Global star Enrique Iglesias announced that he has dropped out of the Tecate Emblema Festival that’s being held at the at the Hermanos Rodrguez Autodrome in Mexico City.
The Spanish singer and songwriter, who was set to headline the first day of the event on Saturday, May 13, pulled out of the performance on doctor’s orders after coming down with pneumonia.
The Taking Back My Love star – who shocked his followers by kissing a fan during a meet and greet earlier this year – took to his social media platforms, just hours before he was to hit the stage at the two-day festival, to make the announcement.
‘Dear fans, much to my regret, it’ll be impossible for me to appear at the show tonight in México,’ read a statement in Spanish shared on Iglesias’s social platforms.
‘I have pneumonia and doctors have advised absolute rest and have forbidden me to get on an airplane.’
Iglesias continued, ‘I am frankly sad to cancel this show in a country that has given me so much. I hope to recover fast and be able to be with you all in full form soon.’
After scrambling to find some late replacements, the Mexican concert promoter OCESA revealed a group of artists who would fill in for the absence of Iglesias.
The 11th hour additions include Netflix’s Elite star Danna Paola, as well as Kabah, Magneto, Caló, JNS, The Sacados and Litzy, who all are part of the 90’s Pop Tour group.
The rest of the lineup remains unchanged with The Chainsmokers also serving as headliner for the first night of Tecate Emblema.
The other musical artists that are featured on the first day of the festival include One Republic, Melanie C, Belinda, Niki, Pabllo Vittar, The Driver Era and Alizzz.
According to the official Tecate Emblema page, OCESA also released a statement explaining that fans who bought their individual tickets for Saturday, May 13 could access the event tomorrow, or if they preferred, they could receive a refund.
As for the second day of the festival, Robbie Williams and KYGO are the headlining performers, which takes place on Sunday, May 14.
The rest of the lineup for day two will also see Black Eyed Peas, Bizarrap, Camilo, Becky G, Roisin Murphy, Emilia, Lasso and Moenia, all take to the stage, among many others.
The cancelation of the show comes in the wake of the release Iglesias’ 11th studio album, Final (Vol 1), and ahead of the the upcoming Final (Vol 2).
The Final volumes are reportedly the last the Hero star will release in the traditional album form.
‘It might be my final album. It’s not something that I have been thinking about for the past few months. It’s something that I have been thinking about for the past few years,’ the Madrid, Spain native shared during an Instagram chat with Ricky Martin and Sebastian Yatra, as reported by The Reporter in September 2021.
‘There’s going to be Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, but they’re final. I’m in that moment in my life, that chapter in my life, where I think it’s the right time to put it out and I’ve been thinking about this since 2015.’
Despite the news, fans can be rest assured that Iglesias insisted he won’t stop making music altogether.
‘I’m never going to stop writing songs because I love writing songs, but I’m going to do it in a different way – meaning they don’t necessarily have to be packaged as an album – so this project to me is important,’ he explained at the time.
