Carlos Santana and Becky G address ICE fear on new collab 'Mi Gran Amor'

A song built around an urgent reality

Carlos Santana and Becky G released their new collaboration 'Mi Gran Amor' on May 28, and the pan-Latin rock track is as much a political statement as it is a song. Written and produced by Edgar Barrera, the track pairs Santana's guitar work with Becky G's vocals to address the fear and family separation that immigration enforcement has brought to Latin communities across the United States. According to Billboard, the release dropped at 8 p.m. ET that Thursday.

The song's central lyric cuts straight to its theme: Becky sings 'Migra, mi gran amor se fue por culpa de la migra,' using the colloquial Spanish term for U.S. immigration authorities including ICE.

Three generations, one message

The collaboration brings together three Mexican and Mexican-American artists from different points in Latin music history. For Carlos Santana, the goal was to make his instrument carry the emotional weight of the subject. 'As always, I want my guitar, the melodies, to sound and feel like a universal hug,' Santana told Billboard by phone from Detroit. 'Now more than ever in this planet, we need unity, harmony and oneness.'

Becky G, who was born in the United States, was candid about the limits of her own perspective. 'In all honesty, I think it was first and foremost accepting my privilege,' she said. 'As someone who was born here in the States, I will never truly understand what it is to walk those steps.' She described her approach as allowing herself to be 'a vessel for those voices that can't speak up right now.'

Personal origins for the songwriter

For Barrera, the song began in a specific moment. He says he started writing 'Mi Gran Amor' in McAllen, Texas, after learning that a friend had been detained by ICE that same morning. He also announced that he plans to donate all royalties he earns from the song to families impacted by ICE detentions in the border region, including for legal support.

'Right now the world needs more songs with purpose,' Barrera said. 'This is the reason why we wrote this song, to help those people that don't have the voice.'

What else is Santana working on?

'Mi Gran Amor' is the third single tied to Santana's forthcoming album, following collaborations with Grupo Frontera on 'Me Retiro' and Carín León on 'Velas.' He is currently on the road with the Doobie Brothers on his Oneness Tour, and will also perform a Las Vegas residency run titled An Intimate Evening With Santana: Greatest Hits Live later this year.

'Santana is a force that speaks way beyond politics or religion,' he said. 'It's a unifying frequency.'