By Mitchell Ferman
The Monitor
Originally published Jan. 7, 2020
The city of McAllen paid singer Enrique Iglesias $485,000 for his performance at the city’s 2015 holiday parade, the city disclosed on Tuesday, ending more than four years of city officials keeping the contract private.
The contract also revealed that the city chartered a flight to fly in Iglesias from Guadalajara, purchased 24 hotel rooms for two nights and provided and paid for sound, lighting, special effects and a runway at the 2015 concert.
The release of the contract comes days after a new law went into effect following bi-partisan legislation that was voted through the Texas legislature in 2019. Before Senate Bill 943 became law on Jan. 1, a 2015 Texas Supreme Court decision allowed local and state officials to conceal from the public certain information about how taxpayer money was spent on outside contracts.