LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The Los Angeles City Council Friday honored Grupo Firme, a Latin Grammy Award-winning regional Mexican band, one day ahead the group's performance at SoFi Stadium.
Councilman John Lee led Friday's presentation and welcomed the famous banda group into the Council Chamber. Amid loud and festive music, members of the public and city staff gathered to get close to the stars as Grupo Firme took their place next to the councilman.
"Grupo Firme is a banda that has been breaking barriers by reaching success that is comparable by few," Lee said. "They've crossed over genres and fan bases because they don't go about things following a very linear path."
"They carve out their way forward, and their success has explained the name. Grupo Firme, beyond Mexico, is making huge waves in the United States and beyond to the point where they causally enjoy over 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify."
Lee noted the music group combines traditional music with pop and urban elements. Grupo Firme is the third musical Mexican act to have a song in the Billboard Hot 100, and the first banda to play Coachella.
Council members Monica Rodriguez and Kevin de León thanked Lee for the presentation. They each gave remarks applauding the success of the band.
"As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, it's a very special day for us to really recognize how incredible the power of Latino community here in Los Angeles," Rodriguez said.
She also said Grupo Firme's concert on Saturday generated the "highest grossing ticket sales" of any concert in the Southern California region.
Grupo Firme members expressed their gratitude to Lee and the rest of the council for recognizing them. In their remarks, band members said they can proudly say they accomplished their dreams.
The group also encouraged other Mexican-Americans to work hard to make their dreams come true.