MEXICO CITY – The Hera HSBC Music Festival in Mexico City on Saturday brought together a lineup of Latin and international female artists, including Kesha, Demi Lovato and Camila Cabello.
The festival, named after the Greek goddess of women, family, the sky and the stars, comes at a historic moment for Mexico as the country prepares to inaugurate its first female president, Claudia Scheinbaum.
The festival, organized and run by women, drew more than 48,000 people to the capital’s race track, which is also home to other music festivals such as Corona Capital and EDC Mexico.
At Hera, women did not only perform on stage but also worked behind the scenes as producers, engineers, etc., something that festival promoter Itzel Gonzalez and Ximena Sariñana, Mexican singer-songwriter and co-founder and director of the Hera committee, wanted to highlight at the event.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who came and participated in this unique and historic moment in Mexico City,” Sariñana told the crowd during her performance.
“I love it. Actually, as a member of the LGBT community, I feel more comfortable with an all-female cast,” said Ivan Huerta, 28, who attended the festival with friends.
“For me it’s great that there’s a festival for them and for everybody,” he added.
Despite progress, gender inequality persists in the music industry. According to a University of Southern California study, 164 artists appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023. Of these, 64.6% were male, 34.8% were female, and 0.6% were non-binary.
According to data collected by the nonprofit organization Book More Women, less than 25% of musicians performing onstage at major music festivals in the United States are women.
On the club-style stage, festival-goers waited in anticipation for the appearance of Puerto Rican transgender rapper Villano Antillano.
Dressed in leather, Antillano began her performance with the iconic lyrics of “Super Ho” from her new album “Miss Misogyny,” which celebrates female rappers, before dancing in sync with the DJ and MCs for other songs like “Cam Girl!!!” and “Hello Kitty!”
For the rapper, performing in Mexico was a special moment.
“Vilano, sister, you’re Mexican now!” fans chanted. A smiling Vilano Antillano told the crowd, “When one (woman) stands up, we all stand up.” The rapper said she especially loves the country because of her Mexican transgender sisters. “That’s how deep my bond with Mexico is.”
Rain began to fall in the late afternoon, drenching the festival, but fans still flooded the stage to see the highly anticipated pop star Kesha.
After more than a decade of legal battles with producer Dr. Luke, the 37-year-old singer returned with renewed confidence this year — the same decade that coincided with Kesha’s first visit to Mexico.
“I was so scared that people would judge me,” she said. “And ever since then, everyone has criticized me for everything I’ve done.”
“Thank you for being there for me during the hardest time of my life,” she told the crowd, before performing her new song “JOYRIDE,” her first indie single since leaving Dr. Luke’s label.
The pop song resonated with fans as she popped a bottle of champagne and sprayed the crowd with libations.
The festival also featured Mexican singer Danna Paola and Colombian group Bomba Estéreo.
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