Latest news with #FernandoNieto
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miche Fest's cancellation comes amid ‘political climate' and issues with artist visas
This summer was set to be Michelada Festival's biggest year yet. With thousands of tickets already sold, Miche Fest, a Chicago street festival of Latino music gone mainstream, was canceled on Tuesday just weeks before its July dates at Oakwood Beach. The two-day festival, which had its roots in Pilsen's streets, moved first to Harrison Park and then last summer to Oakwood Beach, becoming one of Chicago's largest Latino music festivals, bringing together thousands of people and featuring world-renowned artists who speak to different generations of Latinos. It had some 10,000 attendees daily in 2024. While some have criticized the organizers for the sudden 2025 cancellation, co-founder Fernando Nieto said, many of their fans have been loyal to the festival for the last seven years. He said the cancellation felt like the right thing to do. 'Outside of the effect that it (the cancellation) might have on our business, we felt like it was a responsible thing to do for our fanbase,' said Nieto on Wednesday. 'We've built up an extremely loyal fan base since day one, and we felt, due to the uncertainty with what's going on, it would be irresponsible to move forward without a clear path.' The announcement on Tuesday said the reason was current concerns over visas and travel: 'Because of the uncertainty around artist visas and the shifting political climate, we've made the difficult decision to cancel Michelada Fest 2025.' Their Sunday lineup was more than 60% international artists who would need a visa to come to the United States and perform. If they were unable to do so, there was no way, organizers said, they could replace their lineup with the level artists as the ones they had promised. While Nieto said they cannot comment specifically on visa issues for specific artists, there were 'enough to believe the issues over visas could escalate.' 'It's too big of a risk for our business and for our fanbase,' Nieto said. 'Although it's a tough one on a business side, we never want to put our fanbase in the position where they're not going to get the best possible experience.' The first group to drop out of this year's lineup was Los Alegres Del Barranco, a popular regional Mexican music group mostly singing corridos. In early April, the U.S. State Department revoked the band members' visas for allegedly displaying a visual of a cartel kingpin during a recent show. While Michelada Fest organizers quickly replaced the group with Gabito Ballesteros, a Mexican singer-songwriter considered one of the rising acts in the corridos tumbados, he, too, is now uncertain about having a visa to come to Chicago to perform for the festival, said Miguel Torres, Nieto's business partner. Corridos typically have lyrics that narrate a historical event, and have most recently focused on telling stories of drug lords or cartel activity in the current music scene. A first-time Michelada Fest in El Paso, Texas, was held May 3, selling out a downtown venue with 8,000 attendees. Regional Mexican artists performed there for a single-day event. Nieto said that 'it only all worked out because of luck and timing,' after all of the artists were able to get visas and perform. El Paso headliner Neton Vega, a rising young Mexican singer known for his corridos and reggaeton, was also supposed to headline Sunday night in Chicago. But a week after the El Paso music festival, organizers gathered to weigh the pros and the cons of hosting in Chicago, said Nieto Hundreds have commented on the news. 'Thank you for thinking of your people and thinking ahead. It would be the most hurtful thing to see a beautiful festival like this targeted,' a user wrote. 'It's sad to see this but it's safe for our community. We have to fight for what's right,' another one wrote. Amid fears of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, other events catering to and celebrating Mexican culture and Latinos have also been postponed and canceled in Chicago. The annual Cinco de Mayo parade in Pilsen was called off this year after nearly half of the parade sponsors dropped out, organizers said. Earlier this year, a celebration of the Purepecha community, an indigenous group that immigrated to the Chicago area, was postponed due to the fear the community expressed over immigration enforcement agents in the area. 'The safety and peace of our community are our priority. We will remain vigilant about the situation and seek the best time to hold this celebration, so important to our identity and our roots,' the group posted on their social media. For Nieto, beyond issues with artists' visas performing at his Music Festival, the 'writing was written on the wall.' 'The current administration is not only targeting our people, but our culture as well. In the meantime, we'll continue to push on and regroup for Miche 2026,' wrote Nieto when he announced that for the first since its inception, Miche Fest would not take place. For now, 'stay tuned,' he said. Many of their fans have asked for the return of Miche Fest back to the streets, with local talent and on a smaller scale. Like the old days. 'There's a lot of nostalgia there,' Nieto added. larodriguez@
Chicago Tribune
