Mexico’s Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, speaks during an interview with EFE this Saturday at the Mexican Embassy in Los Angeles (United States). EFE/Omar Alonso
Los Angeles (USA), Aug 23 (EFE) – Mexican music will serve this Sunday to strengthen ties between Mexico and its community in the United States, as part of a binational cultural agenda that the Mexican government seeks to reinforce with initiatives such as the México Canta competition.
The second edition of the México Canta competition, which aims to promote young talent and new narratives in regional Mexican music, will hold its first semifinal in this city, featuring seven young Mexican-Americans selected from nearly 6,000 applicants.
“We are here to continue strengthening ties (…). They will be in another territory, but we are one country. Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, we have the same roots,” said Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Mexico’s Secretary of Culture, in an interview with EFE.
The event will be held this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. local time (1:00 a.m. GMT on Monday) at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, with Los Tigres del Norte, one of the leading exponents of Mexican migrant culture, as guests of honor.
The three finalists from this semifinal, three others chosen in the Mexican semifinal, and the fourth-place finisher selected by public vote will advance to the grand final, which will be held on September 13 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City.
Among its rules, the contest prohibits songs that glorify violence, drugs, or any form of discrimination or misogyny. Despite this, Curiel de Icaza insisted that it is not censorship.
“This initiative isn’t about prohibition; we don’t believe in prohibition. It’s about fostering other kinds of narratives, creating platforms, and providing professional support. Young people can sing about whatever they want, but what we clearly don’t agree with is highlighting any kind of discrimination, misogyny, classism, racism, or the glorification of crime,” she stated.
The competition also features a collaboration with Spotify to provide professional support to the young finalists: the platform will create a playlist with the contest songs and offer masterclasses to the 14 semifinalists.
The three winners will also receive a national, transnational, and independent recording contract with a label yet to be determined.
The Secretariat’s binational cultural agenda also includes film. Curiel de Icaza highlighted the new EFICA tax incentive, announced this year to attract major international productions to Mexico and promote the hiring of Mexican workers throughout the audiovisual chain, from technicians to transportation and catering staff.
The program has been criticized by sectors of the independent film industry who believe its requirements favor higher-budget productions, as it is designed for projects exceeding 40 million pesos (US$2.4 million or €2 million), while the average cost of a Mexican film in 2025 was 15 million pesos (US$890,000 or €760,000), according to the Mexican Film Institute’s (IMCINE) Statistical Yearbook of Mexican Cinema.
Curiel de Icaza defended the program, stating that in terms of support, “all fronts are covered”: “Everything is comprehensive, from small to medium to large projects; it’s all part of an ecosystem that needs to be carefully considered to get it off the ground (…), everything contributes, and the audiovisual industry is one of the main contributors to the cultural GDP,” he affirmed.
The official also highlighted the recent Chicano art exhibition, “Aztlán, Tunnel of Time,” at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, which, she noted, was the first time the venue had opened its doors to these groups.
“This demonstrates a renewed interest in a consistent binational agenda where there is ongoing dialogue and discussion with artists,” she stated.
Mónica Rubalcava
