Grupo Frontera are (again) speaking out against viral rumors that the Mexican American band supports Donald Trump. On Saturday, Grupo Frontera posted a video dispel some of the rumors about their political allegiance after a clip of them evading questions about the border crisis went viral this week.
“We want to clarify so many things that have come out about us. Straight to the point: We are migrants, our parents are migrants,” said Julian Peña Jr. surrounded by his bandmates. “We want to tell you all: We don’t support any political party that’s against immigrants.”
Earlier this week at Premio Lo Nuestro, El Gordo y la Flaca‘s Raúl de Molina asked the band their opinion about the border crisis, given their band’s name, which translates to “Border Group” in Spanish. Peña responded with a non-answer as his bandmates appeared uncomfortable at his side: “We dedicate ourselves to music. We love everyone and want peace and love. Take care of yourselves,” he said.
In Saturday’s video, bajo quinto player Alberto Acosta referenced the “fake news” that’s circulated online, sharing that they hadn’t spoken against the speculation since they’re constantly faced with rumors online. “We are clarifying this because people are putting us against our raza,” he said. (The group did not mention President Trump by name in the video.)
One of the viral moments the band addressed was a clip of the band dancing to “Y.M.C.A.,” a song that Trump and the MAGA camp have co-opted at political rallies. Frontera said that moment happened well before the election. “We had a routine before shows on our last tour where we’d dance huapangos or different songs,” accordionist Juan Javier Cantú said. “We danced to that song in primary school and it didn’t have anything to do with a political party at that point.”
Payo Solis, the group’s vocalist, addressed videos posted by his grandmother who had previously shared her support for MAGA on TikTok. “The only opinions that count from Grupo Frontera are those that come from the group itself,” Solis said. “Whatever person that’s not one of us can’t speak for us or express an opinion on our behalf.”
Many fans of the Mexican American group took issue with Peña’s poor response on the Premio Lo Nuestro red carpet days after the band posted that statement, viewing the response as confirmation of the group’s support for Trump, who has specifically targeted undocumented immigrants, many of whom are Mexican. In their video posted on Saturday, the band did not address screen recordings that circulated online of its members following Trump and liking his posts on Instagram.
“We are migrants. We’re for migrants. We always have been,” said Peña Jr. at the end of the video. “You guys know what we’ve done and have supported our raza in the U.S. and Mexico. That’s what this group represents, not what’s been said about us.”
Earlier this month, the group shared an Instagram Story statement saying that they had “no affiliation nor alliance” with “any political party,” and added that “the opinions of our friends and family don’t represent Grupo Frontera.”