Category: Arts & Entertainment

Shakira closed out the Mexican leg of her world tour Sunday night with a free concert at Mexico City’s Zócalo that drew an estimated 400,000 people — the largest crowd ever recorded at the iconic plaza for a live music event.

Mexico City Head of Government Clara Brugada announced the attendance figure after the show, which served as the final Mexico date of Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (The Women No Longer Cry) World Tour. The Colombian singer performed for just over two hours on a stage set up in the heart of the Plaza de la Constitución, better known as the Zócalo, in the city’s historic center.

The concert surpassed the previous Zócalo attendance record held by Argentine ska band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, who drew 300,000 fans to their 2023 show. Before that, Grupo Firme drew 280,000 in 2022, and Paul McCartney brought out 230,000 in 2012.

Shakira has history with the Zócalo. She performed there in 2007 before an estimated 210,000 people, making Sunday’s show a return to the same stage nearly two decades later — with roughly twice the crowd.

Production costs for the concert — stage, sound, and infrastructure — were covered by Grupo Modelo, the beer company behind Corona, as part of a celebration marking its centennial. The Mexico City government handled logistics, public safety, and transportation coordination.

The show drew fans from across Mexico and beyond. Some began camping near the Zócalo as early as Feb. 28 — three days before the event — to secure a good spot. Authorities set up large screens with professional sound on several nearby streets, including Avenida Juárez near the Alameda, to accommodate overflow crowds.

Shakira opened the set with “Estoy aquí,” one of her earliest hits, and worked through a catalog spanning decades — “Pies Descalzos,” “Ojos así,” “Antología,” “Hips Don’t Lie,” and “Waka Waka,” among others. She also debuted a new song, “Algo Tú,” performing it live with Colombian artist Beéle.

Near the end of the show, she waved a Mexican flag from the stage before signing off: “Gracias, México. Gracias por ser mi familia. Nos vemos.”

Ahead of the event, the Cámara Nacional de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo de la Ciudad de México projected an economic impact of roughly 403 million pesos for the surrounding area, driven by hotel occupancy above 90% and strong business at restaurants and bars in the historic center.

Mexico has long been one of Shakira’s strongest markets. The country features prominently on the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour, which also included arena dates at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros before the Zócalo finale. The tour name references her 2023 album of the same name, widely seen as her artistic response to her high-profile split from former soccer star Gerard Piqué. The breakup inspired a string of songs — including the massively viral “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” — that turned personal hardship into some of her biggest global hits in years.

The Zócalo, a colonial-era plaza surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace, has a long tradition of hosting large-scale free events. It serves as the symbolic center of Mexican public life, the site of independence celebrations, political rallies, and cultural festivals. Getting a slot there carries weight beyond ticket sales. For Shakira, closing a world tour in the square that sits at the literal and historical heart of Mexico carried particular resonance.

Shakira is no stranger to Mexican audiences beyond the capital. She has performed in Yucatán and other regional venues over the years. Ricky Martin is also heading to Mérida this spring for his fifth concert in the Yucatecan capital, a sign of the region’s growing draw for international touring acts.

Shakira at the Zócalo — Key Facts

• The concert took place Sunday, March 1, 2026, at Mexico City’s Plaza de la Constitución (the Zócalo)
• Attendance: 400,000, according to the Mexico City government
• The show was free to the public — no ticket required
• It was the final Mexico City date of the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
• Production was sponsored by Grupo Modelo/Corona, marking the company’s 100th anniversary
• Previous Zócalo attendance record: 300,000, set by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs in 2023
• Shakira last performed at the Zócalo in 2007, drawing approximately 210,000 people
• The concert ran just over two hours and included a new song, “Algo Tú,” with Colombian artist Beéle
• Economic impact was projected at more than 403 million pesos for the historic center area
• The show was streamed live on Shakira’s social media channels and the Mexico City government’s YouTube channel

Sources: Shakira’s free Mexico City concert, El Universal, Infobae, Excélsior, El Financiero.

Actress Salma Hayek Pinault stood alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on Sunday to announce a sweeping new tax incentive for film and audiovisual production in Mexico — a 30% income tax break designed to keep domestic productions at home and lure international shoots south of the border.

The incentive, coordinated with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público), officially took effect Sunday. It applies to productions that meet minimum spending thresholds in Mexico: 40 million pesos (about $2.3 million) for live-action or animated feature films and series episodes, 20 million pesos (about $1.2 million) for documentary features and series, and 5 million pesos (about $290,000) for animation, visual effects or post-production work.

Each project can receive up to 40 million pesos in tax relief. To qualify, at least 70% of a project’s suppliers must be Mexican.

Minister of Culture Claudia Curiel de Icaza said the incentive aims to attract big-budget international productions while making sure Mexican films stay in Mexico. The goal, she said, is to strengthen the country’s creative economy and cultural sovereignty.

Hayek Pinault, who got her start in Mexican telenovelas before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, praised the initiative. The Oscar-nominated actress and producer from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, said she owed her career to Mexico’s film community.

The announcement is part of a broader government push to support the country’s film industry. In its first year, the Sheinbaum administration increased funding for EFICINE, Mexico’s longstanding tax incentive for national film production and distribution, by 18%. The budget for the Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE) grew 25% for 2026. A new Federal Film and Audiovisual Law was introduced in Congress last Friday.

