Colombian artistKali Uchiswas scheduled to perform in the Mexican state of Jalisco on Sunday, Feb. 22, but her show was canceled following thedeath of one of the top drug lords in the country.
Mexico's defense ministry announced that drug lordNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, commonly known as "El Mencho," was killed in a military operation. A shootout in Taplapa, Jalisco, left him seriously injured, and he died during an air transfer to Mexico City.
As a result, concerts and sporting events in Jalisco and neighboring states were canceled or postponed. Uchis was set to perform at Auditorio Telmex in Zapopan, Mexico, on Feb. 22 as part of the Latin America leg of her The Sincerely, Tour, but thevenue announced the show was canceled.
"We inform the public of Guadalajara that, due to circumstances beyond the control of the artist, the promoter and the venue, the Kali Uchis concert scheduled for today will not take place," the statement said.
Kali Uchis concert canceled in Mexico after death of 'El Mencho'
The Feb. 22 concert was canceled and not postponed or rescheduled. The statement included refund information for people who purchased tickets to the show.
The "telepatía" artist, who performed in Monterrey on Feb. 21, has not explicitly addressed the cancellation. As of late Sunday, her upcoming show in Mexico City on Feb. 25 has not been affected.
On her Instagram Story, she wrote, "gracias Monterrey. nos vemos mañana Guadalajara," which translates to, "Thank you Monterrey. I'll see you tomorrow, Guadalajara."
Shakira, Jesse and Joy, and Bryan Adams to perform in Mexico this week
As of Sunday,Jesse and Joyare still set to perform at Arena Gudalajara on Friday, Feb. 27, andBryan Adamshas a scheduled date of Saturday, Feb. 28. Over at Auditoria Telmex,Air Supplyhas a scheduled date for Feb. 28 as well.
Music festivalPortAmérica Latitudes, which is scheduled to take place in Guadalajara, begins on Saturday, Feb. 28. The lineup includes Lila Downs, Dani Martín, and Arde Bogotá.
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In Mexico City, fans are expecting Shakira to perform a free concert at the city's famed Zócalo main plaza for the first time in 20 years. The show will take place on Sunday, March 1, at 8 p.m. local time.
From demonic possessions to memoirs about how immigration is actually a story of love, there are plenty of books from Latino authors to choose from for your next read. Here are 29 books we love from authors including Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Wilmer Valderrama, Paola Ramos, Ada Limón and Mariana Enriquez. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave," Argentine author Mariana Enriquez explores how the stories of the dead "speak of life," especially paired with 21 trips to different cemeteries around the globe. In the book, translated by Megan McDowell, the gothic horror author with a fondness for the macabre travels through North and South America, Europe and Australia, visiting Paris' catacombs, Prague's Old Jewish Cemetery, New Orleans' aboveground mausoleums in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (home to the famous Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau), Buenos Aires' opulent Recoleta and cemeteries in Genoa, Italy, where she fell in love with these "final" resting places.
Read our wide-ranging interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes takes on a complex mother-daughter relationship in her stunning debut novel, "The White Hot." Written in the form of a letter, she delivers a gorgeous, luminous story about a Philly Puerto Rican teenage mom filled with questions and searing rage (which she calls the white hot) while she walks the road of a very messy enlightenment." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
With six poetry collections under her belt, Ada Limón is looking back at nearly 20 years of work − drawing poems from "The Hurting Kind," "The Carrying" and "Bright Dead Things" − and featuring new poems in "Startlement." The former Poet Laureate of the United States continues to wade into the unknown, including the "strangeness of our brief human lives, the ever-changing nature of the universe and emerges each time with new revelations about our place in the world," reads the publisher's description." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
California Chicana essayist and novelist Myriam Gurba cultivates a literary terrain that blends memoir, botany, mythology and sociopolitical critique in this moving book, "Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings," about girlhood memory, ecological meditation and cultural history. Gurba constructs a labyrinth of language where California poppies, childhood witchcraft and feminist rage bloom side by side." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A demonic presence. A forbidden love story. A haunted silver mine. An exorcism (or three). A conniving priest. And a mercury poisoning subplot inspired by an episode of "Grey's Anatomy."That's the journey you'll go on in "The Possession of Alba Diaz" by Isabel Cañas. The author transports us to the north-central state of Zacatecas, Mexico, in 1765 when a plague sweeps through the city as our protagonist, Alba, flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family's mine for refuge. But Alba, who until now has played it safe in life and love, meets Elías, a haunted Heathcliff-esque outcast in his family, and the two slowly realize they're the only ones they can trust.
