As winner of a Billboard Latin Music Award for Best Group Album of the Year (not to mention four Grammys) and also of the only group recording in Spanish to be awarded an RIAA-certified gold record for sales of more than 500,000 copies, Mana is one of the hottest rising Latin music acts. According to a description on Amazon.com, “Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, Mana creates an organic mix of classic rock, modern rock, and traditional Latin music that will appeal to fans of Santana and Ruben Blades.” For its recent tour, LD Sandro Pugia, working with lighting director Adrian Zurita and the group itself, designed a spectacular light show to convey the meaningful messages of the band's powerful music, as heard in it's most recent album Revolucion De Amor.
For most of the current tour, Mana's automated lighting rig consisted of 28 VL2000™ Wash luminaires and 16 VL2000™ Spot units. In September, Zurita added 16 of the new 1,200W VL3000™ Spot luminaires to the rig, which he uses for base lighting and for audience color. Mana purchased the fixtures from Pro-Color. “I love the new Series 3000™ luminaires,” adds Zurita.
Although Mana's songs are performed in Spanish, many of the fans who attend their shows are non-Spanish speaking. Because their songs contain thought-provoking messages, touching on topics such as ecological issues or justice and freedom for Third World countries, it is important that the emotional theme is conveyed to the audience. Zurita uses the lighting and video to increase the impact of the songs.
“If there's a song talking about oppression in less-privileged countries, we don't want the audience screaming and celebrating,” Zurita says. “We tried to create a live show that wasn't traditional concert lighting, but more of a theatrical performance. We want the audience to experience the emotion and not just flashing lights. We were able to hide some of the actual light fixtures with scenic elements so that it is more dramatic and theatrical. The audience response has been unbelievable, from both the Spanish speaking and non-Spanish speaking members.”
Production manager Javier Barba says that when the VL3000 Spot luminaires were added to the lighting rig, the show changed completely. The Series 3000 fixtures are here to stay,” says Barba. “They have everything an LD needs. Within a very short time, the VL3000 luminaires will be the worldwide standard by which all other lights are measured.”