Tour of the Mongoose

Tour of the Mongoose (also known as El Tour de la Mangosta in hispanophone countries) is the third concert tour by Colombian singer and songwriter, Shakira, in support of her first English album, Laundry Service. It is also noted as the singer's first global tour, reaching North America, South America and Europe. The tour successfully grossed close to $72 million according to Sony Music.

Tour of the Mongoose

Tour by Shakira
Promotional poster for the tour
Associated album	Laundry Service
Start date	November 8, 2002
End date	May 11, 2003
Legs	4
No. of shows	35 in North America 17 in Europe 9 in South America 61 Total
Box office	US $72 million ($100.07 in 2019 dollars)[1]
Shakira concert chronology

Background

Clear Channel Entertainment announced the Tour of the Mongoose in September 2002.[2] The tour came shortly after Shakira reached international success with her third studio album. During a press conference in New York City, Shakira summarized her show as an "entertaining rock show", stating, "I'm not saving any effort to make sure that this concert [tour] will be the best I can offer to my fans. And it's going to have a strong spirit of rock and roll, so you will see a rock-and-roll show, but it will have all of the nuances and the subtleties of a show that attempts to entertain".[3]

At the same press conference, Shakira explained the tour's name as symbolizing the strength of the mongoose, stating "...I was really impressed by it because it is an animal that can defeat the snake with just a bite. It's like a living miracle, this animal, to me, because if there's an animal on earth that can defeat the snake—a venomous viper—with a bite, I think that there's got to be some way for us to defeat, or to bite the neck of hatred in this world, no? "It's called the Tour of the Mongoose, and the mongoose is basically one of the few animals who can defeat the most venomous snakes with just one bite and that's why I decided to name my tour that way, because I think that if we all have a little mongoose inside that can defeat the hatred and the resentment and the prejudice of everyday, we can probably win the battle."[3][4] At the tour commencement, Corey Moss of MTV compared the singer to Britney Spears, Tommy Lee, Elvis Presley, Sheryl Crow and Rage Against the Machine.[5]

Controversy

Shakira performing the closing number "Whenever, Wherever"

The show sparked some controversy due to a perceived anti-war message in a video played prior to the performance of "Octavo Día", displaying war footage and later revealing the Grim Reaper to be a puppeteer. Shakira defended the video, stating,[4]

"I think that we see war as a virtual thing and we even get to believe that bombs fall on top of cardboard cutouts and stuff like that, they don't. They kill real people, real children, real mothers and millions of innocent people. I come from Colombia, which is a country that has been under the whip of violence for more than four decades, so I've seen the consequences of war and I've seen the psychological damage that it does in a society. And I think that we're never ready for war. I just feel that there are always pacifist solutions, and I think that the leaders know the exit to the conflict, it's just that sometimes they don't want to use them, they just want to continue playing their little game of power. And I feel that us people have the responsibility and also the obligation to demand to our leaders to give us the pacifist solutions. To give us a world in peace. I might be sounding like an old fashioned hippie, but I believe in pacifist revolutions and I think that we have to look for those solutions, otherwise there's no way to survive in this world. In the First World War, 13 million people were killed. In the Second World War, 40 million people were killed. I think that if a third war takes place, nothing is going to be left on the face of earth. 'Octavo Dia' talks about God when he created the world, the eighth day he went for a walk to outer space and when he came back he found our world in an infernal mess and he found that we were being controlled and manipulated by just a few leaders and that we were like pieces of a chess game. Not always do the governments represent their people. Not always do the governments make the right decisions, because the governments are controlled by just a few, and those few do not always represent faithfully the ideals of the people."

Commercial performance

Shakira became the first Latin female artist to perform at Argentina's Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti (River Plate stadium), the sold out show had over 60,000 people in attendance.[6] The concert in Santiago, Chile broke Luis Miguel's record of most expensive concert tickets in the country due to Shakira's huge global popularity and high demand.[7] The show in Atlantic Pavilion, Lisbon has attracted 19,136 people which has broken attendance record holding by American rock trio R.E.M..[8]

Broadcast and recordings

Main article: Live & off the Record

The tour was shot in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on April 22, 2003. The tour was chronicled on Live & off the Record. The disc included selected songs from the concert, along with a documentary showing the performer preparing for the show, her song writing process and her ideas about social responsibility. It also includes a live CD that features ten songs that were performed during the show. The CD spun off two singles, "Poem to a Horse" and "Whenever, Wherever Live".[9] In a special edition of Fijación Oral, Volume 1 the performances of "Fool" and "Dónde Están los Ladrones?" were included.

