Vice President Kamala Harris is looking to secure Latino votes from battleground states, including Nevada, where she’s participating in a Las Vegas rally Thursday night (Oct. 31) with Mexican rock band Maná performing. The Harris-Walz campaign also confirmed that Jennifer Lopez will be in attendance, where she is set to speak about the importance of voting.
“These artists and public figures are trusted voices for millions of Americans, who listen to their music, follow them on social media, or otherwise are inspired by them,” the campaign said in a press release. “The Harris-Walz campaign believes that by using their voices to lay out the stakes of this election, it will further encourage and mobilize people to go vote.”
With five days until Election Day on Tuesday (Nov. 5), Nevada, considered a swing state, is expected to play a decisive role in the presidential election. Latinos represent about 30% of Nevada’s population and, across the country, an estimated 36.2 million Latinos are eligible to vote this year, up from 32.3 million in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center.
Maná has a long history of using their platform to encourage Latino voters to make their voices heard during U.S. presidential elections. They’ve also denounced Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric since he launched his first presidential campaign back in 2015, when the Republican candidate called Mexicans “rapists” and “criminals.” During their Latin Grammys performance that year, Maná, along with Los Tigres del Norte, pulled out a banner that said “Latinos, united, don’t vote for the racists.”
This time around, they’re being just as vigilant. After Nicky Jam endorsed Donald Trump in September — the reggaetón star has since withdrawn his support — Maná removed its 2016 reimagining of “De Pies a Cabeza,” a collab with Nicky, from streaming services, explaining that the group didn’t “work with racists.”
With their performance in Las Vegas on Thursday night, Maná doubles down on their efforts to secure the win for the Democratic ticket. Earlier Thursday, Los Tigres del Norte performed at a Harris rally in Phoenix.
Below, watch the rally in Nevada, where Lopez will speak and Maná will perform:
