MIAMI, Fla. – Pop star Madonna took time out during her concert in Miami on Tuesday to honor the victims and survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando – a moment that brought her to tears on stage.
“I want to remind you of a shooting on June 12, 2016,” she told the crowd. “I want to remind you of a shooting at a nightclub in Orlando called Pulse. I want to draw attention to that moment because nightclubs and music and dance are what bring us together. They shouldn’t be things we do to bring us sadness and tragedy and murder and death and pain and suffering and trauma, but unfortunately, human beings are still stuck in a rut. “
She told the audience she invited some of the survivors of that night and some of the families of those who died.
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“My job is to bring people together, to make people dance, to make people happy, to not judge,” she said. “This (expletive) is not supposed to happen.”
Mayra Alvear was one of the people in the audience.
Alvear lost her daughter Amanda during the shooting.
“First it was like, ‘this is for real?’” she told News 6. “I was totally surprised by her invitation. We enjoyed very much her story telling about her life and struggles and the way she has to fight for her place in the world – the queen.”
The singer read the names of some of those who survived the violence, describing in detail where they were in the nightclub.
In video shot by Orlando Torres, who survived the shooting, Madonna is seen asking the crowd to turn on their cell phone lights.
“Can you please turn the light on your phones? Turn your lights on, and light up this room, so we are reminded that their lives were not taken in vain,” she said.
“It was a surprise of this invite for the victim’s family, as well as the Pulse Nightclub survivors, to be invited by Madonna on her celebration World Tour in Miami for her last night,“ Torres told News 6. “It touched all of us sadly and deeply. It’s a feeling to know that the 49 angels as well as the 53 physically injured survivors, all remembered and never forgotten. Knowing that these tragic mass shootings continue throughout the United States, to make everybody aware that this can happen at any time in the future. It is a strong message to the world, that there’s no room for hate, only want to enjoy music and dancing together in any community.”
Madonna is currently touring North America with her “The Celebration Tour,” with dates still scheduled for Austin and Mexico City.
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