A performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by the band Mariachi Herencia de México on “Monday Night Football” this week drew cheers and made history, but it also elicited online backlash from some MAGA supporters.
Mariachi Herencia de México — an ensemble that started in Chicago 10 years ago and has been nominated for two Latin Grammys — became the first mariachi group to perform the U.S. national anthem at Soldier Field in Chicago, according to CBS Chicago.
The Mariachi Herencia de México performed the national anthem in Chicago 🎶 pic.twitter.com/6Sv20SBqIr
— ESPN (@espn) September 29, 2026
The 14-member group’s all-instrumental rendering aired on ABC and ESPN before the Chicago Bears’ 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was part of the team’s annual Latino Heritage Month observances.
Mariachi Herencia de México — which roughly translates as Mexico’s Mariachi Heritage — performs mainly in the United States, including a 2017 Mexican Independence Day concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
The group emerged from a program providing mariachi instruction and cultural education to Chicago public-school students.
The program eventually reached 2,100 students at eight schools and led to auditions in which 20 students were selected to form the original ensemble.
The group earned Latin Grammy nominations for best ranchero/mariachi album for its debut, “Nuestra Herencia,” in 2017 and for “Herederos” in 2023.
Their appearance was Soldier Field’s first mariachi performance of the U.S. anthem, but not Chicago sports’ first overall. Mariachi Monumental de México, also based in Chicago, played “The Star Spangled Banner” before a Chicago White Sox baseball game on Cinco de Mayo in 2016.
Chicago native Sandra Delgado, who sang at halftime, told CBS Chicago before the game that Mariachi Herencia de México’s performance was going to be “beautiful and meaningful” and that it was “going to bring down the house.”
But it also prompted criticism on social media, including from supporters of President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
The prominent pro-Trump social-media account Gunther Eagleman wrote on X, “Hearing the American national anthem played mariachi-style on Monday Night Football feels weird. I understand putting your own spin on music, but the national anthem is one of those things that just hits harder when it’s kept traditional.”
Another MAGA supporter on X added in less measured tones, “Last time I checked, Mexicans have their own country and national anthem … it wouldn’t shock me if Democrat Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker personally requested this disgusting display. These woke people hate America.”
The Bears-Eagles game came during Week 3 of the NFL season. In Week 11, on Nov. 22, the NFL will return to Mexico City when the San Francisco 49ers play the Minnesota Vikings at Estadio Banorte, better known as Estadio Azteca.
The NFL has selected Latin Grammy-nominated Mexican singer Majo Aguilar to perform the Mexican national anthem, while MXKA, a singer-songwriter from San Leandro, California, will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Mexican rock trio The Warning, a sister act from Monterrey, will headline the halftime show.
With reports from La Jornada, LatinUS, N+, Daily Express US and CBS News
