best rock and alternative acts from the international scene, Corona Capital burst onto the fledgling Mexican concert festival circuit in 2010 with a one-day concert headlined by rock heavyweights Pixies and Interpol. Since then, it has grown tremendously, making the leap to a two-day format in 2012 and incorporating a broader array of musical genres, from hip-hop to electronica. This year, the annual gathering at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack on curve number 4 will take place November 21–22, and will be headlined by British acts Calvin Harris and The Libertines, as well as Corona Capital veterans the Pixies. By mid-August, 45 additional musicians and bands were already confirmed.
Festival organizers have been building anticipation for the sixth edition of Corona Capital for months. On May 27, organizers leaked the names of the first round of confirmed acts, including the headliners, one at a time, via emails to fans. For those who bought tickets during the June 1–2 presale, all that’s left is to wait — and maybe make a few offerings to Tláloc, the Mexica rain god. Remember to bring an umbrella, just in case.