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Miche Fest's cancellation comes amid ‘political climate' and issues with artist visas
This summer was set to be Michelada Festival's biggest year yet. With thousands of tickets already sold, Miche Fest, a Chicago street festival of Latino music gone mainstream, was canceled on Tuesday just weeks before its July dates at Oakwood Beach. The two-day festival, which had its roots in Pilsen's streets, moved first to Harrison Park and then last summer to Oakwood Beach, becoming one of Chicago's largest Latino music festivals, bringing together thousands of people and featuring world-renowned artists who speak to different generations of Latinos. It had some 10,000 attendees daily in 2024. While some have criticized the organizers for the sudden 2025 cancellation, co-founder Fernando Nieto said, many of their fans have been loyal to the festival for the last seven years. He said the cancellation felt like the right thing to do. 'Outside of the effect that it (the cancellation) might have on our business, we felt like it was a responsible thing to do for our fanbase,' said Nieto on Wednesday. 'We've built up an extremely loyal fan base since day one, and we felt, due to the uncertainty with what's going on, it would be irresponsible to move forward without a clear path.' The announcement on Tuesday said the reason was current concerns over visas and travel: 'Because of the uncertainty around artist visas and the shifting political climate, we've made the difficult decision to cancel Michelada Fest 2025.' Their Sunday lineup was more than 60% international artists who would need a visa to come to the United States and perform. If they were unable to do so, there was no way, organizers said, they could replace their lineup with the level artists as the ones they had promised. While Nieto said they cannot comment specifically on visa issues for specific artists, there were 'enough to believe the issues over visas could escalate.' 'It's too big of a risk for our business and for our fanbase,' Nieto said. 'Although it's a tough one on a business side, we never want to put our fanbase in the position where they're not going to get the best possible experience.' The first group to drop out of this year's lineup was Los Alegres Del Barranco, a popular regional Mexican music group mostly singing corridos. In early April, the U.S. State Department revoked the band members' visas for allegedly displaying a visual of a cartel kingpin during a recent show. While Michelada Fest organizers quickly replaced the group with Gabito Ballesteros, a Mexican singer-songwriter considered one of the rising acts in the corridos tumbados, he, too, is now uncertain about having a visa to come to Chicago to perform for the festival, said Miguel Torres, Nieto's business partner. Corridos typically have lyrics that narrate a historical event, and have most recently focused on telling stories of drug lords or cartel activity in the current music scene. A first-time Michelada Fest in El Paso, Texas, was held May 3, selling out a downtown venue with 8,000 attendees. Regional Mexican artists performed there for a single-day event. Nieto said that 'it only all worked out because of luck and timing,' after all of the artists were able to get visas and perform. El Paso headliner Neton Vega, a rising young Mexican singer known for his corridos and reggaeton, was also supposed to headline Sunday night in Chicago. But a week after the El Paso music festival, organizers gathered to weigh the pros and the cons of hosting in Chicago, said Nieto Hundreds have commented on the news. 'Thank you for thinking of your people and thinking ahead. It would be the most hurtful thing to see a beautiful festival like this targeted,' a user wrote. 'It's sad to see this but it's safe for our community. We have to fight for what's right,' another one wrote. Amid fears of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, other events catering to and celebrating Mexican culture and Latinos have also been postponed and canceled in Chicago. The annual Cinco de Mayo parade in Pilsen was called off this year after nearly half of the parade sponsors dropped out, organizers said. Earlier this year, a celebration of the Purepecha community, an indigenous group that immigrated to the Chicago area, was postponed due to the fear the community expressed over immigration enforcement agents in the area. 'The safety and peace of our community are our priority. We will remain vigilant about the situation and seek the best time to hold this celebration, so important to our identity and our roots,' the group posted on their social media. For Nieto, beyond issues with artists' visas performing at his Music Festival, the 'writing was written on the wall.' 'The current administration is not only targeting our people, but our culture as well. In the meantime, we'll continue to push on and regroup for Miche 2026,' wrote Nieto when he announced that for the first since its inception, Miche Fest would not take place. For now, 'stay tuned,' he said. Many of their fans have asked for the return of Miche Fest back to the streets, with local talent and on a smaller scale. Like the old days. 'There's a lot of nostalgia there,' Nieto added.