HOUSTON, Texas \u2013 As Pepe Aguilar prepares to take the stage at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Mexican music icon says this performance represents far more than another tour stop.<\/p>\n
In an exclusive interview with KPRC 2 News Reporter Ricky Mu\u00f1oz, Aguilar spoke about finally performing at the Houston Rodeo, the importance of bringing charrer\u00eda and Mexican culture to that stage, and addressed backlash tied to comments he made about immigration during a Hollywood Bowl performance.<\/p>\n
The conversation covered culture, heritage, controversy, and what Aguilar says people misunderstood about his remarks.<\/p>\n
Aguilar described his upcoming Houston Rodeo performance as a major personal milestone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout exaggerating, it is like a dream come true,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n
He told Mu\u00f1oz the moment is meaningful not only for him but for his family. Aguilar said his father had pursued the idea of bringing a show with horses and that full charro concept to the Rodeo years ago, but was never able to make it happen because of logistics.<\/p>\n
Now, Aguilar says he has the opportunity to bring that vision to life.<\/p>\n
He said he is grateful for the chance to be the first charro to sing at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and emphasized he plans to put everything he knows into the one-hour performance.<\/p>\n
Aguilar said rather than feeling nervous, he feels prepared, noting the show has been on his bucket list for a long time.do<\/p>\n
When asked how he plans to showcase Mexican culture during the Rodeo performance, Aguilar made clear he intends to bring a full cultural experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh man, we\u2019re bringing a whole bunch of cool stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Aguilar explained he is deeply proud of his culture and said that pride is the reason he wears the traditional charro suit on stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I dress in a charro suit,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cBecause I believe in that tradition. I believe in what it represents.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Rodeo performance will include elements of charrer\u00eda, mariachi music, and banda.<\/p>\n
Aguilar described charrer\u00eda as the Mexican equivalent of rodeo and said he plans to bring part of that tradition to Houston. He also noted his professional charrer\u00eda team are national champions, something he believes will add authenticity and spectacle to the performance.<\/p>\n
He said the show has been in preparation for months.<\/p>\n
A conversation about culture and immigration<\/p>\n
During the interview, Mu\u00f1oz also asked Aguilar how audiences might react to the cultural imagery and traditions he plans to present during the Rodeo show, particularly during a time when immigration has become a sensitive national topic.<\/p>\n
Aguilar responded by stressing that tradition and heritage do not fade with time.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal tradition and heritage and history dowho not have an expiration date,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n
He said he believes the current moment is an important time to remind people of cultural history and identity.<\/p>\n
Aguilar also acknowledged the difficult realities facing Mexico, including violence in some regions, but said those issues represent only one part of a much larger story.<\/p>\n
He added that cultural traditions can serve as a reminder of shared history and unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that this is a reminder of what we are made of,\u201d Aguilar said, adding that people should be able to come together and appreciate culture and heritage.<\/p>\n
Addressing backlash over Hollywood Bowl comments<\/p>\n
The conversation then turned to remarks Aguilar made during a recent performance at the Hollywood Bowl.<\/p>\n
During that speech, Aguilar told the audience, \u201cLet\u2019s do things legally,\u201d while discussing immigration. A clip of that moment quickly spread online and sparked backlash from some critics.<\/p>\n
During the interview, Mu\u00f1oz asked Aguilar directly what he meant by the comment.<\/p>\n
Aguilar responded by saying he believes in law-abiding communities but also believes immigration laws should change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to ask people to do things illegally,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n
He argued that the current immigration system makes it extremely difficult for many people to enter the United States legally.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible to do it legally,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cSo you need to change the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aguilar said he believes his comments were misunderstood or taken out of context.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that immigrants play a fundamental role in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI totally believe that immigrants make this country,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n
He added that immigrants deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should be treated as such with respect, with decency,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n
Aguilar also said immigration reform should focus on creating legal pathways for people who contribute to the country.<\/p>\n
He argued that continuing to rely on immigrant labor while maintaining laws that make legal entry extremely difficult creates contradictions within the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t change the laws and you keep on using people here, it\u2019s not coherent,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n
Keeping the focus on music and celebration<\/p>\n
Despite the controversy surrounding the Hollywood Bowl comments, Aguilar said he does not see himself as part of a political debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a politician,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a singer, songwriter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aguilar said his focus remains on music and the cultural celebration he plans to bring to Houston.<\/p>\n
He said he hopes fans attending the Rodeo show come ready to celebrate tradition, heritage, and community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here for everybody who wants to celebrate what we\u2019re celebrating,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cLife, music, heritage, brotherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aguilar is scheduled to perform during Go Tejano Day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the event\u2019s largest and most anticipated cultural celebrations.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON, Texas \u2013 As Pepe Aguilar prepares to take the stage at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2777,56,58,79428,57,30496,79427,79426,79425,78824],"class_list":["post-201446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-entertainment","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-livestock-show","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-rodeo","tag-immigration-reform","tag-mexican-music","tag-mexican-tradition","tag-pepe-aguilar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}