The first anniversary of the death of Miguel Rojas and Bernice Gilesboth photojournalists, gathered family, friends and colleagues in front of the Bicentennial Park in Mexico City. The collective Today We Are Everything For Miguel organized an “anti-concert” to demand answers after the death of the young people, caused by the fall of a metal structure in the Ax Festival Ceremony 2025. The main demand was clear: The families ask for justice and reject economic agreements with the responsible companies.
During the rally, Miguel Rojas’ father addressed those present and shared the dimension of the loss suffered: “A year ago, my son went out and did not return. That is something that no parent should have to experience, yet here we are. The most difficult thing about this year has been his absence, coming home and not seeing him come in, not listening to him, not sharing everyday life, that void is not filled. But I want to be very clear, what happened was not an accident, it was the result of a chain of decisions, of omissions, of errors that should never have happened and those decisions have those responsible. What hurts me most about this process is how slow it was. He was a journalist and died working, that should shake the entire country.”.
The group, made up of close friends of Miguel Hernández, read a manifesto in which they reiterated the demand to clarify the facts and point to those directly and hierarchically responsible. The family recalled that, after the accident, a group of lawyers approached them with the proposal to negotiate quick financial compensation. Both families rejected that route, prioritizing the truth and the search for justice, despite the pressure and emotional exhaustion caused by facing large companies in the music industry.
During the anti-concert on April 5, Miguel Rojas’ mother, Graciela, also spoke: “I am Graciela, I am Miguel’s mother, I am not a lawyer, I am not an activist, I am a mother. A year ago my son was taken from me. He was doing what he loved, doing his job as a journalist, and I ask myself, this is what the life of a child is worth in this country. Is this what the life of a journalist is worth? In Mexico it seems that yes, life becomes negotiable”.
The event closed with demands for better working conditions for music journalists and greater security for those attending mass and entertainment events.
On the other hand, Diana Rojas, Miguel’s older sister, said in an interview for No more that the Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office Initially, only the workers who installed the cranes were held responsible, exonerating higher management from blame. Later, the legal defense of the families managed to also charge others involved, bringing a total of eleven people named.
“I discovered that there is a chain of negligence, human errors that could be avoided, a total lack of knowledge about what to do in cases of this type. There were people who signed because they followed the security protocol and were not at the event. Always a priority over economic gains. That even though it was in the media, that everyone had their eyes on the case, they were blatantly lying,” he said.
