Peso Pluma celebrates Mexican heritage music on the Coachella main stage

¡Arriba México, cabrónes!

Greeted by thousands of fans, many waving Mexican flags, singer and rapper Peso Pluma took the main stage shortly after 9pm on Friday night for a standout, runway-fueled Coachella set that included surprise appearances from Becky G, Junior H and Arcángel . Dressed in white, Peso opened his set with the song “Rubicon,” from his Grammy-winning album 2023, Genesis.

Chicana pop star Becky G took the stage early in the set to perform her 2023 ballad, “Chanel,” with him. The duet served as a full-circle moment for Peso. Becky welcomed him to the same stage in 2023, just as he was building buzz for his song with Natanael Cano, “PRC.”

“She was the first woman to help me in this industry,” Peso said of Becky on stage. (“Peso, he's so sweet, so dope, so hard-working and so deserving of an opportunity like this,” Becky said Rolling rock last year.) festival guards stopped to watch the performance from the sidelines.

What followed “Chanel” was a spoken word interlude about the censorship of narcocorridos, or songs detailing the complicated lives of those who work in the drug trade in Mexico. (For context, Tijuana's city council banned performances of the songs in 2023.) “The vicious circle they were born into serves to protect and punish them,” a male speaker said in English, as newspaper headlines about the songs the big screen flashes. “For that, he will always be on trial.”

La Doble P then performed his songs “El Gavilán” and “Gavilán II”, which refer to Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the famous former leader of the Sinaloa cartel. The 24-year-old then invited Mexican singer-songwriter Junior H on stage to perform their joint single, a corrido tumbado called 'El Azul'. He later paid tribute to Corrido singers of the past, including Chalino Sánchez and Ariel Camacho.

He transitioned into a sultry reggaetón break with the song 'Quema', which he recorded with Ryan Castro and SOG, followed by his remix of Yng Lvcas' smash hit 'La Bebé'. Puerto Rican reggaetón and trap star Arcángel joined Peso on stage to perform the self-referential single, titled “Peso Completo” or “Heavyweight,” from his upcoming album. Exodus.

Peso continues what has become a tradition of celebrating Mexican music on the Coachella main stage. Becky G did it in 2023, as did Grupo Firme and Banda MS in 2022 and Los Tucanes de Tijuana in 2019. Natanael Cano, whom Peso has described as “the king of corridos tumbados,” played at the festival and in 2022.

Peso's set comes just a month after his album announcement Exodus through a Rolling rock cover celebrating the future of music. “I'm focusing on perfecting all the details, but there will be many flavors, not just local Mexican music,” he said at the time. “From the beginning, I liked doing things to get out of my comfort zone. I know everything is going great with the corridos, but I also don't miss opportunities to do other things I like.”

Peso is scheduled to hit the road later this year with his “Exodo” tour that will stop at arenas across the United States and at the Governors Ball Music festival in New York.