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Revoked Visas and Canceled Shows: How the Trump Administration Is Upending the Regional Mexican Music Market
Touring schedules of Mexican acts like Julion Alvarez and Grupo Firme have been upended over U.S. visa uncertainties under the Trump administration.
Álvarez — who in April made his grand return to the U.S. with a historic run at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium after being sidelined for eight years over since-cleared issues with the U.S. Treasury — was traveling from Guadalajara to Texas the day before the show and was informed at the airport that he couldn’t board the plane because his visa was cancelled. In the past two months alone, at least a handful of regional Mexican acts — including Los Alegres del Barranco, Banda Cuisillos, Lorenzo de Monteclaro and, most recently, Grupo Firme — have shared a similar experience to that of Álvarez’s. Grupo Firme and Julión Álvarez — two of the biggest touring acts in the genre’s history, breaking barriers for regional Mexican artists in the U.S. — are mainly known for norteño and banda ballads and party songs, not narcocorridos particularly.
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