How Fresno became a premier destination for Latin stars Shakira, Peso Pluma, Karol G
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- Fresno's Save Mart Center draws top Latin acts, setting tour records and sellouts.
- Shakira, Peso Pluma, and Karol G anchor Fresno’s rise as a Latin music hotspot.
- Fresno's central location and loyal fan base drive strong Latin concert bookings.
When Colombia singer Karol G performed in Fresno in October 2022, her concert not only went viral after a fan gave birth during her show, but also surprised Save Mart Center management with its explosive sales.
“We were one of four markets in the country that they were considering rolling to a second show” along with New York, Miami and Los Angeles, said Sean McIlhenny, assistant general manager and director of booking at Save Mart Center.
While the second Karol G show ultimately did not happen, McIlhenny said that the possibility illustrated how Fresno has emerged as capital for Latin music acts.
McIlhenny said the venue had a similar scenario when RBD — the Mexican Latin pop group that gained popularity from Televisa’s telenovela, “Rebelde” — brought its highly-anticipated “Soy Rebelde Tour 2023” to Fresno. The reunion tour, which took 15 years to come to fruition, sold out at Save Mart Center.
“They wanted to go to a second date, but we didn’t have the date available, so we couldn’t get that one done,” McIlhenny said.
Genre has exploded
The growth of Latin music as a top-selling genre act in the Central Valley is not a surprise.
Before the pandemic, there were few markets where the Latin acts could perform well and Fresno has always been a strong Latin market, McIlhenny said.
“There were probably about 20 markets across the county that promoters felt comfortable to go to. We were one of the original 20,” he said.
After the genre exploded in popularity, Latin artists like Fuerza Regida and Peso Pluma made Fresno a must stop.
Peso Pluma’s September 2024 concert at the Save Mart Center in Fresno was his best-performing show of the tour, grossing $2,982,216 off 17,549 tickets sold, according to Pollstar News. The sold-out performance set a high benchmark for his “Éxodo Tour“ in terms of gross revenue for the tour.
Shakira’s first Fresno concert at Valley Children’s Stadium earlier in August was the city’s largest-ever concert in one night and the first at Valley Children’s Stadium.
Shakira’s sellout of a stadium concert at a venue of that size is a big deal for the Fresno market, said Bob Nocek, Save Mart Center genergal manager.
“We’re thrilled to see the audience turn out for the Shakira show, because anything that we can do to elevate Fresno presence as a market is always welcome,” Nocek said.
Save Mart Center, which opened its door in November 2003, has consistently sold out top Latin artists such as Marco Antonio Solis, Juanes, Fuerza Regida, Pitbull, Maná, Karol G, Peso Pluma and Junior H.
“We’re really seen by agents and managers and promoters as a major Latin market,” Nocek said. “They want to make sure Fresno is part of their tours, because they know they’re going to sell a lot of tickets. They know there’s an audience and demand here.” ”
The venue’s capacity for concerts ranges from 13,000 to 15,000 seats, depending on the staging. The other arena in the city, Selland Arena, which has had its share of Latin concerts like J Balvin in 2018, has a seating capacity of 10,220.
Los Tigres del Norte will be performing at Selland Arena in October with “La Loteria Tour.” Fresno’s Saroyan Theatre, with a capacity of about 2,350 seats, has also host a variety of Latino concerts. Pancho Barraza, Marisela and Pedro Fernandez will be performing at the theatre in October.
Central location
Until August , the Save Mart Center arena had been the largest concert venue for any artist to perform in the San Joaquin Valley. Adding Valley Children’s Stadium to the mix of concert venues in Fresno opens the doors to bring artists doing stadium tours to the Central Valley.
“I’m a believer in the rising tide theory. And I think getting a stadium show in the market may turn some heads in the industry, and get people thinking even a little bigger about Fresno, which is always something we’re trying to do as well,” Nocek said.
And Fresno’s central location in California contributes to its advantage.
“If you don’t play somewhere in the middle of the state, you’re kind of missing a big chunk of the audience,” he said. “And fortunately, we’ve got the biggest capacity of the other sort of central arenas. And we’re really in a great spot where you can kind of cover everything from Stockton to Bakersfield by playing a Fresno date.”
In July, the iconic Mexican rock band Maná added Fresno stop to their highly anticipated tour “Vivir sin Aire” tour after “overwhelming” fan demand, coming to Fresno’s Save Mart Center for the seventh time and selling out each time.
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Like Maná, Gloria Trevi or Fuerza Regida, Nocek said, a lot of Latin artist have been playing at the arena multiple times over the years.
Junior H is returning to Save Mart Center in October after a 2024 sellout.
Nocek said Latinos in the Central Valley are “a critical part of the market for us here at Save Mart Center.”
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Nocek said Save Mart Center is holding multiple dates in 2026 for Latin acts, who account for the majority of concerts booked at the venue.
He said that there are markets out there where Latin artists may not do quite as well across the country, but they want to come back to places like Fresno.
“It’s certainly great for us to be a venue that’s having a lot of success with Latin music, it’s certainly great if other venues (like Sellan Arena or Saroyan Theater) are doing it as well, because it just reinforces that idea that this is the stop that you can’t pass up,” he said. “You have to play Fresno if you’re doing a Latin tour.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
