Argentine pop singer Yami Safdie will close the free concert series at UABC’s 27th International Book Fair on Tuesday, April 21, at the Unidad Deportiva Rubén Castro Bojórquez on the Mexicali campus. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m. The concert, like all FIL UABC events, is free and open to the public.
Safdie is one of several acts performing as part of the fair’s live music programming. Earlier concerts in the series feature Mexicali bands Marly Marly and Niño Viejo, along with Golden Ganga, a group known for blending reggae, hip hop, and jazz. The book fair itself runs for multiple days on the UABC Mexicali campus, combining literary panels, book sales, and cultural events with nightly concerts.
UABC’s Book Fair Has Run for 27 Years as Mexicali’s Largest Cultural Event
FIL UABC, or the Feria Internacional del Libro de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, is the largest annual literary and cultural festival in the Mexicali Valley. The university launched the fair in the late 1990s, and it has grown into a multi-day event drawing tens of thousands of attendees each spring. UABC, Baja California’s public state university, operates campuses in Mexicali, Tijuana, and Ensenada, but the book fair is centered on its Mexicali campus.
The fair typically includes publisher exhibitions, author readings, academic panels, children’s programming, and food vendors spread across the campus grounds. Free concerts on the outdoor stage have become one of the fair’s biggest draws. Past editions have featured regional and national acts, turning the event into something closer to a small festival than a traditional book fair.
Mexicali’s cultural calendar is thinner than Tijuana’s or Ensenada’s, which makes FIL UABC one of the few large-scale free events in the city each year. The Unidad Deportiva Rubén Castro Bojórquez, the sports complex where concerts take place, sits on the main campus near Boulevard Benito Juárez, one of the city’s central arteries.
Safdie Rose From YouTube Covers to Latin Grammy Nominations in Eight Years
Yami Safdie, 27, started uploading cover songs to social media from her hometown of Morón, a city in the western suburbs of Buenos Aires. Her first original single, “Tan Fuerte,” arrived in 2017, inspired by Argentina’s feminist movement. She signed with Warner Music Group in 2021 and released a string of singles including “Caminar Sola,” “Flashear,” and “Pa’ Quererme Así.”
Her breakout came in 2024 with “En Otra Vida,” a song about heartbreak and moving on that went viral on TikTok. By early 2025, she had collaborated with Mexican regional star Carin León on “Pero Yo Sí,” a track that has passed 6.3 million views on YouTube. Her catalog also includes features with Reik, Camilo, Lasso, and Italian star Laura Pausini, with whom she recorded a version of Joan Sebastian’s “Eso y Más.”
Safdie has earned nominations for a Latin Grammy, Premio Lo Nuestro, and Premios Juventud. Her sound blends pop, R&B, and trap, with lyrics focused on love, identity, and self-worth. For Mexicali audiences, the booking represents a notable get: Safdie is actively touring behind her growing streaming numbers, and the FIL UABC show is free.
Four Acts Across Multiple Nights on the Mexicali Campus
The FIL UABC concert lineup includes at least four acts spread across the fair’s run. Marly Marly and Niño Viejo, both from Mexicali, are scheduled to perform on an earlier date. Golden Ganga, a band from Monterrey with a following across northern Mexico, brings a reggae and hip hop fusion set. Safdie’s April 21 performance closes the series.
All concerts take place at the Unidad Deportiva Rubén Castro Bojórquez. No tickets or registration are required. The venue is an open-air sports facility, so attendees should prepare for Mexicali’s spring heat: evening temperatures in late April typically hover between 80°F and 90°F (27°C to 32°C).
For those driving from the Calexico border crossing, the UABC campus is roughly a 15-minute drive south along Boulevard López Mateos. Street parking is available around the campus, though lots fill quickly on concert nights. The university has not yet published a full schedule of literary programming for this year’s edition.
The Safdie concert on April 21 marks the final night of live music at the 27th FIL UABC. The fair’s full programming schedule is expected on UABC’s official channels in the coming days, as first reported by La Jornada Baja California.