The national final of Hip Hop for Peace took place this November 29 at the Roberto Cantoral Cultural Center, where more than 500 attendees accompanied the 12 finalist groups from 11 states of the country.
The initiative, promoted by Red VIRAL and the Bendito Estilo collective, in alliance with the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, UNODC, CONASAMA and the Administrative Body for Prevention and Social Reintegration, demonstrated that urban culture can be a powerful tool for inclusion, expression and peacebuilding.
A stage for voices that seek to transform
The event began with the participation of 14 girls and boys from La Essencia del Sur, from the east of Mexico City, who remembered that creativity and a sense of community are cultivated from childhood.
Throughout the night, the finalists, selected from 180 submissions from 32 states, presented choreography, rhymes and interventions focused on identity, resilience and hope. The families traveled from different parts of the country, which gave the meeting a deeply emotional character.
During his presentation, a young man from Ciudad Juárez shared a message that became one of the strongest moments of the gala:
“In my neighborhood sometimes it seems like everything is against us. Finishing our video took us days without sleep, but today we are here saying that we can also build the future and not just carry the past.”
Also a rapper from Guerrero, first place in the community aspect, expressed:
“We come from different places, but we agree on something: art has saved us more times than we can count.”
The winners: Guerrero, San Luis Potosí and State of Mexico
On the community side, the results were:
First place: Warrior
Second place: San Luis Potosí
Third place: State of Mexico
In total, this category brought together 180 songs created by more than 550 participants.
Expression from prisons
A highlight of the night was the screening of video clips made by 624 people deprived of liberty from 109 penitentiary centers in 25 states. The productions, focused on personal transformation and community reconstruction, were evaluated by a specialized jury.
Winners of the penitentiary aspect:
First place: CERESO Venustiano Carranza (Nayarit)
Second place: Bucerías Prison (Nayarit)
Third place (shared): Atlacholoaya women (Morelos) and Zumpango (State of Mexico)
Press release Nov 29
A message to the young generation
Eunice Rendón, promoter of the project, stressed that Hip Hop for Peace chose to listen to youth instead of talking to them:
“His lyrics, his beats and his compositions express what is often left out of public policies,” he said. He added that this project contradicts the idea that urban music can only be linked to violence, demonstrating that it can also be a vehicle for transformation and coexistence.
The final featured figures from culture, prevention and justice such as Mao Canto, Hernán Gómez, Paola Zavala, Carmen Fernández and representations from the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office, among others.
SSPC prison authorities from federal and state levels also attended, who highlighted the importance of the program to strengthen models of social reintegration.
