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Grupo Frontera political controversy

"La Abuela Frontera" dancing to "Y.M.C.A." while discussing with other relatives, the video that caused the backlash.[1]

The American regional Mexican band Grupo Frontera has been involved in a controversy due to an alleged endorsement of the politician and current United States president Donald Trump since early 2025, after a video of one of the vocalists' relatives performing a "Trump dance" to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." went viral. Despite answers in an interview with El País, fans and Mexican users called it an endorsement of Trump from the group, and discovered a deleted video on TikTok of them dancing to the same song and interviews with some members. Considering them clear evidence of the accusations, the users started to cancel and boycott the band on social media, calling them "traitors" and asking for a cancellation of one of their festival performances through Change.org.

The band responded twice to the controversy in February 2025 through Instagram denying any endorsement, responding to other accusations and confirming their support of the Mexican community, declarations that received mainly negative reactions from public, arguing that they were only an attempt to maintain the group's reputation among fans. The controversy also received attention from Pepe Aguilar's sons, Emiliano and Leonardo Aguilar, and online media.

Background and backlash

An interview with Grupo Frontera by Raúl Novoa in Madrid about their career achievements and experiences was published through El País on January 5, 2025.[2] For the question about the candidate Donald Trump's re-election as the US president, Juan Javier Cantú answered that "[they] rarely get involved in politics. It's very controversial for [them] and [they] just want to make music"; Cantú and Alberto "Beto" Acosta highlighted their donation of toys for children to a community centre for immigrants that were deported by the border policies.[2] Regarding the Mexico–United States wall, Acosta shared the band's disagreement and Julián Peña Jr. opined about its inconclusion.[2]

Later that month, a video went viral on social media, wherein the band's vocalist Adelaido "Payo" Solís' grandmother, alias "La Abuela Frontera" (lit. 'The Grandma Frontera'), did a "Trump dance" to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A" with other relatives, a song used by Trump for his 2024 presidential campaign.[1][3][4][5] After considering it an endorsement of Trump, Mexican users related it directly as political support from the group.[6] In addition, the "La Abuela Frontera" account disappeared on TikTok.[1] During the viralization, a user on the same platform affirmed that the group deleted videos wherein they had explicitly endorsed the politician and sympathized with his politics.[4][7] As a result, they received a significant drop in followers, an influx of hate comments and accusations of being Latinos for Trump, calling the alleged endorsement a "betrayal of Mexicans" due to Trump's mass deportation of immigrants during his second presidency.[4][5][6]

Therefore, fans called for the group to be canceled, for their presence to be rejected in Mexico and for others to refrain from consuming any content related to them, including songs, videos and live performances.[6][8][9] A video of booing at one of their recent concerts and screencasts showing the personal Instagram accounts of some members following Trump's profile and liking his posts also went viral.[10][11] Furthermore, some users noticed that they deleted a TikTok video dancing the same song as Solís' grandmother, as well as videos of interviews with some of the members, where they encouraged others to vote for the politician, considering them explicit evidence of an endorsement.[4][8] On February 11, a petition on the American website Change.org was published by alias "Espíritu" (lit. 'Spirit') to cancel Grupo Frontera's participation at the 2025 edition of the Chicago Latin music festival Sueños.[8] The petition accumulated over 9,700 signatures the next day.[8] Sueños co-founder Christopher Den Uijl affirmed on Instagram the festival's support to the Latino community and stated that none of the co-founders are supporters of the president, without mentioning anything related to the group.[8]

