On Monday, March 11, while scrolling on Instagram, I came across a post about a popular hip-hop festival that is happening from March 14-17 in Los Angeles. The infamous 3 day festival called Rolling Loud is mainly for popular hip-hop artists but that was supposed to be an exemption this year.

Some popular artists include Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, Future, and Ye just to name a few. But when the lineup was first announced earlier this year, many regional Mexican fans were shocked to see some of their favorite artists included in the lineup.

Junior H, Natanael Cano, Fuerza Regida and Chinito Pacas were supposed to be representing Mexican music on such a big stage that doesn’t usually showcase the genre.

But this excitement came to an end on Monday because Jimmy Humilde, owner of Rancho Humilde posted the festival flier with the word “False.” He then stated “Rolling loud canceled us last minute, and what’s crazy is that the majority of ticket buyers are raza (meaning ‘the people.’)”

Rolling Loud’s social media accounts then followed up with a statement that mentioned Nata and Junior H’s spots in the festival. They said, “Natanael Cano and Junior H will not be performing at Rolling Loud California this weekend. Cano did not obtain the necessary work permits or visas to enable him to perform. Junior H will not be performing due to several breaches of contract, including the Festival’s radius terms.”

To some degree, I do believe the statement that the festival released. Cano and Junior H are Mexican artists that don’t come often to the U.S., the last time being in May of last year. Personally, I don’t know too much about the process of issues like these, but with the little knowledge I do have, it’s a long process.

Another thing that’s on the positive side is that Fuerza Regida and Chinito Pacas were still scheduled to perform, and the official statement released by Rolling Loud also mentioned that any ticket holders can switch the dates to see these two artists.

But on the other hand, it really is inexcusable because the people running the festival should’ve been aware of this issue and should have worked personally with the artists and the record label of these artists.

There really is no excuse on the festival’s part for not being involved in the process, knowing they are a big festival with funds to make things happen is just a shame. They should’ve thought of the fans/ticket buyers also.

The fans make the festival what it is and there wouldn’t be one without them. Many fans were reacting on social media in regards to the fact that since the announcement was made so last minute, they wanted refunds.

The comment section under Humilde’s Instagram post has sparked many people saying that they are going to call their banks to make fraudulent claims to get a refund.

As for Cano and Junior H, who haven’t made claims or released official statements, they aren’t making a big deal out of the news. But they are both in the top 10 on Mexico’s Top 50. Cano and Oscar Maydon’s “Madonna” is currently in the no. 1 spot. Junior H is no. 7 with his song “Rockstar.”

It’s a shame that the festival didn’t take the necessary precautions to figure all this out right away. This affects Rolling Loud’s image because they are losing viewership with not delivering what they promised to their attendees.

It would’ve been a great opportunity for a crossover to happen because it’s about time that mainstream festivals like these ones make room for more international artists. They deserve the platform to showcase that regional Mexican artists generate as much interest as hip-hop artists if not more.

Recognition and space is important as crossovers are being made because regional Mexican music is showing that they can produce music that tops the charts.