"I've been dreaming of this since I started my career," Maluma said of the historic concert he will give in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia.
Following the unveiling of his wax figure by Madame Tussauds in Medellin, Colombia, Maluma is set to perform at the biggest concert ever held in his hometown.
Tickets for the "Medallo en el Mapa" concert that will take place on Saturday, April 30 at the "Atanasio Girardot" football stadium in Medellin have been officially sold out. About 54,000 people will watch the Latin star live while fulfilling one of his biggest dreams.
"I'm very excited because I've always dreamed of this, really, since I started my career," Maluma told the Associated Press in an interview with Medellin.
"It fills me with adrenaline, it fills me with track, because I will be up there and I will see my family, I will see my friends with whom I grew up, I will see my people. I think it is the dream of every artist to appear in his city ", he continued and added:" We must show the world that you can become a prophet in your place ".
The stadium, with a maximum capacity of almost 45,000 people, has already welcomed two big stars from Medellin: J Balvin and Karol G. But Maluma points out that his own concert will be the largest ever held in this area thanks to 360-degree design, with the stage placed in the middle of the field and the audience covering not only the stands but also the grass.
For Maluma, hosting a show like "Medallo en el Mapa" is one way to reduce drug trafficking stereotypes about his city. Pablo Escobar died in 1993, less than two months before Maluma was born.
Maluma - wax figure
"Things have changed a lot since I started my career, because every time I went abroad, people always spoke very negatively when they talked about Medellin: they talked about drug trafficking, violence, they said that (Colombia) was a country you could not visit, a dangerous country ", he said, noting that all these years many of his compatriots have distinguished themselves not only in music, but also in sports and business.
"I am part of this group that has a different vision and a different perception and that has worked hard for it," Maluma said.
"This is what I want to do with Medallo en el Mapa, I want to show the whole world that Medellin is not violence, that Medellin is not a drug trade, that Pablo Escobar died many years ago," he said.
Maluma made another dream come true on Monday when he attended the unveiling of his wax figure from Madame Tussauds in Orlando at the Medellin Museum of Modern Art, where the statue was moved at the singer's request.
"I know there are a lot of people here who can't afford to travel to Orlando or New York or Los Angeles and go to a museum and see a sculpture of this caliber, so the fact that I was able to bring it from the United States "States in Colombia, that I can make this gift to my city, is the most special thing for me, to be honest," he explained.
Maluma recalled that he had once visited a branch of the popular wax museum and was photographed next to his idols, and commented: "Now my model will be next to all these artists I have followed."
