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    Encore tonight at Toyota Center

    Lots of Drama and Light as Maná rekindles love affair with Houston audience

    Phuong-Thi Huynh
    Jul 3, 2011 | 12:15 pm
    Maná

    Lights. Drama. Maná.

    White clouds billowed against a gauzy silk screen as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony signaled the dramatic production that was about to unfold before the sold-out Saturday night crowd.

    Seconds later, behind a see-through veil, lights illuminated the lion mane of Maná’s frontman Fher Olvera. Screams pierced through the darkness before silence engulfed the Toyota Center. On cue, the best-selling Latin rock band of all time launched into a series of songs that left the multigenerational, mostly Spanish-speaking audience panting.

    Nearby a four-year-old girl jumped up and down as tears welled in her grandmother’s eyes. Like a grand novella, full of climaxes, the two-hour, pitch-perfect performance by Maná mirrored their widely successful eighth studio album, Drama y Luz.

    “Look at him! Look at him,” cried longtime fan Yolanda Delalosa about Maná's frontman Fher Olvera. “He’s 50-something and he is still looking bad ass. His voice is still powerful.”

    Drama and Light placed the band on top of Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart for nine weeks and counting. Lights and drama — literally — framed the evening’s performance, starting with an on-screen light display that accompanied “Lluvia al Corazon,” Maná’s current hit mixing emotive lyrics with glorious riffs by guitarist Sergio Vallin.

    Olvera’s presence commanded the stage with his raspy vocal chords reminiscent of Sting but with a welcome serrated edge. “Look at him! Look at him,” cried longtime fan Yolanda Delalosa. “He’s 50-something and he is still looking bad ass. His voice is still powerful.”

    Delalosa has seen Maná in concert four times. The last being nearly five years ago in Houston. Maná returns as popular as ever, with a second show on Sunday that was added after the Saturday evening concert sold out. The group kicked off the 2011 tour June 16 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by four sold-out performances in Los Angeles.

    With 25 million records sold worldwide, Maná has the ability to evolve while remaining faithful to its grass-root Spanish rock sound, not an easy task with followers fanned across 40 countries and the pressure to Americanize its Latin sounds. But rather than following in the footsteps of Shakira, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, Maná has yet to record an English album. So while still relatively unknown in most U.S. markets, the black-clad foursome continues their two-decade hold as Titans in Spanish rock history.

    “In the Latin world, no one comes even close to them right now,” says fan Juan Cruz. “They are Maná. There’s nothing left to say.”

    Perhaps, not. Maná is a Polynesian word for supernatural power, and through their music, the band conveys important socio-political messages. This was apparent in their visually powerfully rendition of “LatinoAmerica,” a rallying chant for unity among Latinos.

    Throughout the arena, fans showed their pride by waving Mexican flags. At times, Olvera rested his voice by letting the audience finish the chorus. Few lyrics went unsung by the energetic crowd — from the classic “Oye Mi Amor” to the newest ballad, “Vuela Libre Paloma,” a poignant homage from Olvera, who recently lost his mother to cancer.

    Consummate performers, Maná satisfied their fan base by playing a montage of hits. But the spotlight shined on muscular half-Cuban, half-Colombian, U.S. born Alex Gonzales whose pounding drum beats rolled across the audience as a podium lifted him high above the audience for a 10-minute solo, filled with gleeful playfulness and drama.

    The highlight came when balladeer Olvera ushered a female fan on stage and serenaded her with the 1994 ballad hit, “Vivir Sin Aire.” But most telling as to why Maná remains entrenched in the hearts of fans was when a male devotee ran on stage, past security.

    As burly guards scrambled to grab the man, Olvera waved them off and placed his right arm protectively around the interloper. The crowds cheered and clapped. And Maná continued the love affair with fans.

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    In the spotlight

    Houston reels in new rank among 10 best cities for filmmakers in 2026

    Amber Heckler
    Feb 27, 2026 | 4:00 pm
    Filmmaking, best cities for filmmakers
    Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash
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    Houston has just snapped up new recognition as the No. 10 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America, according to MovieMaker Magazine's annual report, "The Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2026."

    The Bayou City has made improvements after ranking 12th in the magazine's 2025 list.

    The annual list ranks the best cities in the U.S. and Canada for individuals to live while working in the film industry, based on production spending, tax incentives, cost of living, the prevalence of "local film scenes," and additional factors. The list is divided into two categories: 25 big cities and 10 smaller cities or towns.

    The spotlighted cities are the places where the publication believes filmmakers "have the best chance of both succeeding in the famously difficult entertainment industry, and making [their] own art."

    For up-and-coming filmmakers that want to live in Texas, MovieMaker says doing it in Houston is "more sustainable than ever" thanks to incentives like the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which increased its production grant rebate from 22.5 percent to up to 31 percent for qualified in-state spending. The report also said Houston has an "arms-wide-open" approach for filmmakers.

    "As the biggest city in Texas, and fourth biggest city in America, Houston has nearly every type of location, from cityscapes to piney woods to rolling hills to nearby farmland," the report said. "It’s close to Galveston Island and the Gulf of Mexico, and car commercials love the absence of billboard advertising."

    MovieMaker also highlighted Houston's diversity, its low cost of living compared to the national average, and its local festivals like the Houston Cinema Arts Festival and Houston Latino Film Festival.

    "The city has enough film crew for two to three sizable features, and recent shoots have included the thrillers Eleven Days, with Taylor Kitsch, and A Love, from director Courtney Glaude, Tyler Perry Studios’ executive creator of Scripted and Unscripted," the report said. "Houston is also notable for a strong contingent of films with budgets under $1 million."

    Elsewhere in Texas, Austin ranked as the No. 5 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America. Dallas ranked seventh, while neighboring Fort Worth ranked 12th. San Antonio appeared as No. 14, and El Paso landed 25th on the list.

    filmmakingmoviemaker magazinerankingscity lifeentertainmenthouston
    news/entertainment

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