Pepe Aguilar, a Mexican artist who can traverse many genres – from traditional ranchera to progressive pop — went for tradition in his 2025 Latin Grammys performance. Singing with the backing of a 16-piece mariachi, Aguilar belted “El Cihualteco” and “El Fuereño,” from his album Mi Suerte Es Ser Mexicano, nominated for best ranchero/mariachi album.
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Aguilar often sings ballads, and his velvety voice lends itself to crooning. But his other forceful, powerful side, put at the service of bravura songs, is perhaps more impressive. Dressed in full charro regalia, he also brought in folk Mexican dancers, which added authenticity to a spectacle of Mexican pride. Mariachi music has not enjoyed the commercial success of other Mexican music genres, like norteño or banda, to the degree that this year there were only three nominees competing in the best ranchero/mariachi album, a reflection on the number of submissions.
But Aguilar more than made up for it. This is a man that is constantly on the road performing live, and it showed in his dominion of the stage and his clear ease singing to a live mariachi.
In a twist, Aguilar was competing in the best ranchero/mariachi album category with his son-in-law Christian Nodal. And when it came time to announce the winners, it was Nodal who took the prize. Nodal hugged his wife Angela Aguilar and, before taking the stage, also embraced his father-in-law in a gesture of respect.
Other Latin Grammy performers for the evening have included standouts Rauw Alejandro, Elena Rose and Gloria Estefan performing alongside Nathy Peluso.