As Alba makes herself comfortable at Casa Calaveras, a mansion nestled in the remote mines, she's quickly met with dark, cold forces lurking beneath her skin. She begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking and violent convulsions.
Read our interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "My Perfect Cognate," Natalie Scenters-Zapico, an educator and award-winning poet from El Paso, Texas, interrogates the connections and contrasts of her duality: violence and softness, motherhood and isolation, the border between the United States and Mexico, and more. Scenters-Zapico wrote her latest poetry collection "from the depths of severe post-partum depression," according to the publisher description, and she "searches for a language that can hold both personal and communal pain."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In her debut novel, "This is the Only Kingdom," award-winning author Jaquira Díaz expands with lyrical force a story of a multigenerational family set between Puerto Rico and Miami. She delivers a lush, unflinching narrative about colorism, survival, love, music and the brutal beauty of housing project life." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
This cosmic Puerto Rican epic poem, titled "Algarabía: The Song of Cenex, Natural Son of the Isle Alarabíyya," written by trans poet, translator and Lambda Literary Award winner, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, is a literary tour de force. In the story of Cenex, a trans being who references multiple universes in breathtaking beauty and humor — from Taino cosmology to Carl Sagan's pot smoking joy. It's a genius, too — one side of the book is in Spanish and the other in English — all written by Salas Rivera." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
"Middle Spoon," written in epistolary novel form by Alejandro Varela, follows an unnamed middle-aged narrator who, at first glance, is having his cake and eating it too. He's happily married, has a doting husband with two adopted children, and he has a younger boyfriend named Ben. When Ben suddenly dumps him, however, there's nothing that can bring him solace. We see him unravel at the seams, spilling his heart out to anyone who will listen, including his two therapists, and so begins his journey of writing dozens and dozens of emails to Ben that he never sends. Read our interview with the author here." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
"Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change" by Cristina Jiménez is more than a memoir, "it's about the story of many undocumented and courageous people," Jiménez said. It's a coming-of-age story for both a young woman finding her true self and a social movement of immigrant youth trailblazers who inspired the world and changed the lives of millions." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Solito," Javier Zamora details his 3,000 mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico and across the U.S. border. He writes of leaving behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. "Solito," which has received critical acclaim, provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Paola Ramos' book explores how race, identity and political trauma have ignited a far-right sentiment among Latinos and how this group is shaping American politics.
To write her book, the Telemundo News and MSNBC contributor sat down with Gabriel Garcia, a first-generation Cuban American and former member of the Proud Boys, among other Jan. 6 rioters. She also spoke with a Latino border vigilante from El Paso, Latina members of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group pushing legislation such as Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, evangelical pastors and others.
In "Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling," anthropologist Jason de Léon paints a more humanizing portrait of smugglers (or coyotes, as they're most commonly called) as they shepherd migrants from South American countries through Mexico in hopes of arriving in the U.S.For the book, de Léon spent seven years following the migrants (those from Honduras specifically) and their coyotes in an attempt to understand why smugglers fall into this line of work, and their responsibility over the migrants they're tasked with guiding toward the possibility of the American dream." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Equal parts memoir, cultural history and visual mixtape, New York City cultural historian Bobbito García delivers a vibrant love letter to streetball in ""Bobbito's Book of B-Ball Bong Bong!" Told through the lens of a life spent on and off the court — from Harlem playgrounds to hip-hop stages — the book blends nostalgia, humor and encyclopedic knowledge to unpack the language, rhythm and soul of the game. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In "Family Lore," Elizabeth Acevedo paints a multifaceted portrait of Dominican American women coming to terms with mortality, navigating womanhood, past loves and self-love. It follows the Marte women as they prepare for a wake arranged by Flor; her gift is she can predict the day someone will die. When she arranges a living wake for herself, the family is left to wonder: Has she foreseen her own death or someone else's? In the 72 hours prior to the wake, the Marte sisters and their daughters are forced to confront the past and present – and brace themselves for the unknown journey ahead.