Setlist

Anglophone

1. "Ojos Así"
2. "Si Te Vas"
3. "Fool"
4. "Ciega, Sordomuda"
5. "The One"
6. "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" (contains elements of "Te Dejo Madrid")
7. "Back In Black"
8. "Rules"
9. "Inevitable"
10. "Underneath Your Clothes"
11. "Estoy Aquí" (contains elements of "Estoy Aquí (MTV Unplugged Version)")
12. "Octavo Día"
13. "Ready For The Good Times"
14. "Un Poco de Amor"
15. "Poem to a Horse"
16. "Tú"

Encore

17. Objection (Tango)" (Afro-Punk Version)
18. "Whenever, Wherever" (contains elements of "Whenever, Wherever (Sahara Mix)")

Hispanophone

1. "Ojos Así"
2. "Si Te Vas"
3. "Ciega, Sordomuda"
4. "Inevitable"
5. "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" (contains elements of "Te Dejo Madrid")
6. "Back In Black"
7. "Rules"
8. "Underneath Your Clothes"
9. "Estoy Aquí" (contains elements of "Estoy Aquí (MTV Unplugged Version)")
10. "Octavo Día"
11. "Ready For The Good Times"
12. "Un Poco De Amor"
13. "¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?"
14. "Tú"
15. "Te Dejo Madrid"

Encore

16. "Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)" (Afro-Punk Version)
17. "Suerte" (contains elements of "Whenever, Wherever (Sahara Mix)")

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
North America[2][3][10][11]
November 8, 2002	San Diego	United States	San Diego Sports Arena
November 10, 2002	San Jose		Compaq Center
November 12, 2002	Anaheim		Arrowhead Pond
November 13, 2002	Los Angeles		Staples Center
November 15, 2002	El Paso		Don Haskins Center
November 16, 2002
November 18, 2002	Washington D.C.		MCI Center
November 20, 2002	New York City		Madison Square Garden
November 22, 2002	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills
November 24, 2002	Philadelphia		First Union Center
November 25, 2002	New York City		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 27, 2002	Montreal	Canada	Bell Centre
November 28, 2002	Toronto		Air Canada Centre
November 30, 2002	Boston	United States	FleetCenter
December 2, 2002	Miami		American Airlines Arena
Europe
December 10, 2002	Barcelona	Spain	Palau Sant Jordi
December 12, 2002	Cologne	Germany	Kölnarena
December 16, 2002	London	England	Wembley Arena
North America
January 18, 2003	Chicago	United States	United Center
January 20, 2003	Dallas		American Airlines Center
January 22, 2003	Houston		Compaq Center
January 23, 2003	San Antonio		SBC Center
January 25, 2003	Las Vegas		Mandalay Bay Events Center
January 28, 2003	Denver		Pepsi Center
January 31, 2003	Phoenix		America West Arena
February 2, 2003	Oakland		The Arena at Oakland
February 5, 2003	Laredo		Laredo Entertainment Center
February 6, 2003
February 9, 2003	Guadalajara	Mexico	Estadio Tres de Marzo
February 11, 2003	Monterrey		Auditorio Coca-Cola
February 12, 2003
February 14, 2003	Mexico City		Foro Sol
February 15, 2003
February 19, 2003	Panama City	Panama	Figali Convention Center
February 23, 2003	Albuquerque	United States	Tingley Coliseum
February 25, 2003	El Paso		Don Haskins Center
South America
February 28, 2003	Quito	Ecuador	Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa
March 5, 2003	Lima	Peru	Jockey Club del Perú
March 8, 2003	Santiago	Chile	Estadio Nacional de Chile
March 12, 2003	Bogotá	Colombia	Estadio El Campín
March 15, 2003	Barranquilla		Estadio Metropolitano
North America
March 22, 2003	San Juan	Puerto Rico	Hiram Bithorn Stadium
March 23, 2003			Coliseo de Puerto Rico
Europe
March 28, 2003	Paris	France	Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy
March 30, 2003	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
March 31, 2003
April 2, 2003	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
April 4, 2003	Frankfurt	Germany	Festhalle Frankfurt
April 6, 2003	Munich		Olympiahalle
April 10, 2003	Stockholm	Sweden	Stockholm Globe Arena
April 13, 2003	Berlin	Germany	Max-Schmeling-Halle
April 14, 2003	Hamburg		Color Line Arena
April 17, 2003	Milan	Italy	Fila Forum
April 21, 2003	Antwerp	Belgium	Sportpaleis
April 22, 2003	Rotterdam	Netherlands	The Ahoy
April 25, 2003	Madrid	Spain	Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas
April 27, 2003	Lisbon	Portugal	Pavilhão Atlântico
South America[12][13][14]
May 1, 2003	Punta del Este	Uruguay	Conrad de Punta del Este
May 3, 2003	Buenos Aires	Argentina	River Plate Stadium
North America
May 6, 2003	Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	Estadio Quisqueya
South America
May 8, 2003	Maracaibo	Venezuela	Estadio José Pachencho Romero
May 11, 2003	Caracas		Poliedro de Caracas

