Who could forget the day Michael Jackson’s death was solely a heavy rumor waiting confirmation. Rumor or not, it was breaking news across all genres. I mean, we were talking Michael Jackson –King of Pop, the little boy with the huge afro that stood out through his gracious voice amongst The Jackson Five, who later astonished the world with his unique dancing moves, frightened teenagers with his thrilling movie-like videos of werewolves, zombies and what not, and as the man who also raised controversies over his socially odd behavior but who lastly, really just brought a world of fans together one last time as we said goodbye.

Two years after his death, Cirque du Soleil brings to stage “Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour”, a spectacle that wraps the beginning and the end of a career full circle in a way that only Cirque du Soleil knows how to do. From start to finish, the crowd is dancing, singing, clapping and yes, crying as well. As the show evolves, Michael’s songs are played and you will hear no one but his voice resonate in the arena, everyone on stage plays a key role in reflecting the effect that his music has on fans, after all, everyone onstage is not only a Cirque performer, they are a true Michael Jackson fan.

In interviewing Leo Moctezuma, one of the show’s performers of Latino decent coming from a proud Puerto Rican family, I asked what his most vivid memory of Michael growing up was, he quickly responded “Aside from watching Michael Jackson’s Moon Walker movie on repeat as a child and trying to learn all the dance steps from each video, I still remember seeing MJ live in Concert, The History Tour 15 rows back from stage on January 4th 1997 at the “Aloha Bowl” in Hawaii with my sister, where I went to High School. I cried, danced and sang almost every song.”

Needless to say, Moctezuma expressed how blessed and honored he feels to be part of the tour nearly fifteen years since that concert. Like a dream in the making, he’s thrilled to share this unbelievably unique experience with his family and most of all -other MJ fans. “I get to dance to his music that I grew up to, and actually do a lot of his original choreography! Michael has influenced me and the world in so many ways, I feel fortunate to help continue spreading his message through music art and basically keeping his spirit alive… Immortal!”

Something many probably didn’t know about the King of Pop is that he was a huge Cirque du Soleil fan. The show’s Publicist, Maxime Charbonneau shared Jackson’s admiration for Cirque du Soleil’s artistic creativity, “…he had seen most of our touring shows in California, and many of the resident shows in Las Vegas. Michael saw our first show to tour the US in 1989 and also visited the Cirque du Soleil International headquarters in 2003. Michael had a lot of respect and admiration for the creativity and artistry involved in Cirque du Soleil production. He saw some of our shows many times, and mentioned to us that he would have loved one day to work on a project with Cirque du Soleil.”

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make this happen while he was still alive. After Michael’s passing, Cirque got in touch with The Estate to start working on a unique concept, an ultimate tribute to Michael’s music, his legacy, and his work as a unique human being. Mixing both Cirque du Soleil unique vision to Michael’s music was a match made in heaven. It creates a unique experience for Cirque and Michael Jackson fans,” continued Charbonneau.

One thing you should know about Cirque du Soleil’s tribute to Michael Jackson through this show, is that it is just that -a tribute to his legacy. Don’t go in expecting to experience what would’ve or could’ve been the tour Michael Jackson was preparing so hard for before he passed. This is in no way trying to top, resemble or compete with that, it’s a show all in it’s own stemming from Michael’s admiration for the creativeness, passion and dedication that artists at Cirque du Soleil spill over the stage and onto the audience time and again. Nonetheless, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the music which is all Michael Jackson’s, the costumes resemble many of his signature outfits including the rhinestone gloves and black shoes. An interesting fact about the costumes is that not one single performer’s real hair is used during the show, as real as it may seem, everyone wears a wig and there are quite a few state of the art outfits reliant on technology to lighten up the arena so keep an eye out for those, you’ll be mesmerized.

Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour will be stopping in San Diego for a two day run. Performances are scheduled for Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22 at the Valley View Casino 3500 Sports Arena Blvd.