Grupo Firme Surpasses Vicente Fernández and Breaks Attendance Record at Mexico City’s Zócalo

Grupo Firme Surpasses Vicente Fernández and Breaks Attendance Record at Mexico City’s Zócalo Belatina latine
Credit: Twitter

Grupo Firme, the Regional Mexican band, broke the attendance record at Mexico City’s Zócalo last Sunday. 

The band — made up of Eduín Caz, Joaquín Ruíz, Jhonny Caz, AB Luna, Dylan, Christian Tellez, and Fito — played in front of a crowd of 280,000 people, breaking the record that the late Mexican Ranchera legend Vicente Fernández established in 2009. 

Fernández gave a show before an audience of 217,000 fans, followed by Shakira, who played in front of 210,000 attendees in 2007, and Justin Bieber, who had the same audience as the Colombian singer in 2012.

Grupo Firme has collaborated with both Mexican and International artists such as Calibre 50, Carin León, Maluma, Yuri, Chesca, Reik, and Santa Fe Klan, among others, reaching popularity that’s not only among the Regional Mexican music fans. 

This year, the band received three nominations for Regional Mexican Song, Hot Latin Songs Artist (Duo or Group), and Regional Mexican Artist (Duo or Group) at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will take place this Thursday, September 29.

Defying the “machismo” in the Regional Mexican music industry

In a YouTube video published by Conexión Grupera in 2020, Eduín Caz and his brother Jhonny Caz speak about Jhonny’s sexual orientation, who openly talks about his homosexuality.

“My family knows, our partners, the work team, my friends, and now everybody knows. I saw it very naturally and thought that it wasn’t necessary to announce or say it,” said Jhonny in the video. “No señores, it is not acted, indeed I’m gay.” 

During the band’s presentation at the Zócalo, Jhonny waived an LGBTQ+ flag and wrapped himself in the rainbow-colored symbol after shouting “¡y arriba la jotiza!” as the singer continued with the concert after.

Machismo in music exists

Historically, Regional Mexican music went hand in hand with machismo. Though the lyrical content is usually about lost love or romance, many a time misogynistic ideologies were present in the songs. 

Moreover, past famed artists made it a point to showcase their most “macho” side, and anything aside from that portrayal was considered odd. 

“Yo Debi Enamorarme de tu Madre” by Jose Alfredo Jimenez, for instance, sings about being enamored with a young girl. Since she’s too young for him, he continues on how he wishes he had been with her mother – only to be closer to her. 

The song, though a classic in many Latino households, is problematic. On one hand, wanting to be this girl’s mother is about possession. On the other hand, it can be borderline grooming. 

Thankfully, Grupo Firme continues to be mindful with their music – and they are, evidently, loved for it. 

This is why bands like Grupo Firme are fresh air to the Regional Mexican music industry, its listeners, and people who might’ve not been able to identify with the genre before. 

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