Read our interview with the author." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Crying in the Bathroom," Chicago author Erika L. Sánchez writes for the ambitious, foul-mouthed, vagabond women like herself who choose to live life on their own terms. She writes about exploring her sexuality, leaving little to the imagination as she describes her adventures during both her "slut year" and "The Year My Vagina Broke." But she also tackles depression, spirituality, familial ties and feminism.Sánchez's essays also deal with the messiness of being alive. More specifically, existing in American society as a woman of color, growing up in a working-class Mexican immigrant household thinking she "didn't matter, that no one cared what I had to say," she writes.
Read our interview with the author here. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo's powerful memoir, "Children of the Land," documents living in fear of deportation, separation and the trauma inflicted by the immigration system in the United States. It explores the way the immigration system robs peace of mind, robs time and the ability to heal, and how far removed many people still are to these realities. "It surprised me how little people knew about the realities of families like ours, how easy it was for them to move through the world as if everything was fine," Hernandez writes in his book. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Part gothic romance and part love letter to the thriving 90s Mexico City film industry, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's slow-burn thriller, "Silver Nitrate," blends Mexican horror cinema with the horrors of Nazi occultism. "Silver Nitrate" follows two childhood best friends: passionate workaholic sound editor Monserrat and charming-but-washed-up soap opera actor Tristán.
Read our interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In her debut book, "The Undocumented Americans," author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio centers immigrant stories in a way that isn't inspirational or exploitative but simply real and raw. In New York, the author introduces us to undocumented workers who helped on Ground Zero after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In Miami, Villavicencio highlights undocumented folks who frequent botánicas because they have no other healthcare options due to their status. In Connecticut, we learn about undocumented men in sanctuaries and the effects of family separation." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"Candelaria" by Melissa Lozado-Oliva is a novel following three generations of unruly and strong women: Candelaria, the matriarch; Lucia, her daughter; and granddaughters Bianca, an archaeologist, Candy, a recovering addict, and Paola, a brainwashed wellness cultist. The sisters, estranged from one another over grief and family secrets, grapple with their diasporic identity, womanhood and vices all on their own. "They're all leading their own lives, but they all circle back to each other," Lozada-Oliva told USA TODAY. "I wanted to show that in the cover (illustrated by London-based artist Polly Nor), they're in this battle, a dance and also a shared meal."
Lozada-Oliva's apocalyptic debut novel in prose is an ode to complicated family dynamics, and the overwhelming ways love can consume and eat us alive.
Read the interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Considered one of the country's authoritative experts on Latino voters, and co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, Mike Madrid's "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy" seeks to answer how and why Democrats and Republicans have failed to appeal to the Latino vote and the implications of that.Using over three decades of research and campaign experience, Madrid argues Latinos make up the fastest segment of the most important swing states in the Electoral College, and "fitting neither the stereotype of the aggrieved minority nor the traditional assimilating immigrant group, Latinos are challenging both political parties' notions of race, religious beliefs, economic success and the American dream."
