Singer Cristian Offers 2 Hints That He Could Be a Cut Above

After selling 650,000 copies of his last record in the United States alone, Cristian got what he deserved--to be regarded as a bona fide romantic singer, not just the son of Mexican singer-actress Veronica Castro.

The problem is that, nowadays, the term romantic singer doesn’t mean much. And Cristian’s concert Saturday night at the Universal Amphitheatre showed that he shares all the good and all the bad elements of the average Latin romantic singer.

Without much vocal power, he nevertheless has trained his voice and has improved enough to be taken seriously, and incessant touring has allowed him to look more confident onstage each time out. But of the music and the show itself, not much could be said in Cristian’s favor.

He entered the stage on a skateboard, wearing a suit and goggles, backed by a seven-piece band wearing Dodger T-shirts. He went through his usual repertoire of little rockers, funky pop and corny ballads and told the audience that he sings “for love, tenderness” and “for those of us who are in love,” a familiar mantra.

The best part of the night came when Cristian went ethnic and acoustic, and for six minutes he surprised with a moving interpretation of “Odiame” (Hate Me), a classic Peruvian waltz, and his own “Quedate aqui” (Stay Here), a tender bolero that raises hope for his future as a serious songwriter. But after these two songs, it was back to the same old standard mild rockers and recycled ballads that have worked so well for him until now.