Mana Tour 2015: Mexican Rockers Award $250,000 to Hispanic Scholarship Fund Ahead of US Tour
Mexican rock band Mana wants to encourage its fans to stay in school.
The band, which starts a U.S. tour June 10, presented a $250,000 check to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) on behalf of their tour sponsor Montejo beer, Billboard reports.
Although Mana's drummer Alex Gonzalez and guitarist Sergio Vallin never graduated high school, they still tell their fans to stay in school.
"Every time we meet kids who want to be musicians, we tell them that we worked our [butts] off to achieve what we have," Gonzalez said in a phone interview with Billboard. "It's a risk not having a high school education because you can't get a job."
"We think education is so important," he added. "Everything starts from there."
Since its founding in 1975, the HSF has awarded more than $470 million in scholarships to over 57,000 students, according to its website. More than a third of these students were the first in their families to attend college.
"We've always been an active band, be it for the sake of the environment or helping Latinos in the United States," Gonzalez said. "We are honored and excited ... about this opportunity to give Latino kids an education."
Montejo has made a "significant investment" in its partnership with Mana, a brand spokesman told Billboard.
According to the HSF Facebook page, Mana will recognize HSF Scholars and Alumni during their U.S. tour.
Mana's tour will be focused on their new album "Cama Incendiada." The album is currently in its second consecutive week on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.
Mana played a concert at Rock in Rio on May 8 but did not perform any songs from their new album. The U.S. tour will hit 14 cities, beginning with San Diego, and will go through July
Gonzalez said that his band appreciates the sponsorships for keeping prices low and for great shows.
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