Jimmy Humilde & Rancho Humilde Executives Discuss Latino Politics with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla

Jimmy Humilde goes to Washington…

Earlier this month, the Mexican American music executive, the CEO of Rancho Humilde and executives at the indie label traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).

Jimmy Humilde, Rancho HumildeJoined by the label’s co-founding partners José Becerra and Roque Venegas, the meeting, requested by Humilde, focused on discussing key issues that affect the Latino community in the U.S., like a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country.

The last time the U.S. immigration system was meaningfully reformed was in 1986, when then President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

Additionally, Humilde expressed his “desire for U.S. consulates and embassies to create panel discussions and educational programs that enable the discovery of hidden talents that can be developed in the U.S. market,” according to a press release. The label executives also met at the White House with President Joe Biden’s senior advisory team to “assess possible ways for the Latin community to participate more in important voting processes at the national level.”

While the discussions in Washington have yet to lead to any sort of reform or the introduction of any new policies, Humilde and his L.A.-based team have been active on a local level.

Most recently, Rancho Humilde and its artist Fuerza Regida made a joint donation of $20,000 to the organization Inclusive Action for the City, whose work is promoting the legalization of street vending.

“Street vending should be recognized in the city as an honest trade,” Humilde said in a statement. “It is not only a source of job creation, but it’s also a sector that boosts consumption in the city. I understand their hardships and concern, because at one point it was there where I found my living and that of my family.”

In February, Humilde hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Producers chart (dated Feb. 4) for the first time, thanks to nine production credits on the Hot Latin Songs survey.

Rancho Humilde, whose roster includes artists link Ivonne Galáz, Junior H and Fuerza Regida, finished at No. 4 on Billboard’s 2022 year-end Hot Latin Songs Labels recap.

Chao Shines a Light on the Plight of Arizona’s Jailed Immigrants…

He’s known for his politically charged music… And, now Manu Chao is using one of his classic songs to denounce the conditions undocumented immigrants are forced to endure at Arizona’s Maricopa County Jail.

The 50-year-old Spanish singer/songwriter has released a new music video for his classic migrant song “Clandestino.” The new version features the singer and one of his guitarists singing in front of the infamous jail’s tent city section, where detainees must tolerate the intense heat in summer and sub-freezing temperatures in winter.

Manu Chao

“The particulars were the result of the work of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, who met after a concert with Chao in California a year ago to talk with him about the situation being experienced by immigrants in Arizona,” the video’s director Alex Rivera told EFE.

After wrapping up his U.S. tour at the Festival of Resistance in Phoenix, Chao fulfilled a promise to offer a free concert in protest of the implementation of Arizona’s harsh anti-immigrant law in September.

During his visit to the state, Chao took advantage of his presence there to record this new version of “Clandestino” in front of the tent city jail run by controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who once called it his ‘concentration camp’. The special Arizona edition of the tune features some lyrical changes as Chao sings “Mexicano, clandestino! Hondureño, clandestino! Guatemalteco, clandestino! Maricopa, ilegal!” emphatically pointing his thumb to the tent city jail behind him after the last line.

“We wanted to do something powerful about what’s happening in Arizona. That’s how the idea of filming ‘Clandestino’ in front of Arpaio’s infamous jail came up,” said Rivera.