Mana Latin Grammys H 2015
Frazer Harrison/GettyAt the Latin Grammy Awards, it’s all about the music. And on the show’s 16th edition on Nov. 19, Maná and Los Tigres del Norte used music as a means to convey an important political message at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
The two iconic Mexican acts — Maná, the most beloved pop/rock band in the Spanish speaking world, and Los Tigres del Norte, the voice of the immigrant community — joined forces on Thursday night to make a statement about the unprecedented power of the Latino vote in the upcoming 2016 election. Performing Los Tigres’ norteño anthem “Somos Más Americanos,” Maná and the band from San Jose, Calif. reaffirmed the fact that the Latino vote matters.
Beyond that, the message seemed to be one about using one’s vote wisely, and the audience, standing throughout the entire performance, seemed to agree. At the end of the song, Maná unveiled a sign that read “Latinos unidos no voten por los racistas [Latinos, united, don’t vote for the racists],” which can be taken as a not-so-subtle reference to presidential hopeful Donald Trump. It’s not the first time the band has spoken out on Trump. During its most recent tour run, Maná frontman Fher Olvera compared the GOP candidate to Hitler.
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On the red carpet, Olvera reaffirmed the band’s message. “We love playing the Latin Grammys but we’re using this opportunity to express the power that Latinos have in this country,” he told Billboard. “There are more than 50 million Latinos — the U.S. has the second highest number of Spanish-speaking people in the world, after Mexico. Imagine that. That means that Latinos have garnered a lot of power and it’s time to demand respect. So we’re asking people to register to vote and vote for candidates who are offering the best for every hard-working Latino in this country. That’s our message: Use your vote to change things. Vote for a human being who doesn’t discriminate; who is not racist, to put it bluntly.”
The website somosmas2016.com, powered by Voto Latino voter mobilization org, went live simultaneously during the live performance. People can register to vote or pledge to vote directly on the site.
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This article originally appeared on Billboard.com.
