A star-studded roster of Latin music’s biggest names will gather in Miami next month for a global benefit livestream aimed at lifting up communities shattered by back-to-back devastating earthquakes across Venezuela and Colombia. Scheduled for August 16 at the Kaseya Center, the “Unidos por Los Nuestros” (United for Our Own) concert will bring together performers spanning multiple genres and nationalities, with all proceeds directed to both immediate humanitarian relief and long-term recovery projects.
What began as a relief effort focused solely on Venezuela expanded rapidly after a second major disaster struck neighboring Colombia in late July. The initiative was first launched in response to twin 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that hit northern Venezuela just 39 seconds apart on June 24, which killed at least 6,300 people. Just six weeks later, a 7.4-magnitude quake rocked western Colombia, leaving at least 181 people dead, more than 2,500 injured, and widespread destruction across hard-hit regions including the iconic salsa hub Cali. Organizers quickly moved to add Colombian survivors to the concert’s beneficiary list, uniting two affected nations under a single fundraising mission.
All funds raised through ticket sales and online donations will support a range of recovery priorities, from rebuilding destroyed homes and repairing damaged schools and community gathering spaces to providing dedicated support for children and access to critical mental health services. Five respected international nonprofits — All Hands and Hearts, CARE, Global Empowerment Mission, Techo, and World Central Kitchen — will manage on-the-ground implementation of the programs. Marc Anthony, the multi-Grammy Award-winning artist whose Maestro Cares Foundation co-administers the concert funds alongside the Univision Foundation, emphasized that collective action to support people facing crisis is a shared global responsibility. Anthony, who previously led fundraising efforts after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, noted, “The need is immense.”
For Venezuela, the benefit concert arrives at a critical juncture, as global public and media attention has already started to fade from a humanitarian crisis that experts warn will last for years. Rodner Figueroa, co-founder and vice president of the I Love Venezuela Foundation, a partner of Global Empowerment Mission, explained that sustaining awareness and funding remains the biggest ongoing challenge. “The need in Venezuela continues to be at a scale that is unbelievable,” Figueroa said, adding that six weeks after the quakes, tens of thousands of displaced survivors still lack adequate housing, clean drinking water, sanitation infrastructure, and ongoing medical care, with many searching for missing loved ones without any official government support.
The concert lineup features dozens of prominent artists drawn from across Latin America, including Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Chayanne, Feid, Jay Wheeler, Piso 21, Gente de Zona, Elena Rose, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ricardo Montaner, Mau y Ricky, and Olga Tañón. The roster spans iconic salsa, reggaeton, and pop acts, with performers hailing from Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Medellín-born urbano artist Feid, who committed to the fundraiser before the Colombian earthquake struck, has already mobilized his more than 14 million Instagram followers to back relief efforts for his home country. A host of prominent Latin television personalities, journalists, and public figures will co-host the event, including legendary “Sábado Gigante” host Don Francisco and former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres.
The 6 p.m. ET show will be broadcast live globally across multiple platforms, including Univision, ViX, WAPA, TelevisaUnivision radio stations, iHeartLatino, and Venevision Play for audiences in Venezuela. Viewers can make direct donations during the broadcast by scanning an on-screen QR code, texting the code UNIDOS to 707070, or visiting the official Univision donation website.
“Unidos por Los Nuestros” is not the only major benefit event planned for earthquake recovery. A separate high-profile benefit concert led by renowned Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel is scheduled for August 23 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, marking Dudamel’s final performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic before he takes up leadership of the New York Philharmonic. That event, titled “A Concert for Venezuela,” will feature guest artists including Beck, Natalia Lafourcade, and Carlos Vives, with proceeds going to recovery funds managed by the United Nations Development Programme and the CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. Additional independent relief efforts have already launched across the global music community: Venezuelan band Rawayana founded Fundación El After to support affected young people shortly after the Venezuela quake, Colombian superstars including Shakira, Karol G, Ryan Castro, and J. Balvin mobilized massive social media support for Colombian relief immediately after their country’s quake, and Metallica’s charitable foundation donated $100,000 to Venezuelan relief efforts through humanitarian organization Direct Relief.