Costa Rica Iron Maiden Concert Through the Eyes of a True Fan

Written by manfred

2008 Iron Maiden Concert in Costa Rica

When the rumors started to circulate online about a performance by Iron Maiden in Central America, I assumed I’d have to make a trip to El Salvador or Honduras to see them. To my surprise, on Oct. 31, 2007, I found out that Iron Maiden would be playing in Costa Rica!

From that moment on it was Maiden here, and Maiden over there. Rumors and reports about the scheduled performance took over the Internet, radio and television. Endless commentary, both good and bad, was heard (of course I only concentrated on the good, as the rest came from people who are either ignorant or ultra-conservative). The wait seemed eternal, and I could only console myself with the reminder: one day less!

Christmas passed, St. Valentine’s Day passed, but in my mind only Feb. 26, 2008 held any importance. February finally arrived and the craziness took over Costa Rica. In bars DVDs of Maiden were played over and over, but nothing could compare to the main event.

I woke up Monday the 25th at 4pm, called my friends Daniel and Boza to figure out where to meet up. Having done that, I took a shower and was on my way to to the Saprissa stadium in Tibás. I took a taxi to arrive as quickly as possible, but when I got there, a line of people 300 meters long had already formed in front of the VIP entrance. In the news it said that people had been waiting in line since Friday the 22nd! I waited about 40 minutes for my “compitas”, and when they arrived, all that was left to do was wait through the cold night and morning. In front of us some brothers from Guatemala livened the atmosphere with chants, cheers and the classic: Maiden! Maiden! Maiden!

Between the cold, liquor (all types of typical guaro from throughout Central America were being passed around in a very fraternal atmosphere) and chatting, we passed the time. I couldn’t believe that we were just hours away from hearing my biggest heroes “La Doncella de Acero” as we call them in Spanish. Around mid-day on the 26th, the sun beat down on us with great force (as my sun burnt neck and face will atest). The VIP line was longer than ever and I couldn’t even see the end. Around 2:30pm shade fell over the east side of the Saprissa Stadium. I would guess that about 10,000 people were in the street drinking and wandering around, just as excited as I for what awaited us.

I knew that this was a historic day for Costa Rica. Never in my 18 years of listening to heavy metal and living the underground scene had I observed a sea of black t-shirts so large as on that day.

At 3:20pm the stadium doors opened and the crowd began to pour in, I thought I was near death for almost an hour as people pushed and squeezed their way to the bleachers. At 4:45pm I made it to our seats, I couldn’t believe that my dream was finally coming true, with only 4 hours or so to the concert. I went to buy an official tour t-shirt to add to my collection of two others that I had purchased outside the stadium.

Later in a veritable suicide attempt I proceeded to work my way to the front of the crowd, which I achieved and was able to hear the first four songs directly in front of the stage. The first song was Aces High and the crowd went crazy, screaming until they were no longer able to. The energy in the stadium was at more than 100%. I swear that Bruce actually waved to me (or at least I prefer to think so). I knew that the cold and hunger was completely worth it to live the two most exciting hours of my life.

I later receded a bit from the front of the crowd to avoid death amid sweat and elbows. The madness reached its limit when Bruce yelled out “scream for me Costa Rica”. I got goose bumps and my friends swear they saw a tear fall down my face.

The incredible Iron Maiden was in front of my eyes. As a solo voice rang out singing Fear of the Dark, it is said that the song could be heard all the way in Heredia. However, for me the best song was Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner and the acrobatics of Janick Gers with his guitar, which was a delight for all. Adrian Smith and Dave Murray, and my biggest hero Steve Harris, the crazy genius Nico McBrain (also a devoted Christian) and the always energetic and youthful Bruce Dickinson, all of them right before my eyes!

I could go on writing for hours about the theme, but in the end I can only conclude that that night, the 26th of February 2008, was the best night of my life up until now, and not only for me but for all of Central America and the great “black nation”, those of us who live and breath Heavy Metal.

Thank you Maiden we will never forget you…

manfred.zumbadosolano@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of La Nacion

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