Band's response

After a few weeks without communication on the subject and publishing a video of a US crowd singing "Bebé Dame", described by media as an indirect response,[a] on February 7, the band published a statement through Instagram stories, arguing that "[they do not have] affiliation nor alliance with any political party that [is] against immigrants and the Latino community".[3] In addition, they clarified that they and their families are immigrants and come from the frontier, as well as their support to Mexicans and that "opinions of [their] friends and family [do not] represent [the band]".[3] Furthermore, in an interview with Jesse Cervantes for EXA FM, the group affirmed their commitment to the immigrant community and their pride in Mexican culture, "without distinction of ideologies and borders".[13][14] On the 37th Lo Nuestro Awards' red carpet, the Cuban-American television presenter Raúl de Molina asked them about the controversy, a question that visibly made the band appear uncomfortable.[11] Peña's response to it, "We dedicate ourselves to music. We love everyone and want peace and love. Take care of yourselves", was called "poor" and linked to the rumors by fans.[11] On February 22, they published a video on the same network affirming the statement.[15] In the same video, Acosta said that their silence was for the huge amount of "fake news" spread on the Internet, therefore they did not know how to answer.[16] In addition, they clarified that the dance video was only a backstage routine during their past concert tour, Jugando a Que No Pasa Nada Tour, wherein they danced to songs from their primary school period.[17]

Reactions, analysis, and aftermath

Other fans reacted against the massive cancellation and supported the band's freedom of speech, arguing that "cancel culture should not spread to those with different political opinions", according to Infobae Mexico's Víctor Cisneros.[18] Juan Garza of Periódico ABC  [es] praised the way that the group managed the controversy and spoke against the backlash, condemning the information spread on social media as "erroneous".[19] On the other hand, both the public and some online newspapers labeled the concert booing as fake with altered audio.[b] In regards to the TikTok dance video, "Espíritu" dismissed it as an explicit endorsement, but he said it was strategically implicit, while Chicago Sun-Times's staff opined that "[Donald Trump] and [Grupo Frontera] [...] [could] simply have similar tastes in music".[8] The February 7 statement polarized fans' opinions, some applauding it and others arguing that it is not authentic and was only an attempt to maintain their reputation among fans.[8][21] A representative of the group confirmed its authenticity.[8] Similarly, the February 22 video received negative reactions, accusing it of the same as the statement and complaining that they never directly rejected Trump, also noticed by Rolling Stone's Tomás Mier.[11][16] Leonelys Gomez of the Latin Times named the controversy as one of the band's biggest ones during their three-year career.[6] Marca's staff linked it with Banda MS and Fuerza Regida's situation, emphasizing the personal opinions of some members of the respective bands.[9] Many fans compared it with the Yahritza y su Esencia's 2023 backlash, when they visited Mexico and the vocalist Yahritza Martinez confessed controversial preferences, despising the country and Mexican cuisine, after which they stopped performing in the country.[4][22][23]

