The End

A couple weeks ago I was getting ready to see one of my favorite singers, Vicente Fernandez.  I grew up listening to his music because my father would play it all the time.  Vicente Fernandez is like the “Mexican Elvis” because he is one of the most famous singers in Mexican culture.  If you ever attend a party and there is beer and tequila lying around there is a definite chance that you will hear his music. He is the last ranchera singer and unfortunately when he passes it will also symbolize the death of the genre.  It would be impossible to revive it. When he announced his final tour I was devastated and I had set my mind that I absolutely had to see him one last time.

            My birthday was coming up and what better what to celebrate?  Tickets were sold out so I looked for some online.  I found decent tickets on StubHub and instantly bought three for friends and myself.  I thought it was going to be the best goodbye concert.

            The day arrived and my friends and I had a bittersweet feeling since we were excited but it would be our last time singing with him.  We drove downtown to the Staples Center where it was packed with traffic.  Finally, we get to the door and present our tickets.  The employee scans them.  Brr! Brr!  The worker looked at me, “Did you leave the venue?”  I thought she was joking, “No. Why?”  Her facial expression changes, “Umm…someone already used these tickets.”  I stood shocked and before I could reply my friend Betsy interrupts, “Can we speak to a manager!?”  The man comes up and scans the tickets again, “Sorry ladies, these tickets are invalid.  You’re going to have to talk to a StubHub representative.  He’s a few feet away but I can’t guarantee that you’ll get in.”  I felt as though someone punched me in the stomach.

            “A few feet my ass!”  I told my friends as we wandered trying to locate the ticket booth.  About thirty minutes passed when we met the representative and I could hear Vicente singing in the background.  “I’m so sorry about what happened.”  We all looked at the StubHub guy and sighed.  “Well, I have tickets for you but they are separated.  Two of you will sit together but the other is going to be a few seats away.”  I looked at my friends and could not decide.  “I don’t care!  I’ll sit alone, I want to see him,” cried Betsy and I accepted.

            Another thirty minutes passed before we found our seats.  Turns out Betsy was in a whole different section away from us.  We missed an hour or more trying to get in and I’m sure he sang all the songs I wanted to hear.  I probably heard four of the good ones but the show felt as though it ended quickly.  I was looking forward to singing alongside my friends and even though we got in it was a miserable concert.  This is not the way a goodbye should end.  There wasn’t a happily ever after and all I could say is the StubHub SUCKS!!!

-Diana