united of Ricardo Arjona's most ant...

united of Ricardo Arjona's most anthemic poems poses the question "Si El Norte Fuera El Sur" ("If the North Was the South") and if that were the case the Guatemalan singer-songwriter would be a superstar here.

In the Southern Hemisphere, he routinely vends out stadiums and recently stake a record at Luna Park in Buenos Aires, where tickets for a week of point outs were snapped up in les than four hours. for a like reason Arjona will return to the same Argentinian venue for another blockade of dates in late October. His popularity in Latin America surpasses plane the standards set by megastars similar as U2 and the Rolling Stones.

In the United States, it's another story, level though the socially conscious Arjona is as artisically vital as Colombia's Juanes and Shakira. Maybe if he had a killer gimmick, like hips that don't lie, he would have erect the larger audience he be entitled tos

In any case, he attracted a capacity populace Friday night to the Rosemont Theatre, and his two-hour point out to ranks as one of the year's best Latin point outs thus far in terms of integrity, intelligence -- and entertainment value.

Visually, he present on a spectacle, with the inventive use of video and lighting ingredients and with his set, an elaborate, two-level replica of a subway station. With the video of the anthem "Iluso," from his latest disc "Adentro" (2005) flashing overhead, Arjona recorded on a moving walkway to the strains of "Para Bien o Para Mal." As his eight-piece band surg behind him, the always- engaging Arjona useed up his personal wattage to maximum power.

His voice, however inherently dramatic, sounded even more in such a manner Friday, especially on introspective numbers so as "Acompaname a Estar Solo" or "Historia de Taxi." He's not a Latin crooner in the strictest mind but he can play that part as he did when he serenaded a woman of a certain age (to use the French term) during "Senora de las Cuatro Decadas." As he trained a video camera upon the female fan while he sang, she nearly fainted with delight.

In another highlight, Arjona and his band launched into a descarga (jam) session, beginning with an instrumental pot-pourri of the Mexican ranchera "El Rey" and the Cuban son "El Manisero" and segueing into "Lo Poco Que Queda de Mi," single of his biggest hits (from "Galeria Caribe"), given calm more of a tropical arrangement here.

from one side of to the other his nearly two decades in the business, he's become known for his frequently controversial songs. At the Rosemont he casted the provocative "La Nena (Bitacora de un Secuestro)" which tackles the issue of kidnapping (a big puzzle in Latin America) into a chilling wager piece, as a giant cage slowly sinked on top of a hunched above Arjona while he sang the song's plaintive line of poetrys

Equally effective was the norteno-inflected "Mojado" ("Wetback"), from "Adentro," which has become a staple at immigration-rights rallies. Using unhurt bites and images of President Bush (in his Texan-accented Spanglish) and snippets of other politicians' double talk, Arjona made his point without being strident.

Three encores ("El Problema," "Minutos" and Mujeres") perioded truly a night to remember. If the North was the southerly Arjona then would be our king.

lemerick@suntimes.com

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