The Chicago Bears gave Monday Night Football a pregame look that had plenty of people talking before the first snap even happened. At Soldier Field, the team’s Latino Heritage Month celebration turned the national anthem into something fans hadn’t seen there before: a mariachi performance.
Mariachi Herencia de México, a Chicago-born, two-time Latin Grammy-nominated group, handled the anthem before kickoff against the Philadelphia Eagles. According to ABC7 Chicago, it was the first time a mariachi band performed that role at Soldier Field. The group draws from musical traditions rooted in Guadalajara and Mexico City, and it has built its name on mixing classic mariachi with a more contemporary sound.
The Bears didn’t stop with the anthem. Two local students, Alison Segarra of Amundsen High School and Alejandro Gonzalez of Dundee-Crown High School, were honorary captains for the coin toss and were also recognized as Youth Leaders for Latino Heritage Month 2026.
Local artist Fedz, a Berwyn resident who moved from Zacatecas, Mexico, at age six, created the official game day poster. A Bears design coordinator said the pick reflected his range and his pride in both his heritage and his city.
The night also included a halftime performance centered on the history of Latin music in Chicago, while fans entering the stadium received wearable “Vamos Bears” flags, supplies permitting.
Online, though, the anthem split people hard. Some viewers loved it and said it was one of the better versions they’d heard in years.
“It sounded phenomenal! Mariachi trumpet players do not miss.
If a beautiful rendition of the national anthem gets your blood boiling, that’s strictly a YOU problem. 🎺” one fan wrote. Another added, “NFL trolling MAGAs with a mariachi band doing the anthem in Chicago for MNF….btw that was awesome!”
Others were far less impressed. “The Chicago bears national anthem by a mexican mariachi is the most unamerican anthem ive ever seen,” one user claimed.
“Dumbest choice for national anthem in history, MNF, get the Blackhawks singer Chicago Bears,” another wrote, referring to Jim Cornelison, the singer Bears fans are used to hearing. One more post read, “Chicago Bears: ‘Let’s have Mexicans do the National Anthem on MNF,’”
The Bears have not commented on the reaction, and there’s no sign they plan to. What’s clear is that the team’s Latino Heritage Month night delivered a pregame moment that was anything but routine.
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