For generations, the orquesta jaranera — the brass-and-percussion ensemble that drives Yucatán’s beloved traditional music — has been almost exclusively a male domain. That changed on the night of April 15, when nine women took the stage at the Palacio de la Música in Mérida and performed as Piel de Barro, the first all-female jarana…

Fernando Delgadillo González emerged from the underground SEIMUS Collective in the late 1980s and built a career on his own terms, famously coining the term canción informal (Informal Song) to describe his refusal to conform to commercial record labels’ demands.  For over three decades, Delgadillo has remained a significant figure in Latin American folk and…

The Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán closed out the sixth program of its 45th season this weekend with a concert built around two of classical music’s most searching themes — grief and transcendent love — timed precisely to the opening of Holy Week. Under conductor Alfonso Scarano, the orchestra performed Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater alongside…

Fresh off his surprise appearance at the Super Bowl LX halftime show, Ricky Martin is heading straight to Mérida for what marks his fifth concert in the Yucatecan capital. The 54-year-old Puerto Rican superstar will bring his “Ricky Martin Live” tour to Estadio Kukulcán on March 28, performing at the same baseball stadium where he…

The 2025 edition of Feria Yucatán Xmatkuil promises to deliver one of its most exciting concert lineups yet. Organizers have announced a diverse roster of Mexican superstars who will take the stage this November. Some of Mexico’s most beloved performers will headline the musical festivities, including iconic singer Mijares, regional Mexican duo Jorge Medina and…

What would you call Coachella if it were in Yucatán? We may soon find out. Yucatán’s Secretary of Economy and Labor, Ermilo Barrera Novelo, has proposed large-scale music festivals in Yucatán. The official posted on his X account asking whether Yucatán should host music festivals comparable to the billion-peso Tecate Pa’l Norte in Monterrey and…

An urban art festival featuring Maya and Spanish rap music was announced by Yucatán’s State Center for Crime Prevention and Citizen Participation (Cepredey) and Sedeculta, the state’s cultural agency. The initiative is part of the United for Life government strategy. The festival will span 10 yet-unnamed communities. The Crea initiative, announced at the Gran Museo…

The music is back after local pressure and social media activism won a swift victory in Izamal’s historic Mercado Municipal. The confrontation began when Izamal’s market director attempted to remove the musician, who has provided the soundtrack for diners and tourists in the market’s bustling food court for years. The official claimed the performer was…

Shuttered since a ruinous fire two years ago, the Teatro José Peón Contreras is clad in scaffolding, and its stage is silent. And it likely will remain that way until late 2025, according to INAH. The restoration of the Jose Peon Contreras will continue for at least 10 more months, said Anna Goycoolea Artís, the head…

Where better to display a collection of over 200 gramophones, phonographs and music boxes than in one of the Centro’s grandest Art Nouveau townhomes?  Until now a private residence, Casa Modeon Mérida invites visitors to view a most unlikely collection of mint-condition musical antiques documenting the music industry’s evolution from 1820 to 1930.  The exhibition…