The world’s attention is on the 2020 presidential election that is set to happen on November 3, 2020. And this year, there is one particular group that may help decide who wins: Latinos. A record 31.6 million people who identify as Latino are eligible to vote in this presidential election, making Latinos the nation’s largest minority voter group for the first time, according to the Pew Research Center.

During this year’s Billboard Latin Music Week, one of its panels focused on educating and empowering the Brown generation about the importance of voting. Titled “Artists and The Vote,” the panel featured Becky G and Los Tigres Del Norte as they represented two different generations and music genres but yet were united by sharing similar stories about immigration and the right to vote. As a Mexican American singer, Becky G has never shied away from her roots. She uses her social media platforms not to only teach herself valuable information but also shares it with her fans. While on the other hand, for the past four decades, Los Tigres Del Norte has connected with their audience through their music and sharing stories that resonate with one another.

The “Artists and The Vote” panel started with each artist addressing the first time they realized how important it was for them to exercise the right to vote. “The first time one has the opportunity to vote is the moment one has received their papers and you have the opportunity to express yourself,” said Jorge Hernandez of Los Tigres del Norte. “I think that’s when you realize the importance it has to our community and to be able to bring the art of music and combine that by making every person who lives in this country exercise our rights.”

Hernan Hernandez of Los Tigres del Norte said “since Hispanics have become the largest minority, especially Mexicans due to how close our countries are, I think that if we unite and teach our children to vote, I think that will take us to a future where we’ll have the opportunity to outgrow that possibility and get to the point where we can imagine a Latino president.”

At just 23-years-old, Becky G expressed her gratitude to be a part of such an important panel and how this would be her second time voting during a presidential election. “I remember when I felt that my vote was most important when I had the responsibility of voting for the first time,” Becky recalled. “I thought of my grandparents who came from Mexico, and they got their papers and it was such a great achievement and accomplishment for them to have the right to vote. And that’s when I realized ‘wow, there are so many people who can’t vote’ and there are so many laws that affect them and they don’t have a voice. I need to go vote and not just me, but my entire family.”

During the conversation, Becky and Los Tigres also touched on the topic of immigration and the immigration reform that’s been fought for several years. Jorge and Hernan spoke on how they migrated into this country for a better life and suffered injustices as migrants in the 60s and 70s until they became citizens of the United States.

“The band [Los Tigres Del Norte] has always been involved with the community, we came here when we were very young and that taught us a lot about how to educate yourself, how to keep your values, especially when you want to achieve something for yourself and for others,” mentioned Jorge. “I think this makes us think about the injustices we go through as immigrants and our rights as a Latino community within these last four years. We want to change for the better not only for us but for the young people too.”

Hernan said “I think many of our songs talk about how great it feels to come to this country and help your people who are left behind in our native country, but we also talk about suffering once we’re here. I remember when we came here in 1968 and we were able to stay in the U.S., it was normal to miss your own country but at the same time we came here for a reason and that’s for a better life.”

Becky states that while her parents and herself were born in the United States, she considers herself one hundred percent Mexican. “Despite being Mexican American, my blood, my passion for my family, my art, my work, it’s part of everything I am and I love to have Mexican blood. My story is larger than myself. My story started long before me. When my grandparents came from Mexico, I always remembered their stories about getting deported and how many times they almost died because they crossed for wanting a better life. All those sacrifices would be such a shame for me to let it go to waste.”

The 23-year-old singer also shared a special message to the first-generation and second-generation Americans “pochos” who is often described as someone who speaks English but lacks fluency in Spanish. She adds, “really tap into your story. Know that you are a brand of the American dream that once started with your family and as it evolves, there comes a responsibility with that and it’s exercising our right to vote. Showing up for them, showing up for ourselves and it’s also showing up for the future generation.”

All in all, I enjoyed how this Billboard’s “Artists and The Vote” panel reflected on the current state of the Latino culture and while we are the majority during this presidential election, this shows how we can overpower any situation when we unite together as one.

If you would also like to learn more about voting during this presidential election, you can visit VotoLatino.org.