Jessi Uribe, Paola Jara and Karen Lizarazo take over the Ritz Theatre this Saturday

Colombian música popular comes to Elizabeth on Nov. 7, with two of the genre's biggest names on one bill just weeks before their Bogotá arena finale.

This Saturday, the Ritz Theatre in Elizabeth turns into a Colombian despecho night. Jessi Uribe and Paola Jara, who have spent 2026 singing heartbreak songs to arenas on two continents, share a stage on Elizabeth's main drag, with Karen Lizarazo on the bill too.

Jessi Uribe plays the Ritz Theatre on Saturday, November 7, at 8pm, with Paola Jara and Karen Lizarazo. The show was announced on October 26, so this one came together fast. Tickets run $65.80 to $219.75 through Ticketmaster. The Ritz holds 2,800.

If you grew up with música popular playing in the house, you know Uribe. Born Yesid Eduardo Uribe Ordóñez in Bucaramanga in 1987, he is the son of a mariachi singer and started out at 15, working bars and nightclubs in his hometown, according to EcuRed. His breakout, "Dulce pecado," went to the top of Colombia's charts, and television made him a household name, through "La Voz Colombia" and "A otro nivel." In 2022 Publimetro reported he was the second most-played artist in the popular genre on Colombian radio, and in 2025 he sang the national anthem before Colombia played Paraguay.

Paola Jara is a star in her own right. In January she announced an international solo tour, "Vuelve," across six countries, as El Diario reported. But this year the two have also worked as a duo. Their joint project, Despecho a 2 Voces, took them across Europe in the spring, a run Vanguardia covered, with RCN Radio noting their daughter Emilia came along.

The same pairing that sold out a Bogotá arena in hours, in a 2,800-seat theater in Elizabeth.

Back home, demand has been something else. Their first show at Bogotá's Movistar Arena sold out in about three hours and a second date was added, per La República. Publimetro called it the first time the two have headlined that arena together, and Canal Trece has the closing concert set for December 20. Saturday in Elizabeth falls six weeks before that finale, which puts North Jersey in the run-up to the biggest night of their year.

Karen Lizarazo rounds out the bill. Get there early enough to catch her set before the headliners.

The Ritz is the right size for this. Uribe and Jara fill arenas in Colombia, so a 2,800-capacity theater puts you much closer to the stage than you'd get in Bogotá. For a genre built on singing every word back to the stage, that closeness is the point.

Practical notes: it's this Saturday, and the show was announced less than two weeks ago, so if you're still deciding, decide now. The cheapest seats start under $70.

Bring your voice. Nobody goes to a despecho show to stand quietly.

Sources: JamBase: Jessi Uribe at Ritz Theatre (jambase.com); Ticketmaster: Jessi Uribe, Paola Jara, Karen Lizarazo, Elizabeth NJ (ticketmaster.evyy.net); EcuRed: Jessi Uribe (ecured.cu); La Kalle: Conoce la historia de Jessi Uribe (lakalle.bluradio.com); Publimetro: Jessi Uribe es el segundo cantante más sonado en la radio de Colombia (publimetro.co); Publimetro: Jessi Uribe cantará el himno en el partido Colombia vs Paraguay (publimetro.co); El Diario: Paola Jara anunció su gira internacional Vuelve (eldiario.ec); Vanguardia: Jessi Uribe y Paola Jara conquistan Europa con Despecho a 2 Voces (vanguardia.com); RCN Radio: Paola Jara y Jessi Uribe conquistan Europa junto a su hija Emilia (newsroom.rcnradio.com); La República: Jessi Uribe y Paola Jara suman otra noche de despecho en Bogotá (larepublica.co); Publimetro: Paola Jara y Jessi Uribe llegarán juntos por primera vez al Movistar Arena (publimetro.co); Canal Trece: Despecho a 2 Voces Movistar Arena (canaltrece.com.co)