“On horseback and with music,” Mexican singer Pepe Aguilar resists deportation policies and intolerance in the US. “I don’t agree with any kind of authoritarianism. But my job is to sing and remind people of what they have to be proud of,” he says in an interview with EFE.
Since the massive raids against immigrants in the United States worsened, Pepe Aguilar has not been on stage in the country and has seen other Hispanic artists hold back performances.
Pepe Aguilar’s return to the stage
This Friday and Saturday the singer of ‘Por mujeres como tú’ will take the stage of the Hollywood Bowl, one of the most renowned in Los Angeles, nearly 20 years after his last presentation, although this time he will be accompanied by his two children, Angela and Leonardo Aguilar.
“I understand that many tours have been cancelled. I understand that in some cases up to 50% of the turnout that normally goes to different venues has gone down, but we can’t stop,” he assures.
Aguilar has used “the good fortune” of being Mexican-American to lead a “peaceful resistance” that becomes more urgent and necessary in complex moments such as these.
In June, the Trump administration sharpened its immigration policy in California with massive raids and operations executed by agents without identification, with their faces covered, heavily armed and in vehicles with no official markings.
“When these deportations happen, these acts of intolerance of differences, I show up on horseback at the arenas where the top professional teams play in the U.S. with Mexican music. That’s my way of making a resistance, creating awareness and doing as a reminder of ‘hey, this also exists,'” he explains.
Dedicates concerts to Latinos
These two concerts, accompanied by mariachi and the Hollywood Bowl orchestra, will be dedicated to the migrant community, says the 57-year-old Texas-born singer.
But the support Aguilar has shown for the Latino community in the country has also transcended the stage.
The son of legendary Mexican singers Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre recently released a new version of the song ‘Corrido de Juanito’, which portrays the pain of those who leave their hometown in search of a better life in the United States, but cannot return because they do not have a residence permit.
Proceeds from the single are being donated to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). In addition, following the release of her most recent album, Aguilar pledged to donate part of the proceeds to cover the legal expenses of undocumented migrants in the U.S..
Artists must raise their voices
Although Aguilar believes that “it is a question of human beings rather than professions,” he also believes that artists with a voice of mass appeal, such as his own, should be active in addressing social issues, reported EFE news agency.
In this sense, he warns that the U.S. is not the only country affected by authoritarian leaderships and maintains that the whole world is undergoing a transformation towards a ‘new global order’, driven by political, technological and economic changes.
“That’s precisely why we need to hold on more to knowing who we are, where we come from, who your parents were, who your grandparents were, what runs in your blood, because technology is going to create a different reality and these are the first symptoms,” he notes.
