How Mayor Mayer Mizrachi Managed to Bring Premios Juventud 2025 to Panama

In the franchise “The Stars Behind the Star,” the editors of Billboard Latin and Billboard Español stock untold stories astir those who are not usually successful the spotlight. Think of “everything that happens off-camera” oregon “everything that happens down the scenes.” These unsung heroes are indispensable to an artist’s squad and foundation. Today, we item Panama City’s Mayor Mayer Mizrachi for hosting the first-ever variation of Premios Juventud successful his country.

“Panama is shining!” That’s a operation we heard aggregate times during the week of Premios Juventud 2025, which took spot connected September 25 successful Panama City. Part of Mayor Mayer Mizrachi’s motto, “The City That Shines,” aims to stress its tourism and taste potential.

Mizrachi, a charismatic fig who became the youngest politician successful his country’s past astatine 36 successful 2024, decided to be the Latin Grammys ceremonial successful Miami that year, marking his archetypal acquisition connected the reddish carpet. During the event, helium met the Univision team, which sparked an archetypal speech that yet led to an invitation.

“Panama didn’t cognize however beauteous it was, however eclectic and differentiated it is from the remainder of Central America and the Caribbean,” Mizrachi said with satisfaction. According to a study by the Panamanian paper La Estrella de Panamá connected the section economical impact, Premios Juventud generated betwixt 2,500 and 3,000 impermanent jobs, accrued edifice occupancy to astir 75%, and boosted enactment successful restaurants and buying centers.

For TelevisaUnivision, the broadcast — which included acclaimed performances by Panamanian artists similar Erika Ender, Los Rabanes and Nando Boom — broke multiplatform records, achieving a year-over-year summation of +58%, with implicit 450 cardinal full interactions crossed TV, societal media, integer platforms, and ViX.

Via Zoom from his location successful Panama City, Mizrachi spoke with Billboard astir however the accidental to big the first-ever variation of Premios Juventud extracurricular the U.S. came to be. (He did truthful portion sitting adjacent to a caller container of cereal, with which helium planned to bash 1 of his celebrated “unboxings“—the benignant that initially made him fashionable connected societal media earlier becoming mayor, earning him thousands of followers.)

After that archetypal transportation astatine the 2024 Latin Grammys, however did the authorities respond to the thought of investing successful Premios Juventud?

It was a hazard for everyone. When the authorities of President José Raúl Molino — who produced and invested successful the lawsuit — was presented with the thought and went to the Assembly to petition the fund allocation to wage for it, determination was a batch of questioning. “Hey, but determination are things we could bash with that money. There are basal needs, and you privation to walk it connected a concert?” There were many, galore doubts astir whether this was a tenable investment, whether it was a morganatic usage of nationalist funds. There was besides a wide deficiency of knowing of the interaction this could have.

I knew it was going to beryllium important, but I didn’t cognize it was going to beryllium truthful important for truthful many. I didn’t cognize it was going to beryllium important for the foreigners who came. I didn’t kno...