The government also expanded the country’s main film school, the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC), opening a new campus at Chapultepec with capacity for about 2,000 students. Enrollment fees were eliminated.

Mexico has been building momentum as a production hub. In February 2025, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos joined Sheinbaum to announce a $1 billion investment in Mexican production over four years. The state of Jalisco launched a 20% cash rebate program in 2022 through its Filma Jalisco agency, which now oversees up to $150 million per year in rebates.

The country’s audiovisual industry accounts for about 1.25% of national GDP and a much bigger share — 11.6% — in Mexico City alone, according to 2023 data. The capital reported $583 million in production investment that year.

Sunday’s announcement also arrives against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to impose a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States. Trump first floated the idea in May 2025, then repeated it in September, arguing that foreign incentives were hurting Hollywood. No clear mechanism for implementing such tariffs has been established, and industry experts have questioned how they would work for non-material goods. Many in the U.S. industry have pushed instead for a federal tax credit to bring production home.

Mexico’s new incentive is open to Mexican citizens and companies, foreign entities with a permanent presence in the country, and foreign producers working through a Mexican resident or company.

The country is no stranger to serving as a backdrop for major productions. Yucatán’s Hacienda Temozón Sur, a restored henequén-era estate, was featured prominently in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice, starring Channing Tatum. Netflix has produced dozens of original titles in Mexico over the past decade, and Lionsgate shot “Saw X” in Mexico City in 2022-2023.

Several prominent Mexican actors and filmmakers attended Sunday’s event, including Jesús Ochoa, Irene Azuela, Darío Yazbek, Arcelia Ramírez, Julieta Egurrola, Chema Yazpik, Mercedes Hernández and María Rojo. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada was also present.

Mexico’s New Film Incentive: Key Facts

• Tax break: Up to 30% of income tax on qualifying production spending in Mexico
• Cap: 40 million pesos (about $2.3 million) per project
• Minimum spend: 40 million pesos for fiction features/series; 20 million pesos for documentaries; 5 million pesos for VFX/post-production
• Domestic sourcing: At least 70% of suppliers must be Mexican
• Who qualifies: Mexican individuals and companies, foreign entities with a permanent establishment in Mexico, and foreign producers working through a Mexican partner
• IMCINE budget: Up 25% for 2026
• EFICINE increase: Up 18% in the administration’s first year
• New legislation: A Federal Film and Audiovisual Law was introduced in Congress on Feb. 13

All photos courtesy Mandinga

Mandinga, the European band best-known for their unique blend of Latin rhythms and global pop sensibilities, has just released their latest single… and it’s a hot one.

Marking a deliberate shift toward Latin urban territory, the track, Mala, is now available on all major streaming platforms and pairs Afrobeat-influenced production with unapologetic lyrics delivered by Romanian-born frontwoman, Barbara Isasi.  

A Personal Statement Set to Heavy Bass

For Isasi, Mala isn’t just a musical experiment. The singer, who has fronted Mandinga since the group’s formation, says the song allowed her to drop the polish that often comes with commercial Latin pop.

“I wrote Mala for myself, but I know I’ll have behind me all the women who are sick of being ‘good,’” Isasi explains. “It’s about that moment when you stop filtering everything, stop being polite, stop smiling when you don’t feel like it.”

The track opens with a hook built around the phrase “Cali mala, pura diabla,” a line that repeats throughout and anchors the song’s defiant tone. Production-wise, Mala leans into bass-heavy urban beats rather than the salsa and bachata arrangements that defined much of Mandinga’s earlier catalog.

The Production Team Behind the Sound

Chupi Tool, the group’s founding drummer and producer, recognized early that Mala would require a different approach than previous releases.

“I knew from the first few seconds that Mala was different from anything we’d done,” he says. “We decided to open new lines in Latin urban to deliver each message the way it deserves: direct, without softening it.”

The executive production credit goes to Dani Joo (born Dan Ioan Plohi), a 17-year-old bassist who has already built a reputation in Romanian music circles. Mala marks his first executive producer role on a project of this scale. Mixing and mastering duties fell to Dragomir Gabriel-Iulian, a veteran audio engineer whose work spans multiple genres across the Romanian and international music scenes.

A Visual Companion That Matches the Message

The official video, directed by Rimenescu, places Isasi at the center of every frame. Choreography by Ruxandra Timoasca features dancers Teodora Dutca, Mihai Ioana Mihaela, and Ioana Alexandra Gramada in sequences designed to reinforce the track’s central theme: Isasi leads, everyone else follows.

The visual treatment avoids the bright, tropical aesthetics common in Latin pop videos. Instead, the production opts for darker tones and tighter shots that keep attention fixed on Isasi’s performance.

 “That doesn’t mean we’re not preparing new music for traditional Mandinga fans, salsa, bachata, everything that has defined us,” Chupi Tool clarifies. “But it does mean we’re no longer limiting ourselves. If the message calls for urban, we go urban.”

The group has indicated that additional releases are planned throughout 2026, spanning both Latin urban and their more traditional catalog. For now, Mala serves as the opening statement for what the band promises will be a productive year.

You can watch the full video here: Mala, by Mandinga.