On 1 March 2026, Grupo Modelo – the Mexican subsidiary of AB InBev, the world’s largest beer producer – staged a free Shakira concert in Mexico City’s Zócalo to mark Corona’s 100th anniversary. An estimated 400,000 people attended what was, in substance, one of the largest single-occasion alcohol marketing events in Latin American history – produced with the full logistical backing of the Mexico City government and broadcast live to millions more.
Corona and Grupo Modelo framed the event as a “gift to the Mexican people” – a gesture of gratitude for a century of consumer loyalty. The Mexico City government co-organised the concert, providing security, street closures, sanitation, and emergency services for one of the largest public gatherings the capital has ever seen. Officials insisted no public funds were used to pay the artist or production costs; Grupo Modelo covered the bill.
But the framing is misleading. A free concert headlined by one of the world’s biggest pop stars, staged in the country’s most iconic public space, with government cooperation and massive media coverage, has nothing to do with generosity. The Zócalo event was a massive advertising operation dressed up as a cultural event. It was the culmination of a year-long centenary campaign that included the Corona Capital music festival – now in its 15th year – and the newly launched Corona Capital Sessions concert series, which brought branded events to Guadalajara, Mérida, and Monterrey. Together, these form a marketing infrastructure that embeds the Corona brand in the cultural fabric of Mexican entertainment – especially for young audiences.
400,000 People, Zero Age Verification
The Zócalo concert was free and open to all. There were no tickets, no age restrictions, and no gatekeeping. According to press reports, the crowd ranged from families with small children to teenagers and young adults. Publimetro described the audience as spanning “young people, adults, and families.” Corona Capital – the festival whose branding the concert extended – is listed as an all-ages event. The festival itself is explicitly described as “aimed at a younger audience” than its main competitor, Vive Latino.
The youth exposure dimension is critical. Mexico has a serious adolescent alcohol problem. Research conducted in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area found that 59% of adolescents aged 12–17 had used alcohol, rising to 82.5% by age 17 (Borges et al., 2014). Mexico’s national survey on drug, alcohol, and tobacco use (ENCODAT 2016–2017) showed that episodic heavy alcohol use among the general population nearly doubled between 2011 and 2016 – from 12.3% to 19.8% (Villatoro-Velázquez et al., 2017). Beer – Corona’s category – is the most commonly consumed type of alcohol among Mexican adolescents, and commercial access remains widespread despite a legal purchasing age of 18. The Borges et al. study found that over a third of 12-year-olds in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area had already used alcohol in their lifetime, and the researchers concluded that prevention efforts must begin in late childhood (Borges et al., 2014). More recently, Movendi International reported that alcohol initiation among young people in some Mexican states has risen sharply – from 40% prevalence to 60% in the state of Baja California alone – and that early onset of alcohol use is a major driver of liver disease, cancer, alcohol use disorder, and other harm later in life.
Into this context, AB InBev injected an event specifically designed to generate mass brand exposure across all age groups, with no safeguards against youth participation.
What the Research Says
The evidence on alcohol marketing and youth alcohol use is unambiguous. Four systematic reviews conducted between 2009 and 2017, covering 64 longitudinal studies, concluded that exposure to alcohol marketing is associated with earlier initiation of alcohol use and increased consumption among young people (Jernigan et al., 2017). A 2020 review in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs went further, concluding that the evidence meets the scientific threshold for a causal relationship – alcohol marketing does not just correlate with youth alcohol use, it drives it.
Music sponsorship is among the most effective tools in this arsenal. According to research published in Addiction, the alcohol brands that sponsor the most events – particularly in music, sports, and entertainment – are also the most popular among young people under the legal purchasing age, with the heaviest sponsors outpacing others by a factor of ten (Siegel et al., 2014). A study on Guinness-sponsored music festivals in Nigeria documented a strikingly similar model: the fusion of free music, celebrity performers, and alcohol promotions created environments that actively encouraged excessive alcohol use among young attendees.
The World Health Organization classifies comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing – including sponsorship – as a “best buy” policy intervention for preventing and reducing alcohol harm. The WHO notes that sponsorship of events can “significantly increase awareness of [alcohol] brands to new audiences” and that young people and people who use alcohol at high-risk levels are disproportionately targeted. In 2025, a working group convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that there is “sufficient evidence that strong bans on alcohol marketing lead to a reduction in alcoholic beverage consumption.”
Selling Beer as National Identity
Grupo Modelo, fully owned by AB InBev since 2013 in a $20.1 billion acquisition, controls over 60% of the Mexican beer market. However, AB InBev faces declining volumes in many markets, due to a generational shift away from alcohol among younger consumers, and growing public awareness of alcohol harm.
The centenary campaign serves a defensive commercial purpose. By embedding Corona in Mexican national identity – through the Zócalo, through partnership with government, through the language of cultural heritage – AB InBev constructs a narrative in which the beer brand and the nation are inseparable. The company’s own press materials describe Corona as “a symbol of national identity and Mexican pride” and speak of “consolidating the historical relationship with consumers.” The effect is to make future public health regulation, particularly marketing restrictions or more ambitious alcohol taxation, feel like an attack on Mexican culture rather than a defence of public health.
The playbook is global. AB InBev has used cultural embedding strategies in Brazil, Colombia, Nigeria, and South Africa– always packaging aggressive commercial expansion as national celebration, cultural partnership, or community investment.
Government as Co-Promoter
The role of public authorities deserves scrutiny. Mexico City’s government co-organised the concert, with Mayor Clara Brugada publicly celebrating its success. President Claudia Sheinbaum praised the event from the National Palace. The Zócalo – one of Latin America’s most significant civic spaces – was effectively converted into a corporate promotional venue, with the state providing the infrastructure.
The regulatory implications are stark. A government that co-hosts a beer brand’s marketing event cannot credibly claim to regulate that same industry in the public interest. The WHO has consistently warned that alcohol industry involvement in policy spaces creates conflicts of interest, and the same logic applies when government becomes an active participant in alcohol marketing. Mexico’s national alcohol regulations remain among the weakest in Latin America, with no comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, promotion, or sponsorship – exactly the policy gap AB InBev exploits.
The AB InBev concert exposed 400,000 people – including many children and young people – to a nationally televised, government-endorsed alcohol marketing event with zero safeguards against youth participation.