Live Nation Hires Taco, Valencia, Restrepo, Expands N. American Latin Touring Strategy

Live Nation has announced the hiring of Ricardo Taco, Claudia Valencia, and Maritsa Restrepo in an effort to expand the company’s North American Latin touring strategy. Specifically, Taco will lead LN’s Concert Division’s Latin music strategy for Canada; Valencia was hired as a Tour Director based out of Guadalajara, Mexico; and Restrepo was named Ticketing Coordinator based out of Los Angeles.

Taco will lead Live Nation Canada’s Latin music strategy and work closely with Riley O’Connor, Chairman of Live Nation Canada and also serve as liaison between Hans Schafer, Live Nation’s SVP of Global Touring, and the company’s global Latin booking team. He will also help develop Latin tours for Canadian venues and help expand into the country’s festivals and outdoor properties.  

“We have steadily grown our Latin division at Live Nation with experts who understand the music and represent Latin fans, allowing us to better service our artists,” said Schafer in a statement. “Canada is a strong Latin music market, and our new key touring hires will help set the strategy to continue building on our expansion to reach new audiences throughout North America.” 

Taco worked as an independent promoter and partnered with both Live Nation and other leading promoters in various capacities over the last 15 years in Ontario, Canada. He’s promoted and marketed such artists as Wisin Y Yandel, Ozuna, Maluma, J Balvin, Farruko, Arcangel, Jerry Rivera, Rosalia, J Quiles and Juanes among others.

In her new role as Tour Director at Live Nation, Valencia will build and execute business strategies for Latin tours, including by such artists as Pepe Aguilar, Sebastián Yatra, Wisin Y Yandel, and Los Ángeles Azules. Valencia formerly worked with Maná, for over a decade, handling everything from road management and coordination to PR and promotion. She subsequently worked as a Tour Rep for Live Nation Touring where she worked with Romeo Santos, Aventura, J Balvin, Marco Antonio Solis, and Luis Miguel before working as an Independent Talent Manager at Vibras Lab.  

Restrepo, a devoted music fan, holds a masters in Global Business and her past experience includes working in various box offices, including The Classic Center in Athens, GA. In her new role as Ticketing Coordinator, she will assist with tour set-ups, facilitate promotions, and aid in the communication between artist teams and venues, while also helping roll out various day-to-day projects. 

In December 2021, Live Nation finished its acquisition of OCESA, Mexico’s leading live entertainment company in a deal that was originally announced in 2019, but was delayed over the course of the pandemic. The company also acquired Brazil’s Rock In Rio and Argentina’s DF Entertainment in 2018 and Chile’s DG Medios in 2019.