Mexican band Grupo Firme have cancelled a show after reportedly receiving a death threat that arrived with a severed human head.
Grupo Firme, whose music specialises in traditional norteño music – folk music that addresses social issues – revealed via a statement that they were “profoundly saddened” to cancel their appearance at the annual Carnabal Mazatlán, or Mazatlán Carnival, in the city of Sinaloa on March 1 over safety issues. The festival is scheduled to take place from February 27 to March 4.
This followed reports that a banner appeared in their native city of Tijuana that read “Grupo Firme, if you play at the Mazatlan Carnival we’ll kill you all. Remember that you live in Tijuana so we’ll kill even those who set up the lights”, per The Latin Times. The banner was accompanied with a severed human head in a green box.
No individual or organisation has come forward to claim the message. The Latin Times report that such threats are usually left by cartels. In 2023, Mexican singer Peso Pluma received a similar threat, leading to the cancellation of his Tijuana concert. See footage of the banner by El Universal below.
#URGENTE 🚨I Localizan una cabeza humana junto a una narcomanta con amenazas contra la agrupación ‘Grupo Firme’, en #Tijuana.
⚠️Advierten que no se presenten en el carnaval de #Mazatlán 2025.⚠️
🔴Testigos vieron a tres hombres en un Spark blanco huir hacia Rosarito.… pic.twitter.com/YO2LSObjfz
— Josue Aguilar (@josuealeexis) February 26, 2025
In the band’s statement via management group Music VIP, it read, as translated by Rolling Stone: “For Music VIP, the well-being of the people who’ve been with us through this journey: our family, which is all of you, our fans, is and will always be the most important thing. We hope to come together soon to sing, celebrate, and continue making history together.”
Rolling Stone added that two other artists scheduled to perform at the festival yesterday (February 26), Jorge Medina and Josu Cuen, announced the cancellation of their own shows. Other acts like opera singer Plácido Domingo, Spain’s Alejandro Sanz, and Banda La Adictiva are still slated to play at the Mazatlán Carnival this weekend.
Grupo Firme’s Mazatlán Carnival date was originally meant to kick off a nationwide tour, which precedes two dates in the US in California and Texas. The rest of the tour is still scheduled to continue.
Notably, Grupo Firme won a Latin Grammy in 2021 for Best Banda Album with ‘Nos divertimos logrando lo impossible’.
Per Forbes Mexico, in 2023, then-sitting Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticised music by artists like Peso Pluma for glorifying drug cartels – instead, he used Grupo Firmo and their hit 2021 single ‘Ya Superame’ as an example of music that should be embraced against such subject matter.