Shawn Mendes features Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Renata Flores in his LA performance

Canadian pop folk crooner Shawn Mendes performed at the Hollywood Bowl on October 17, and he featured Indigenous artists Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Renata Flores as guests.

During his performance of “Youth,” the 27-year-old moved to a stage in the middle of the crowd, where he invited Mexica environmental activist and hip hop artist Martinez and Flores from Quechua, Peru, to perform a mashup of their song “Sígueme” in front of a sold-out venue with almost 18,000 people in attendance. 

Five days before, Mendes also shared the stage with Tia Wood in Vancouver. 

Mendes commented before the on-stage collaboration that he has been spending time with many indigenous artists. He has been spotted spending time in Peru. 

Mendes did not specifically mention the wildfires or the immigration raids, but he did say that he knows Los Angeles has been going through a hard time, from the beginning of the year to especially now. 

Martinez and Flores finished their song by calling to the Indigenous people from north to south,  with Martinez saying, “our people have been here long before these borders.” They raised a red flag that read “LAND BACK,” as Mendes gently stepped to the side to give them space.