The NFL takes La Vida Loca to Rio
Rio de Janeiro has never hosted an NFL game. That changes on September 27, and the league is not doing it quietly.
Ricky Martin and Brazilian DJ Pedro Sampaio will run the halftime show when the Dallas Cowboys face the Baltimore Ravens at the Maracana, the NFL confirmed Thursday.
The booking makes sense. Born in Puerto Rico, Martin came up in the 1980s with Latin boy band Menudo before “Livin’ la Vida Loca” went global in 1999. More than 95 million albums later, he was on the Super Bowl LX stage in Santa Clara back in February alongside Bad Bunny.
Sampaio supplies the local pull. The DJ claims more than 16 million followers and 14 billion combined streams, which puts him among the most-played Brazilian artists of his generation.
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A stadium that carries its own weight
Sampaio said it better than any press release could. “I grew up in Rio de Janeiro seeing the Maracana as a place where history was made. I never imagined my first time on that field would be alongside Ricky Martin, who has always been a huge inspiration to me.”
Martin answered in kind. “There is nothing like the energy of the Brazilian people, and I cannot wait to see our fans again and perform live in the iconic Maracana. Get ready to move. See you in September.”
Seven cities, one season, no letting up
Rio sits inside a crowded international calendar. The Jonas Brothers already have Melbourne on September 10 US time, for the opener between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.
London, Madrid, Mexico, Munich and Paris fill out the rest of the list. Seven venues outside the United States in a single campaign. The export push has never run this hard.
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