Latin America Holds Historic Concerts

A reported 200,000 people attended a concert in Mexico City May 17th, and 150,000 attended a sister concert in Buenos Aires – two of the largest concerts in Latin American history.

The concerts benefited Shakira’s foundation known as ALAS (Spanish for "wings"), which stands for Latin America in Solidarity Action and raises awareness and funds to combat poverty.

Just a few of the big-name performers were Maná, Juanes, Ricky Martin, Los Tigres Del Norte, Juan Luis Guerra, Alejandro Sanz and Calle 13.

The shows launched with major backing. Shakira received pledges of $110 million from telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim Helú, the second richest man in the world according to Forbes, and $85 million from Howard Buffett, son of one of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffett.