Taylor Swift began the international leg of her "Eras Tour" in Mexico City this weekend, with an enthusiastic welcome from fans who embraced the singer’s arrival in a uniquely Latino way.
Mexican fans personalized the elements that made the tour such a sensation in the U.S. — exchanging friendship bracelets, standing in hourslong merchandise lines and spotting local celebrities in the crowd — and got a few Spanish-language nods from Swift herself.
"After years of wanting to play in Mexico City, just got to play 4 of the most unforgettable shows for the most beautiful and generous fans," Swift wrote on Instagram on Monday. "Feeling so grateful for the memories we're making together on this tour ... TE AMO," she added, using a Mexican flag emoji.
Videos on social media show friendship bracelets customized with inscriptions like “Taynochtitlan,” a play on the name of the former capital of the Aztec Empire, “Taymalez,” and “Teylor Suif,” among other Spanish-language puns. Even Supreme Court Justice Arturo Zaldívar was seen exchanging bracelets with fellow fans.
And in one video ahead of the show, a fan is seen leaving a friendship bracelet at a statue of Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain and lightning, so the singer would be spared bad weather.
At one of the sold-out shows at Foro Sol, one of Mexico's largest venues, Swift was recorded appearing to say “Te amo,” Spanish for “I love you,” to a young fan. In another clip, she hands the mic to one of her backup dancers, who replaces part of the lyrics to “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” with, “Like, nunca!”
In another video, fans can be heard chanting, “Taylor hermana ya eres Mexicana” (Taylor sister you’re already Mexican).
Outside Foro Sol, an unofficial “merch market” sold posters of Swift as the Virgin Mary as well as T-shirts and sweatshirts displaying the singer in her many musical facets. Fans following the show online praised the creative designs and lively spirit of the market.
Kevin Thébar, a fan who attended two of the Mexico City shows, said getting to witness the Eras Tour marked a "before and after" in his life.
"Not just in my life, but the life of all the fans who waited more than 10 years and all those new fans who had the chance to see and listen to her entire musical career in one concert," Thébar said in a message to NBC News in Spanish. "Beyond that, the fact that she brought her entire production is a huge step in how concerts are done in Mexico."
The Eras Tour, which concluded the first part of its U.S. run this month, has drawn unprecedented demand from fans around the world. Swift will continue her Latin American tour dates in November with nine shows across Argentina and Brazil.
