RAZA, the undergraduate student organization for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, hosted Grupo Frontera on campus to bestow upon them the Trailblazer Award of 2023.

Building on the tradition established in 2022 when RAZA conferred its inaugural Trailblazer Award upon the esteemed Mexican band, Los Tigres del Norte, this year's recognition underscores RAZA's commitment to honoring individuals of Mexican heritage who have made significant contributions to the positive representation of the Mexican identity and have had a profound impact on their communities.

Grupo Frontera, an American band with Mexican roots, is a group of six members that performs Regional Mexican music and Latin Urban music. It's members include: Adelaido “Payo” Solis III, Juan Javier Cantú, Julian Peña Jr, Alberto “Beto” Acosta, Carlos Guerrero, and Brian Ortega. They started in 2022, and quickly rose to fame; by 2023 they were among the most listened to artists in Mexico, Latin America, and the United States. Grupo Frontera and their team made it to Harvard’s campus on September 27th of 2023. When Grupo Frontera arrived at Harvard, they were first received with a reception at the Harvard Foundation, where RAZA’s board and special guests were invited to spend an hour with them. 

After an hour-long reception that consisted of a sweet conversation with the band members, Grupo Frontera was given a tour of Harvard College. It was the first time the band’s members had visited Harvard.
 

The tour was proceeded by the actual ceremony, where Harvard’s Mariachi performed for Grupo Frontera, followed by an interview of the band members led by two RAZA board members.

Since the band grew up speaking both Spanish and English, we interviewed in both languages.

Some of the questions we asked included: 

• How does it feel for your music to be what connects many people back to their hometown?
• Given your relatively newfound yet major fame, how do you stay grounded?
• What are some words of advice that you would share with those of us who are trying to pursue our passions, como la musica, la ciencia, carreras profesionales, etc, en lugares donde seguimos siendo una minoria? 

The band members were dynamic and managed to make the crowd burst into laughter multiple times during the interview. At the same time, it was wonderful to hear them reflect on their experience with their sudden fame, the way they feel about the representation they bring to predominantly regional Mexican music, and their aspirations.

After the question and answer session, Leslie Zaragoza ‘25, RAZA social co-chair presented the group with the star-shaped Trailblazer Award. Following this, we presented all of the group members with a Harvard hoodie and took a picture with the RAZA members and students who joined us for the event. 
 

For this event, we extended the invitation to the Latine and Mexican student groups of nearby schools like MIT, Wellesley, Boston University, Tufts, and Northeastern. 

Finally, we thanked Grupo Frontera for their presence and led them out through the halls of the Science Center. However, they certainly did not leave before the RAZA board and Mariachi Veritas got a final picture with the group.

Here is a cool TikTok their band’s team made about their visit to Harvard!

As a board member for RAZA, it was an incredible experience to get to interact with this musical group that has reached global recognition for their music. It was extra special because Grupo Frontera is from South Texas, the region I grew up in. And more than anything, it was an honor to get to put this event together for the Mexican and Latine communities at Harvard.