Mexico City (AP) — The popular regional Mexican band Grupo Firme announced on Friday that it has canceled a scheduled show this weekend at a California festival after the United States Embassy decided to place the musicians’ visas under administrative review.
The group said in a statement posted to its Instagram account that the band’s visas, as well as those of Music VIP’s crew, are in “administrative processing by the United States Embassy,” but offered no details about the implications or the reasons behind the move.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said visa cases are confidential under U.S. law, so details about individual cases cannot be disclosed.
The case comes two months after the U.S. State Department revoked the visas of the Mexican musical group Los Alegres del Barranco, following footage showing the leader of the powerful Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación at a concert in the western state of Jalisco.
Amid that controversy, Grupo Firme announced in April that it would stop singing “fictional” corridos at its concerts.
The situation surrounding Los Alegres del Barranco sparked a heated debate and renewed criticism of the popular narcocorrido genre — which has among its core fans many young people — and prompted several Mexican states to ban the dissemination of that genre at public events.
Earlier this month a state judge charged the members of Los Alegres del Barranco with alleged glorification of crime after they displayed images of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” the cartel leader, during a performance.
Due to the visa issue, Grupo Firme has now canceled the slated June 1 appearance at La Onda Fest, which was to take place in Napa Valley, California.
Since its formation in 2014, Grupo Firme has become one of the favorites in regional Mexican music. In September 2022 they made a free debut at the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main public square, drawing more than 280,000 people, a record crowd.
Led by lead vocalist Eduin Caz, the group has also been among the most lucrative worldwide and has earned major honors such as the Latin Billboard Awards and the Latin Grammy.
