A free Thursday night concert in the Miami Design District will open this year's iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina. The iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina Kick Off Party takes over Jungle Plaza at 3801 NE 1st Avenue on October 15 from 8 to 10 p.m., two days before the main stage show at Kaseya Center. iHeartMedia announced the return of the party Saturday.
The kickoff comes before an event with some history. According to Kaseya Center, the downtown Miami arena hosting the show, October 17 will mark the 13th annual iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, with Enrique Santos hosting again. Lin-Manuel Miranda will receive the iHeartRadio Corazón Latino Award that night, the venue said. Santos is president of iHeartLatino and an iHeartRadio personality. His co-host on The Enrique Santos Morning Show, Dayanara Torres, joins him for the Design District party.
Tony Succar's Unity Anchors the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina Kick Off Party
The centerpiece is Tony Succar's Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson, with guest performances from Jean Rodriguez, Anthony Ramos and Howie D of the Backstreet Boys. Admission is free, according to the release, and the event is open to the public.
Unity has history in Miami. Succar, a producer and percussionist based in the city, released the tribute album in 2015 through Universal Music Classics, according to streaming and label listings. His official biography says it reached No. 1 on Billboard's Tropical Albums chart and became a nationally televised PBS special. The project started small. According to a profile on New York Latin Culture, Succar recorded a Latin version of "Thriller" at home after a Halloween gig crowd reacted strongly, then funded the album through a Kickstarter campaign. Rodriguez is no newcomer to it. Latin Jazz Network's review of the 2016 live recording credits him on "Billie Jean."
Ramos is the guest with the clearest link to the main event's honoree. He originated the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, according to Apple's profile of him, and later played Usnavi in the 2021 film version of In the Heights. Reviewing his album Love and Lies, Rolling Stone described him as a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent in a line of Nuyorican actors and singers that includes Miranda. Miranda created both musicals. Two days after Ramos takes the plaza stage, Miranda is honored at the arena.
Major Food Group Backs the Kick Off Party Ahead of Anuel AA and Myke Towers at Kaseya Center
Major Food Group is listed as the partner of the kickoff. The release does not say what the company is providing.
The ticketed show follows Saturday at 8 p.m. at 601 Biscayne Blvd. Tickets went on sale to the public July 28, according to Kaseya Center, and the release says they are still available through Ticketmaster. The bill, per iHeartMedia, includes Anuel AA, Myke Towers, Blessd, Farruko, Manuel Turizo, Eladio Carrión, FloyyMenor, Greeicy, Alleh and Rey Tony Y Helabusador, known as Los Titis. Anuel AA was not named in the initial July announcement, according to Inside Radio's coverage of the original release. That earlier list opened with Myke Towers, and Kaseya Center said more names were still to come. Audible, Boost Mobile and Goya Foods are listed as partners of the main stage event, with others still to be announced.
The two events work as a pair. One is a free, two hour plaza set built around a tribute act. The other is a ticketed arena night with a Latin urban lineup and an award for Miranda. Santos hosts both, so the same voice that opens Thursday in Jungle Plaza is the one on the arena stage Saturday. Forty eight hours separate the two nights. After that, the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina moves from the Design District to Biscayne Boulevard.
