Mexico’s Minister of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, reported that, to date, 5,821 participants have registered for the “Mexico Canta” contest—an initiative aimed at encouraging the creation of new musical narratives that steer away from glorifying violence, through lyrics that evoke love, heartbreak, and the greatness of the country.
“As of today, we have 5,821 registered participants—4,578 in Mexico and 1,243 in the United States,” said the Minister of Culture during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference.
She reminded the public that the contest is currently in its first phase, which is the registration period. Registration is being conducted through the platform mexicocanta.gob.mx, and there are still three weeks left to sign up.
So far, the Mexican states with the highest number of registrations are:
State of Mexico (691)
Mexico City (684)
Jalisco (333)
Puebla (306)
Nuevo León (283)
Guanajuato (249)
Veracruz (225)
Baja California (221)
Michoacán (211)
Chihuahua (194)
In the U.S., the states with the most representation are:
California (188)
Texas (157)
North Carolina (117)
Illinois (113)
Oregon (110)
Georgia (109)
Utah (107)
Arizona (98)
New York (57)
Washington (26)
The contest is open to all musical genres. However, the most common entries so far are:
Norteño (1,641)
Banda (2,088)
Campirano (745)
Mariachi (329)
Bolero (279)
Tropical (228)
Duranguense (134)
Contemporary Mexican (102)
Other genres (285)
In terms of project type, the breakdown so far is:
1,014 as songwriter
3,143 as singer-songwriter
1,664 as performer
Regarding age groups, the most enthusiastic participants are those aged 24 to 29, representing 64% of the total. Those aged 30 to 34 follow with 23%, and the 18 to 23 age group accounts for 13%.
De Icaza reminded that interested individuals have until May 31 to register. A jury will select 10 participants from each Mexican state and 15 from the United States, totaling 365 selected individuals in this first stage. Starting July 5, the contest will move into its second phase, followed by additional stages.
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Mexican Press Agency is part of ALMA, which is dedicated to news and information about Mexico and Mexicans in the United States and is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Focus, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Redwood City, California.