Aguilar family conflict

After releasing "Ilegal", a protest song against Trump's mass deportation, which received public acclaim and support from deported immigrants, Pepe Aguilar's son, Emiliano Aguilar, reacted through a series of Instagram stories in favor of the cancellation to the band, saying, "Fuck [Grupo Frontera]. Mexico must be respected".[24][25] His stepbrother, Leonardo, expressed his support to the band after they published the video, writing in the post comments, "[Do not worry]. We the fans [will still supporting you]. The rest are people without anything to do. [We] know who you are".[26] Emiliano, who has conflicts with his family, commented on the same video with many Mexican flags and answered him: "Grupo 'Frontera', I could not care less. Pure Mexico".[27][28] After that, he published another series of Instagram stories repeating his hatred of the band and referring to his stepbrother as "Gallito Fino", relating his sympathy with an indifference to the immigrant community, arguing, "Here is a Mexican who dies for his people with firmness in his conviction. [...] You have always had everything, you have never lacked attention and love from public".[29] He finished saying that they had talked about the problem civilly in private, but Leonardo worsened the situation because "[he] already [roared]".[30] According to TVNotas' Jessica Luna, Emiliano may have deleted the stories after a possible scolding from his father due to the overwhelming attacks.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ According to Infobae[5] and Milenio.[12]
  2. ^ According to Infobae[5] and ADN.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c Hidalgo, Alma (February 9, 2025). "Grupo Frontera niega apoyo a Trump: las opiniones de familiares no nos representan, somos inmigrantes" [Grupo Frontera denies support for Trump: the opinions of family members do not represent us, we are immigrants]. El Sol de México (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Novoa, Raúl (January 5, 2025). "Grupo Frontera: 'We respect American laws, but we support Mexican immigrants as best we can'". El País. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Peters, Mitchell (February 8, 2025). "Grupo Frontera Breaks Silence After Backlash Over Alleged Donald Trump Support". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Grupo Frontera reacciona a cancelación por 'apoyar' a Trump: 'Siempre estaremos de lado de nuestra gente'" [Grupo Frontera reacts to cancellation for 'supporting' Trump: 'We will always be on the side of our people']. El Financiero (in Mexican Spanish). February 8, 2025. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Cisneros, Víctor (February 3, 2025). "Grupo Frontera reacciona a críticas por presunto apoyo a Donald Trump y rechazo a migrantes" [Grupo Frontera react to critics for alleged support for Donald Trump and rejection to immigrants] (in Mexican Spanish). Infobae Mexico. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d Gomez, Leonelys (January 31, 2025). "Grupo Frontera Ignore Criticism for Allegedly Supporting Donald Trump". Latin Times. Archived from the original on February 8, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  7. ^ "'Somos migrantes, estamos para los migrantes': Grupo Frontera responde a críticas sobre supuesto apoyo a Trump" ['We are migrants, we are for the migrants': Grupo Frontera respond to critisism around alleged support for Trump]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). February 24, 2025. Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Esposito, Stefano; Colón, Ámbar (February 11, 2025). "Petition seeks to oust popular Grupo Frontera from playing at Sueños festival for alleged Trump support". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Grupo Frontera y la Banda MS son cancelados por culpa de Donald Trump" [Grupo Frontera and Banda MS are canceled because of Donald Trump]. Marca (in Mexican Spanish). January 30, 2025. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  10. ^ Holguín, Alejandra (February 8, 2025). "Tras abucheos en concierto, Grupo Frontera rompen el silencio de su 'apoyo' a Donald Trump" [After booing at concert, Grupo Frontera broke the silence about their 'support' to Donald Trump]. Tribuna (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d Mier, Tomás (February 22, 2025). "Grupo Frontera Say They 'Don't Support Any Political Party Against Immigrants' Amid Trump Rumors". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 23, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  12. ^ Paez Coyotl, Adriana (February 3, 2025). "Grupo Frontera inmune a la cancelación; publica video de sus fans en EU tras críticas por apoyar a Trump y no a los migrantes" [Grupo Frontera immune to cancellation; publish video of their fans in the US after criticism for supporting Trump and not migrants]. Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Moreno, Brenda (February 8, 2025). "Grupo Frontera aclara polémica del supuesto apoyo a Trump: 'nosotros somos inmigrantes'" [Grupo Frontera clarifies controversy over alleged support for Trump: 'we are immigrants']. El Heraldo de México (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  14. ^ Rojo, Paula (February 11, 2025). "Grupo Frontera rompe su silencio tras críticas sobre su supuesto apoyo a Donald Trump" [Grupo Frontera break their silence after criticism of their alleged support for Donald Trump]. Rolling Stone en Español (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  15. ^ Guadarrama, Armando (February 24, 2025). "Grupo Frontera define su postura ante supuesto apoyo a Trump: 'Nuestros papás son migrantes'" [Grupo Frontera define their position in the face of alleged support for Trump: 'Our parents are immigrants'] (in Mexican Spanish). Infobae Mexico. Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Cordova, Ximena (February 24, 2025). "Grupo Frontera intenta desmentir supuesto apoyo a Donald Trump, pero nadie les cree" [Grupo Frontera try to deny alleged support to Donald Trump, but nobody trusts them]. El Imparcial [es] (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  17. ^ Segura Clemens, Johan Kalet (February 23, 2025). "Grupo Frontera rompe el silencio tras cancelación por supuestamente apoyar a Trump: 'Somos migrantes'" [Grupo Frontera breaks silence after cancellation for supposedly supporting Trump: 'We are migrants']. Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  18. ^ Cisneros, Víctor (January 30, 2025). "Cancelan al Grupo Frontera por presunto apoyo a Donald Trump: 'A ver si los blancos van a sus conciertos'" [Grupo Frontera is cancelled for alleged support of Donald Trump: 'Let's see if white people go to their concerts'] (in Mexican Spanish). Infobae Mexico. Archived from the original on January 31, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  19. ^ Garza, Juan (February 8, 2025). "Grupo Frontera desmienten tener vínculo con Donald Trump" [Grupo Frontera deny having link with Donald Trump]. Periódico ABC [es] (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  20. ^ Gutiérrez, Gabrielle (February 3, 2025). "Grupo Frontera en crisis por supuesto apoyo a Trump: la verdad detrás de la polémica" [Grupo Frontera in crisis for alleged support for Trump: the truth behind the controversy]. ADN (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  21. ^ "Grupo Frontera niega apoyo a Trump tras ser abucheados en su concierto" [Grupo Frontera deny support for Trump after being booed at their concert] (in Spanish). Telemundo. February 11, 2025. Archived from the original on February 13, 2025. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  22. ^ Moreno, Brenda (January 30, 2025). "'Quisiera volver el día en que nos conocimos, pa' no ir', Grupo Frontera cancelados por supuesto apoyo a Trump" ['Quisiera volver el día en que nos conocimos, pa' no ir', Grupo Frontera cancelled for alleged support for Trump]. El Heraldo de México (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  23. ^ Fernández Bran, Viviana (December 18, 2024). "¡Arrepentimiento total! Yahritza y su Esencia admiten que la regaron al criticar la comida mexicana" [Total regret! Yahritza y su Esencia admit they criticized Mexican food] (in Mexican Spanish). Los 40 México. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  24. ^ Cordova, Ximena (February 1, 2025). "Emiliano Aguilar lanza canción 'Ilegal' en apoyo a los migrantes deportados en EU" [Emiliano Aguilar releases song 'Ilegal' in support to deported immigrants in USA]. El Imparcial [es] (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on February 3, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  25. ^ González, Zurisaddai (February 5, 2025). "'A México se le respeta': Emiliano Aguilar explota contra Grupo Frontera por supuesto apoyo a Donald Trump" ['Mexico must be respected': Emiliano Aguilar explodes against Grupo Frontera for their alleged support for Donald Trump] (in Mexican Spanish). Infobae Mexico. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  26. ^ Jiménez, P. (February 24, 2025). "Emiliano Aguilar arremete contra su hermano Leonardo por apoyo a Grupo Frontera; 'siempre has tenido todo'" [Emiliano Aguilar lashes out against his brother Leonardo for support to Grupo Frontera: 'you have always had everything']. Excélsior (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  27. ^ García, Diana (February 24, 2025). "Leonardo Aguilar recibe ofensa de su hermano por apoyar a Grupo Frontera" [Leonardo Aguilar receives offense from his brother for supporting Grupo Frontera]. USA Today (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  28. ^ Moreno, Angélica (February 24, 2025). "'Tu siempre has tenido todo': Emiliano Aguilar arremete contra su hermano Leonardo tras mensaje a Grupo Frontera" ['You have always had everything': Emiliano Aguilar lashes out against his brother Leonardo after message to Grupo Frontera]. El Imparcial [es] (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  29. ^ Salvador, Cinthia (February 24, 2025). "Emiliano Aguilar estalla contra su hermano Leonardo Aguilar: 'Aquí puro México, mi Gallito Fino'" [Emiliano Aguilar explodes against his brother Leonardo Aguilar: 'Here pure Mexico, my Gallito Fino'] (in Mexican Spanish). Infobae Mexico. Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  30. ^ Rodríguez, Ali (February 24, 2025). "Emiliano Aguilar estalla contra su medio hermano Leonardo: ¿por qué pelean los hijos de Pepe Aguilar?" [Emiliano Aguilar explodes against his stepbrother Leonardo: why the Pepe Aguilar's sons argue?]. El Sol de México (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  31. ^ Luna, Jessica (February 24, 2025). "Emiliano Aguilar explota contra Leonardo Aguilar, su hermano: 'Tú siempre has tenido todo' ¿Pepe reaccionó?" [Emiliano Aguilar explodes against Leonardo Aguilar, his brother: 'You have always had everything' Did Pepe react?] (in Mexican Spanish). TVNotas. Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.