Grupo Firme announced the cancellation of their performance at La Onda Fest in Napa Valley, Calif., scheduled for Sunday (June 1), due to the visas of its members and the team of promoter being in “administrative process” at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. The regional Mexican band shared the news on Friday (May 30) without offering further details about the review their visas are undergoing.
“Currently, the visas of Grupo Firme and the team of Music VIP [Entertainment] are in an administrative process by the U.S. Embassy, a situation that makes it impossible for Grupo Firme to perform at La Onda Fest as planned. We regret any inconvenience this may cause,” the band said in the statement published on its Instagram Stories. “We appreciate your understanding and, above all, the love from our fans in the U.S.”
The band added that they would soon have news about their return to the U.S. “to meet again and sing, dance, and celebrate together.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico told Billboard Español: “Visa records are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.”
Billboard Español reached out to Music VIP and a representative for Grupo Firme on Friday night for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Previously, the vocalist of the famous band, Eduin Caz, had denied having issues with his U.S. visa during a press conference in Mexico City on April 8. In the same meeting with the media, the singer also denied that his band performed narcocorridos. Days later, Caz announced on social media that Grupo Firme would refrain from performing corridos, complying with new restrictions imposed by some state governments in Mexico regarding music or any public expression that glorifies crime.
The announcement of Grupo Firme’s concert cancellation adds to that of fellow regional Mexican star Julión Álvarez, who, the night before his scheduled concert on May 24 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, announced that the show had to be canceled after his work visa was revoked, according to the artist himself in a video posted on social media.
The work and tourist visas of the members of Los Alegres del Barranco were also revoked following an investigation by the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office for alleged glorification of crime. This was after the group projected images of Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho, during a concert in the band’s home country on March 29 in an auditorium at the University of Guadalajara.
Grupo Firme has become one of the most successful groups in regional Mexican music since the band’s foundation in 2014. In September 2022, they performed a free concert in Mexico City’s Zócalo, the country’s main public square, that drew more than 280,000 people, setting a historic attendance record, according to the government of the Mexican capital.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards and Latin Grammy-winners boast 10 No. 1s on Billboard‘s Regional Mexican Airplay chart, including “Ya Supérame” and “El Beneficio de la Duda.”
