Mexican band Grupo Firme cancels festival appearance because of US visa issue

USA Today

2 days ago

Mexican band Grupo Firme cancels festival appearance because of US visa issue The Tijuana-based regional music group is among a growing number of Mexican musicians who have had abrupt visa issues.
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The Mexican band Grupo Firme canceled their headlining June 1 performance at a California music festival because the group said their visas were currently in an 'administrative process' to enter the country.
The Tijuana-based regional Mexican music group is among a growing number of Mexican musicians who have had abrupt visa issues, sometimes for alleged ties to drug cartels, during the second Trump administration.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused visa issues for Grupo Firme to enter the country for their June 1 performance at La Onda Fest, in Napa Valley. The band offered no further details aside from a May 30 post on Instagram Stories.
The post said the United States Embassy currently had visas in an 'administrative process' for bandmates and their record label, Music VIP. This made it 'impossible' for them to attend the Mexican music festival.
'We are sorry for the inconvenience that this may cause,' the post said in Spanish. 'We appreciate your understanding and, above all, the love of our fans in the United States.'
In an emailed response, the Department of State said visa records are confidential by law, so they couldn't comment on the case. Officials didn't respond to questions about the basis for the visa issue, or about the 'administrative process' the band described.
The group said they would share news of their return to the United States when they can make new plans.
Mexican singer Julión Álvarez said he had his visa revoked ahead of a sold-out May 24 show at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
In 2017, Álvarez had his visa revoked after being accused of ties to a drug trafficker, though he denied this. He was taken off a list in 2022, and he was in the country as recently as April to perform three sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, the State Department revoked the visas for Los Alegres del Barranco, after the band displayed an image of Mexican drug lord Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho,' at a concert in Mexico in late March.
The group had an American tour planned. On X, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau confirmed the department canceled Los Alegres' work and tourist visas for "glorifying" Oseguera Cervantes, who is head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
In 2021, Grupo Firme won a Latin Grammy for best banda album. The group is known for songs such as "Ya Supérame" and "Cada Quién."
But in February, the group canceled a festival performance in Mazatlán, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, after being threatened by a suspected drug cartel. The threat reportedly came in the form of a narcomanta – a banner used by drug cartels to communicate messages – displayed on a bridge, as well as a severed human head found nearby, addressed to Grupo Firme.
Grupo Firme has sought to distance itself from music known as narcocorridos, or drug ballads, that have gained an international following, coinciding with a global rise in the popularity of regional Mexican music. States in Mexico have sought to ban the subgenre of corridos, or Mexican ballads.
In April, Grupo Firme's lead singer, Eduin Caz, said the group doesn't perform narcocorridos. Their music, focused on love and heartbreak, 'has fed us very well,' he said at a press conference.
La Onda Fest was set to take place May 31 to June 1, with Grupo Firme slated as the last act on the second day. The festival said Tito Double P, a corridos singer from Sinaloa, would replace Grupo Firme.