President Claudia Sheinbaum presented the seven Mexican semifinalists of México Canta on August 7 at the National Palace. The binational singing competition drew 16,289 registrations across Mexico and the United States in its 2026 edition. The next round will take place at an unusual venue for a Mexican cultural program: the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.

The announcement was held in the Salón Tesorería, with Secretary of Culture Claudia Curiel de Icaza overseeing the details. The president stated that the initiative's goal is to make music a part of daily life and for contestants to serve as role models for other young people. Curiel de Icaza specified that the semifinals will be held on Sunday, August 23 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles and on Sunday, August 30 at the Teatro Ángela Peralta in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, with the grand finale set for September 13 at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City.

The binational dimension is what sets México Canta apart: it is one of the few Mexican government cultural programs with a formal venue in the United States, aimed at the Mexican-American community living in California, Texas, and other states with a significant Latino presence.

The seven semifinalists are Grecia Delgado, from Abasolo, Tamaulipas; Fátima Cuevas, from Guadalupe, Nuevo León; Isabel Piñeyro Acuña, from Mérida, Yucatán; José Emiliano Macías, from Tlaquepaque, Jalisco; Bilhan Israel Morales, from Torreón, Coahuila; Luna Jiram López, from Zacatepec, Morelos; and Bryan Soto de Clave 57, from Valle de Chalco, State of Mexico. Among the entities with the highest participation were the State of Mexico, Mexico City, Jalisco, and Puebla on the Mexican side, and California, Texas, Illinois, and Florida on the American side. The semifinalists were selected by the Consejo Mexicano de la Música, while finalists will be chosen by public vote, as reported by La Razón. The semifinals and the finale will be broadcast on Sundays from 19:00 to 21:00 hours on more than 45 public media outlets.

For the Mexican-American community, the August 23 event in Los Angeles makes México Canta a showcase for young talent that crosses the border in both directions. A public vote will determine the finalists who advance to the Auditorio Nacional on September 13.

This article was produced with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.