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In "Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of Latino" by Héctor Tobar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author writes a definitive and personal exploration of what it means to be Latino in the U.S.The journalist and English and Chicano/Latino Studies professor tackles the impact that colonialism, public policy, immigration, media and pop culture have had on decoding the meaning of "Latino" as a racial and ethnic identity." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Through her debut book, "For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts," by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, gives us insight into her own personal journey navigating academia and corporate spaces as a woman of color, as well as the tools necessary to decolonize our worldview, think deeply about our relationship to the "white gaze" and how to combat imposter syndrome. "For Brown Girls" is raw, honest and transparent, and it will challenge readers to rethink views on community, culture and the intentions behind the work you do. "Remember who you are and the rest will come," she writes in her book." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Are we monsters? Or are we miracles? That's what Silvia Moreno-Garcia forces us to ask ourselves in "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau." Moreno-Garcia reimagines the classic 1896 sci-fi novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H.G. Wells and gives us a rousing and romantic anti-colonial novel set in the Yucatán Peninsula in 19th-century Mexico.
Read our review of the book here.
Author Laura E. Gómez, a UCLA School of Law professor, wrote a book to understand where Latinos fit in America's racial order − the how and why of Latinx identity becoming a distinctive racial identity." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In "LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority," Peruvian-born author and journalist Marie Arana argues that Latinos are not a monolith and they do not represent a single group. In "LatinoLand," Arana draws from her own experience as a daughter of a mixed-status family − her mother from Kansas and Boston, and her father a Peruvian-born civil engineer − to attempt to understand the fastest-growing minority group in America." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Wilmer Valderrama, who broke out as Fez in the nostalgic teen sitcom "That '70s Show," looks back on his incredible journey from Venezuelan immigrant to American TV powerhouse in his debut memoir "An American Story: Everyone's Invited." Valderrama said in an interview with USA TODAY that his memoir began as a "tribute" to the stories of military personnel, although he later realized "how much of my story is basically being part of this world with them and being so submerged in the actual culture and community."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions" by Mexican novelist Valeria Luiselli is based on her experience as an interpreter for Central American child migrants seeking a new life in the U.S. The book is structured around the forty questions she asks these undocumented children, whose ages range from 6 into their teens and are facing deportation." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa wrote "Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate In A Torn America" amid the 2020 presidential election. She said the anti-immigration rhetoric spewed by Trump and his supporters under his administration wasn't new − it was history repeating itself." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In "An African American and Latinx History of the United States" by Paul Ortiz, the historian spans more than two hundred years in his book, looking at the intersectional history of the shared struggles for African American and Latinx civil rights."I wrote this book because as a scholar I want to ensure that no Latinx or Black children ever again have to be ashamed of who they are and of where they come from," Ortiz writes in the book's introduction." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Books by Latino authors you need to read right now
From demonic possessions to memoirs about how immigration is actually a story of love, there are plenty of books from Latino authors to choose from for your next read.Here are 29 books we love from authors includingSilvia Moreno-Garcia,Wilmer Valderrama,Paola Ramos,Ada LimónandMariana Enriquez.
What's happening in Mexico?
A former police officer, Oseguera was the shadowy leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, an outfit named for the western state that is home to one of Mexico's biggest cities, Guadalajara. Over a relatively short period of time, the cartel transformed into an international criminal enterprise rivaling former allies in the Sinaloa Cartel, the gang of captured kingpinJoaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, now in a U.S. prison.
Oseguera's death notches a major victory for Mexico's war on drug cartels that are responsible for smuggling billions of dollars in cocaine and fentanyl into the U.S. The operation set offa wave of violence, with torched cars and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaumsaid on social mediathat "there is absolute coordination with the governments of all states," adding that "we work every day for peace, security, justice, and the well-being of Mexico."
'El Mencho' killed in Mexico.Who was the notorious cartel leader?
Mexican residents urged to stay home
Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro urged residents to stay home until the situation was brought under control, and the U.S. embassy advised its citizens to shelter in place.
Mexican media outlets reported burning vehicles and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states across the country, particularly in the north and west.
Flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara airportshave beendiverted or canceledby major airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. The Liga MX Femenil match between Chivas and Club América, scheduled for Feb. 22, and a men's Liga MX match werepostponed due to the violence.
Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY; Beth Warren, Courier Journal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kali Uchis concert in Mexico canceled after 'El Mencho' killing
