Yahritza y Su Esencia Apologize for Comments About Mexico: ‘We Love Our Culture’
The members of Yahritza y Su Esencia are apologizing after Mexican fans took offense to comments the group made during a visit to Mexico City.
The Mexican-American musicians — siblings Yahritza, Mando, and Jairo Martinez — caught some flak earlier this week after they answered some questions about Mexico City during an interview. Specifically, Yahritza, in between giggles, told an interviewer that she doesn’t like hearing “the cars, the police sirens, and everything” when she wakes up in the city, while Jairo and Mando said they weren’t so fond of the food.
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“For me, it’s also the food because I’m picky, and I eat almost nothing but chicken, just wings, without chile. I don’t like any of that,” Jairo said, mixing Spanish and English in his response.
@yahritza Aquí le dejamos este mensaje desde el fondo de nuestro corazones
♬ original sound – Yahritza
Many fans in Mexico expressed their discontent with the teenagers’ answers, claiming that the artists — who make música Mexicana — were not well-connected with their roots, and felt that they were betraying their culture and their fans in Mexico for what they said.
“They look indigenous and act like gringos, especially the one on the right,” read one comment.
“Where are they from? Surely they’re pure gringos with blonde hair and blue eyes,” read another. “What disrespect for their roots.”
In their response, posted to Yahritza’s TikTok Thursday, the group doubled down on their commitment to representing their roots in their music, saying that their greatest pride is “to have Mexican blood in our veins.”
“It doesn’t matter where we were born. We are proudly Mexican and we appreciate our public, especially in Mexico,” Yahritza said in the video alongside Jairo. “You guys always receive us with so much love, and for that reason, we are so grateful but also a bit embarrassed. We’ve seen the comments recently online and you guys are so right. We didn’t know how to express ourselves well.”
@orlinjimenezgarcia Yahritza y su esencia habla mal de México y su comida. #OJG #tiktok #viral #comomexiconohaydos #yahritzaysuesencia
♬ sonido original – Orlin Jiménez García🤓
Yahritza said her and her brother’s comments about Mexico City were “out of place” and that they understand their fans’ frustration with what they said. She also thanked their fans for holding them accountable.
“We are so sorry from the bottom of our hearts. If we offended someone, that was never our intention,” she said. “We love Mexico, our culture, our people, and to be part of that culture. We never wanted to offend our country. I swear it wasn’t our intention.”
The original video brought up conversations surrounding Latinidad, and the way many U.S.-born Mexicans, like Yahritza y Su Esencia, are deemed “pochos” or “no sabo kids,” which describe Latinos who aren’t always fluent in Spanish and may be slightly more Americanized.
A piece published to Remezcla Thursday defended the group, specifically calling for Latinos to “chill” in their criticism of the group, and called out some of the racist comments about the members’ darker skin tone.
Yahritza y Su Esencia will start their Obsessed Tour on Aug. 15 in Seattle, before making stops across the West Coast and Arizona. Last year, the group was nominated for Best New Artist at the Latin Grammys. “My dream right now is to go on tour,” Yahritza told Rolling Stone for a profile last year. “I want to see what it’s like.”
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