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Canceling Michelada Fest Will Leave a ‘Gaping Hole' in Chicago's Summer Season: ‘Our Culture Is Being Targeted'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Los Alegres del Barranco was supposed to perform at Chicago's Michelada Fest this summer — but after the U.S. government canceled the group's visas when they displayed images of a cartel leader at a show in Guadalajara, Fernando Nieto and his team quickly pivoted to replace the Mexican band with Gabito Ballesteros. A month later, on May 6, event organizers announced that the two-day festival — set to be headlined by Grupo Firme, Anitta and Luis R Conriquez — was canceled over artist visa 'uncertainty' under the Trump administration, and a 'rapidly changing political climate,' they said in a statement. More from Billboard Nieto, co-founder of Michelada Fest (Big Indie produces the festival alongside Zamora Live and Viva tu Música), tells Billboard that the visa situation for regional Mexican artists happened 'abruptly,' to the point that they had to cancel the entire event. 'It seemed at first that Los Alegres was an isolated event but we've seen enough over the last few weeks for us to have to make this difficult decision,' he explains. 'I can't comment on a specific artist or whether it's a pending or revoked visa, but as a small business we needed to make the responsible decision not only for our company but also our consumers. We didn't feel confident we could give them a complete event between now and July.' Michelada Fest is perhaps the biggest event to date to cancel over visa issues and uncertainty under the Trump administration, which launched an aggressive crackdown on immigration on day one of the president's second term in office. The Cinco de Mayo festival in Chicago's La Villita neighborhood was canceled over fear of ICE raids. Billboard previously reported how Trump's immigration policies could impact Latin music, with promoters seeing certain markets being impacted with low attendance. Now, in a plot twist of sorts and adding to the uncertainty of it all, regional Mexican artists who sing or have sung narcocorridos are under the spotlight, with Mexican states cracking down on banning the style of music, and the U.S. government not only taking notice, but acting on it too. It's a major blow to the genre, which has only grown significantly in popularity and exposure over the past few years. 'We had been taking everything day by day, a lot of our vendors were also asking what would happen if ICE showed up — that's what we were focused on,' Nieto says. 'Never did we think that it would go from our people being targeted to now our culture also being targeted. I did not see it going this way at all.' Just last year, Miche Fest — which was launched by locals as a street festival — held its biggest edition to date, taking place for the first time in Chicago's Oakwood Beach, with superstar headliners Kali Uchis, Junior H and Los Ángeles Azules. Below, Nieto reflects to Billboard about the team's decision to cancel this year's Michelada Fest, and discusses what comes next. What was your thought process throughout all of this, which ultimately led to canceling Michelada Fest? First and foremost, we want to treat consumers with respect. We've been doing this for eight years now, we started as a street festival and our fans have been there since day one. The last thing we want to do is put their money at risk. We felt the best thing we could do was to be transparent about what's going on. Our consumer [base] works extremely hard for their dollars, and especially right now, we're living in a time where everything is more expensive — not just on the events side, but the daily cost of living… That's why we're doing a 100% refund instead of saying your ticket will be good for next year. What does not having a Michelada Fest this summer mean for Chicago's Latin festival scene? We're leaving a major gaping hole in the Chicago summer season. We feature a bunch of small businesses, merch vendors, local food vendors, and we were about to announce a stage to highlight local Chicago artists — and that's not taking into account the impact that we have financially when it comes to stimulating the economy through small businesses. For a lot of our vendors — and I'm talking about the generator company, security company — we're their biggest contract of the year. We have a $9 million dollar operating budget for our event. And unfortunately I had to make really difficult calls over the past few days to tell them the news, and now they're trying to find another big [gig] for the year. There're so many layers to the impact this festival has, from artists to small businesses and a cultural impact. It's a tough pill to swallow, but it was the responsible thing to do. Michelada Fest is the biggest event to cancel because of the political climate … We were the first major event to really make a statement — and I hope no one else has to deal with this, but a lot of visas are pending, tours are getting pushed back. There's so much uncertainty. What's next for Michelada Fest? We're going to take the next few months to regroup and strategize, maintain the trust [with our base] and have a major comeback next year. Chicagoans know we're a grassroots organization that started as a street festival by a bunch of South Siders. At the end of the day, they deserve this transparency. It only sets us up for a bigger year next year. Best of Billboard Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
