Chicago Bears third-string quarterback Case Keenum isn’t the only one basking in the glow of a magnificent performance during Monday Night Football.
Grammy-nominated Mariachi Herencia de Mexico has gone viral for its performance before Monday night’s game, getting millions of views online and sparking a media frenzy.
“I haven’t really slept,” César Maldonado, the 14-member group’s founder, said Tuesday at DreamCatcher Cafe in Back of the Yards. “It’s been a media frenzy. We’ve been doing interviews all day, but it’s been great positive energy from everybody.”
With the group donning blue mariachi suits and bows with the Bears colors and logo, it performed a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” inspired by Cuban American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, marking the first time a mariachi band played the national anthem in Chicago Bears history. The Chicago-based group was invited to perform the song as part of the Bears’ Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
The Mariachi Herencia de México performed the national anthem in Chicago 🎶 pic.twitter.com/6Sv20SBqIr
— ESPN (@espn) September 29, 2026
Maldonado, a Brighton Park native, is also the group’s manager and producer. He said the band has performed the national anthem for the White Sox, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks and Detroit Tigers. Two years ago, the group performed at halftime at a Bears home game, which led to its most recent invitation.
Since Monday, Maldonado said he’s received supportive messages from people living everywhere from Canada to Mexico.
“This performance is extremely special … especially if you’re Mexican or Mexican American living in this country,” Maldonado, 42, said. “I see myself in this performance, which is what I think people are responding to.”
Maldonado started the group in 2016 to expand the reach of mariachi music and make it available to a new generation.
“Mariachi music isn’t on the radio anymore as it used to be,” he said. “Juan Gabriel, Chente (Vicente Fernandez) and all the greats are no longer on the radio, so we have a new generation of kids growing up without the music. These are big branding moments for mariachi music.”
The group’s performance at the Bears game did spark conservative backlash online, with some users on X — like the Chicago Young Republicans — accusing the NFL of being “woke.” Maldonado said he doesn’t dwell on any negative comments, and instead is focused on how the performance unified audiences.
“That has nothing to do with us,” he said about the varying reaction. “We have a lot of friends in the celebrity world who have reached out. Even some Bears players reached out. The exciting [part] was when Caleb Williams reshared it to his following. It was amazing. It’s just a moment that is bringing everyone together, which makes it the most exciting.”
The group successfully blends other forms of Latin music into their performances, which have taken them throughout North America. Mexico City is currently its top market for streaming its music, he said.
“When they hear the music, they understand that this is something completely different. It’s something completely over the top, spectacular, and that’s what mariachi music is — a sleeping giant of Latino music,” Maldonado said. “Super proud to offer our music to the world.”
Group member Roberto Dueñas, 25, said it’s a great honor to bring mariachi music to the world.
“It was just so exciting and a source of great pride. After all, sports and music are things that unite the whole world and all cultures. So, for us — Mariachi Herencia de México — to perform the anthem in the United States was truly an honor,” Duenas said in Spanish.
Maldonado said he knows most in the stadium didn’t realize the group is from Chicago.
“I bet you half of or the majority of that stadium didn’t even realize that this is the mariachi from their hometown,” Maldonado said. “Our studio is at the Old Record Row, South Michigan Avenue, where blues and the great music at Chess Records was made back in the day. That’s where we record our music, and we’re just proud to be from here.”
Soon, the group plans to record a new album in honor of the late great Juan Gabriel’s songs. It also plans a Christmas show set to music from “Home Alone,” which was filmed in Chicago.
The group is on a 76-city tour and will be in South Carolina and Georgia in the coming days. The band also plans a Christmas residency in December at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Thalia Hall. Next year’s tour will stop at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall.
Michael Puente is a reporter and anchor for WBEZ. Reach him at mpuente@wbez.org.