U.S. State Department
Billboard Women in Music 2025
The U.S. State Department has canceled the work and tourist visas of the members of Mexican corrido group Los Alegres del Barranco after they displayed images of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” during a concert on Saturday (March 29) at an auditorium at the University of Guadalajara.
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The news was confirmed on Tuesday (April 1) by Christopher Landau, the Deputy Secretary of State, in a post on X.
I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences. A Mexican band, “Los Alegres del Barranco,” portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin “El Mencho” — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert… pic.twitter.com/neSIib7EC4— Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) April 2, 2025
“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” wrote Landau in his post. “A Mexican band, Los Alegres del Barranco, portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin “El Mencho” — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert in Mexico. I’m pleased to announce that the State Department has revoked the band members’ work and tourism visas. In the Trump Administration, we take seriously our responsibility over foreigners’ access to our country. The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.”
The State Department, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announced on Feb. 20 the designation of eight cartels and transnational organizations — including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel — as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).
Prior to Landau’s announcement, the concert had caused significant controversy and outrage in Mexico, which has long tried to curb the glorification of drug lords in popular Mexican music and narcocorridos.
The concert was condemned on Monday (March 31) by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. It prompted the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation for “glorification of crime.”
📢 Tras la proyección de imágenes en un concierto en Zapopan, que presuntamente hacían alusión a un personaje vinculado a un grupo criminal, la Fiscalía del Estado inició una carpeta de investigación. (1-3) pic.twitter.com/OU4R8EYr6q— Fiscalía del Estado de Jalisco (@FiscaliaJal) March 31, 2025
On Tuesday (April 1), the governor of Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, wrote in a post on X that his government supports the measures adopted by the University of Guadalajara to prevent criminal acts from being glorified at concerts, as occurred over the weekend at the Telmex Auditorium. The local leader said he signed an executive order to ensure that no singer or group with a history of endorsing criminal activity will perform at events linked to his government.
“Next week, I will introduce an initiative to ensure that, in any legally sanctioned public event, producers and performers are held accountable for what happens during their shows, and no one can wash their hands of responsibility,” Lemus announced.
Los Alegres del Barranco were scheduled to play shows in several U.S. cities, where the band was announced as part of the lineup for the Bésame Mucho festival April 5 in Austin, Texas. In a TikTok livestream on Tuesday, Pavel Morales, a member of the Sinaloan group, stated that the majority of their audience supports them and referred to their critics as “confused.”
Billboard Español reached out for comment to the band’s reps, but hasn’t received a reply by press time. Meanwhile, authorities from the municipality of Pedro Escobedo, in the Mexican state of Querétaro, confirmed on Tuesday that the group’s scheduled performance for April 19 was canceled because “it does not meet the necessary municipal permits for its realization,” the local government said in a statement on Tuesday.
The projection of the controversial images took place during a concert titled “Los Señores del Corrido” at the Telmex Auditorium, where Los Alegres del Barranco performed the song “El Dueño del Palenque” (The Owner of the Palenque) and displayed on screen photos of the cartel leader, as well as other images created by AI.
The images appeared on multiple videos on social media. They include the moments in which fans burst into cheers when the images of the cartel leader were shown, adding to the controversy.
In a statement, Auditorio Telmex Adistanced itself from the events, arguing that the venue “has no influence on the selection of the repertoire, speeches, or audiovisual material that artists decide to share with their audiences.” However, it acknowledged that the images of the kingpin could be considered an “exultation of crime.”
The controversy over the alleged tribute to the drug trafficker arises after information has surfaced over how the cartel uses clandestine ranches to recruit people through deceptive job offers, according to federal authorities and media reports. This followed the recent discovery of Izaguirre Ranch in early March in the municipality of Teuchitlán, where acts of torture and murder were allegedly committed, according to the Guerreros Buscadores collective.
🚨#AlertaADN¡Se cancela! El municipio de Pedro Escobedo, Querétaro, suspendió la presentación de “Los Alegres del Barranco”, prevista para el 19 de abril, tras la controversia por un homenaje a “El Mencho” en un concierto en Jalisco pic.twitter.com/ChxD61VNps— adn40 (@adn40) April 2, 2025
Dolly Parton is the 2024 recipient of the PEACE Through Music Award, which honors an American music industry professional, artist or group who has played an invaluable role in cross-cultural exchanges and whose music works to advance peace and mutual understanding globally. The award is presented jointly by the Recording Academy and the U.S. State Department.
Parton, a 10-time Grammy winner who also received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2011, will be celebrated on Friday (Oct. 25) at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. She will not be in attendance, but sent a video acceptance.
“To say that I was honored to accept the PEACE Through Music Award from the Recording Academy and the U.S. State Department would be putting it mildly,” Parton said. “I was very touched and moved by that. If I have been an inspiration in any way through some act of kindness or through some music that I have written, well, that makes me feel like I have done my job properly. Thanks again for such a great honor.”
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Parton’s commitment to serving others is well-known. Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides underserved children the opportunity to learn through reading, stretches from the hills of Appalachia to the outback of Australia. In addition, she has been a champion of public health, most recently around the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Over the course of her career, Dolly Parton has been committed to enriching communities across the globe, and it’s a privilege to celebrate her dedication to service with the PEACE Through Music Award today,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “We are grateful to partner with the Department of State on the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, which represents an important part of the Academy’s work to support music people across the globe.”
“Dolly Parton represents the best of America – her excellence in music, her servant’s heart in giving back to those in need, and her unique ability to always bring people together,” said Lee Satterfield, Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. “On behalf of the American people and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken, we are honored to celebrate all of her contributions to people around the world with the PEACE Through Music Award in partnership with the Recording Academy.”
The PEACE Through Music Award is determined through a nomination process, with U.S. embassies around the globe submitting nominations to be considered by a selection committee created jointly by the State Department and Recording Academy. The committee includes Recording Academy members, U.S. Department of State leadership, music industry professionals, and academia. The recommended honorees are approved by the CEO of the Recording Academy, then presented to the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, who makes the final selection.
The award is part of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, which was announced by the Recording Academy and the State Department in 2023. The initiative is designed to elevate music as a global diplomatic platform that promotes peace, expands economic equity, elevates creative economies, ensures societal opportunity, and increases access to education worldwide. The initiative was developed pursuant to the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act, which was championed by the Recording Academy and its members in 2022 at its annual Grammys on the Hill and Music Advocacy Day events, resulting in the legislation being passed into law in December 2022.
Tonight’s Grammy Museum event also recognizes the first-ever cohort of the American Music Mentorship Program, which took place in Los Angeles from Oct. 15-25.
Any music lover knows that a great song transcends borders and languages. Now, that unifying power is being leveraged as a diplomatic tool.
On Monday (June 24), YouTube announced a partnership with the U.S. State Department as part of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, a program launched last September by U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken that aims to use music to promote peace and diplomacy around the world.
The project centers around a group of genre-spanning artists who will act as musical ambassadors. Chuck D, Herbie Hancock, Jelly Roll, Armani White, Breland, Denyce Graves, Grace Bowers, Justin Tranter, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson and Teddy Swims are all participating, with additional artists to be announced.
The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative is an extension of the PEACE through Music Diplomacy Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden last year and directed the State Department to facilitate public-private partnerships that would support music-related diplomacy.
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YouTube was selected as a partner given its global reach and influence on music culture worldwide. The partnership will include micro-grants to support people who use music to create positive change in their communities; YouTube will also assist the State Department in its work using music as a tool for learning English. Additionally, they will team up to engage audiences and aspiring artists in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and India and “utilize major international gatherings to inspire action around the unifying power of music,” according to a blog post written by YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen and YouTube vp of public policy Leslie Miller.
In a joint statement, Cohen and Miller wrote, “Music is a unifying force — it transcends language, cultural and national differences. It helps us understand and appreciate each other in ways almost nothing else can. During the height of the Cold War, the United States launched the Jazz Ambassadors program to send artists like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn overseas to bridge cultural gaps and cultivate goodwill across the globe. The Jazz Ambassadors program left a lasting legacy, demonstrating the power of music as a diplomatic tool for fostering cultural understanding.”
“We’re excited to be a part of the next chapter in music diplomacy, helping to amplify the voices of artists and strengthen our community bonds across borders,” the statement continued. “Music reminds us more of what we can have in common than what separates us. That is the message we intend to echo around the world as we embark on this partnership, using the power of music to inspire peace for all.”
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