Billboard Box office score data

Venue	City	Tickets sold / available	Gross revenue
San Diego Sports Arena	San Diego	11,764 / 11,764 (100%)	$655,400[15]
Compaq Center	San Jose	14,116 / 14,116 (100%)	$754,274[16]
Arrowhead Pond at Anaheim	Anaheim	10,113 / 12,862 (79%)	$710,255[16]
Staples Center	Los Angeles	15,102 / 15,102 (100%)	$1,066,743[16]
Don Haskins Center	El Paso	16,392 / 16,392 (100%)	$1,035,105[15]
Madison Square Garden	New York	14,249 / 14,249 (100%)	$1,024,460[15]
First Union Center	Philadelphia	9,842 / 10,549 (93%)	$450,560[15]
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum	Uniondale	9,131 / 11,854 (77%)	$459,487[15]
Bell Centre	Montreal	11,140 / 11,140 (100%)	$466,243[15]
Air Canada Centre	Toronto	10,432 / 11,155 (94%)	$429,860[15]
Fleet Center	Boston	12,555 / 12,555 (100%)	$678,540[15]
American Airlines Arena	Miami	13,958 / 13,958 (100%)	$886,053[15]
United Center	Chicago	14,770 / 14,770 (100%)	$934,719[17]
American Airlines Center	Dallas	13,550 / 13,550 (100%)	$727,205[17]
Compaq Center	Houston	12,735 / 12,735 (100%)	$702,205[17]
SBC Center	San Antonio	12,695 / 12,695 (100%)	$709,575[17]
Estadio Tres de Marzo	Guadalajara	23,926 / 23,926 (100%)	$1,112,680[18]
Auditorio Coca-Cola	Monterrey	35,822 / 35,822 (100%)	$1,184,826[18]
Foro Sol	Mexico City	88,163 / 88,163 (100%)	$4,050,889[18]
TOTAL		350,455 / 357,357 (98%)	$18,039,079

Personnel

• Shakira – Producer, songwriter, vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Gonzalo Agulla – Executive producer
• José Arnal – Executive producer
• Tim Mitchell – Producer, arranger, guitar
• Dana Austin – Producer
• Bettina Abascal – Post producer
• Dominic Morley – Engineer
• Richard Robson – Engineer
• Neil Tucker – Engineer
• Matt Vaughan – Engineer
• Richard Wilkinson – Engineer
• Adrian Hall – Mixing engineer
• Chris Theis – Mixing engineer
• Mike Fisher – Audio post-production
• Mike Wilder – Mastering
• Ramiro Aguilar – Video director
• Pablo Arraya – Editing assistant
• Rita Quintero – Backing vocals, keyboards
• Adam Zimmon – Guitar
• Mario Inchaust – Backing vocals, Guitars
• Albert Sterling Menendez – Keyboards
• Pedro Alfonso – Violin
• Dan Rothchild – Bass guitar, photography
• Brendan Buckley – Drums
• Rafael Padilla – Percussion
• Jeff Bender – Photography, cover photo
• Frank Ockenfels – Photography
• Ian Cuttler – Art direction
• Frank Carbonari – Graphic design
• Rose Noone – A&R

References

1. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
2. "SHAKIRA ANNOUNCES WHENEVER, WHEREVER OF WORLD TOUR". MTV. 25 September 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
3. Armor, Jerry (25 September 2002). "Shakira To Embark Upon Tour Of The Mongoose In November". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
4. Moss, Corey; Megan Hanley (2003-02-05). "Shakira Calls For Peace, Explains Mongoose Mystery". MTV News. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
5. Moss, Corey (11 November 2002). "Shakira Shows She's The Colombian Britney, Colombian Tommy Lee At Tour Kickoff". MTV News. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
6. https://www.emol.com/noticias/magazine/2003/05/03/111504/shakira-se-presento-ante-60-mil-espectadores-en-el-estadio-de-river-plate.html
7. https://www.lagaceta.com.ar/nota/30331/espectaculos/shakira-rompera-record-marco-luis-miguel.html
8. http://www.shakiramedia.com/news/detail/12
9. "Shakira: Live & Off The Record (2004)". Amazon. United States. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
10. Gelman, Jason (15 January 2003). "Shakira Talks Fashion, Maps Out Second Tour Leg". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
11. "Shakira se presentará en México". El Universo. 5 February 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
12. "Shakira: se acerca el huracán". La Nación (in Spanish). 3 May 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
13. "Shakira deleitó en el Monumental". La Nación (in Spanish). 4 May 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
14. Aguirre, Javier (5 May 2003). "Shakira, una presentación sin recuerdos familiares". Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 June 2017.
15. Billboard Boxscore U.S.A 2002 Page 14
16. Billboard Boxscore U.S.A 2002 Page 36
17. Billboard Boxscore U.S.A 2003 Page 20
18. Billboard Boxscore Mexico 2003 Page 19

External links

• Shakira's Official Website