Manuel Turizo and Rigo Leon Are Bringing Latinx Art to the Golden Arches (EXCLUSIVE)

After ramping up their celebrity collaborations, McDonald's shows no sign of stopping.

Following their Cactus Jack stint with Travis Scott in December 2020, the fast-food giants are not taking a break, teaming up with J Balvin, BTS, and most recently, Saweetie, to bring the stars' favorite Mickey D meals to audiences nationwide.

But now, McDonald's is expanding its artistic collaborations even further, teaming up with a lineup of Latinx musical and visual storytellers to celebrate the culture and pride of the Latin community.

Colombian reggaeton singer Manuel "MTZ" Turizo and Cuban-born, Miami-based artist Rigo Leon Herrera are the first to kick off McDonald's Ritmo y Color experience, and Distractify got to speak exclusively with the Latin duo about their real-life and virtual collaboration, as well as what readers can expect to see next time they eat at the Golden Arches.

The idea of Ritmo y Color arose as an effort to inspire the Latin community and every community "of dreamers who are working to get ahead in life."

"We want to be an inspiration to them," Manuel told us exclusively, explaining that his and Rigo's concept grew from a virtual online concert into a full-blown takeover of Miami's Little Havana McDonald's store. "McDonald's chose us to kick off the Ritmo y Color experience, which will later move to Houston and Los Angeles with other artists and musicians collaborating," the "Una Lady Como Tú" singer said.

Though this was Manuel's first time collaborating with a visual artist, the Colombian singer is used to working with other musicians and likes how teaming up with others gives him fresh ways to appreciate their craft. "Collaborations with writers, artists, and producers are all opportunities to learn new things, to get new perspectives, and to truly appreciate art," he explained.

For their McDonald's project, Rigo painted an entire set for Manuel's virtual concert, which the artist says took around 15 hours. "It was different from what we did at McDonald's, which was like wrapping the whole building up, inside and out," Rigo said. Anyone who visits Little Havana's McDonald's this summer will be treated to Havana Dreams, a visual explosion of bright colors in the Miami-based muralist's signature style.

But for the virtual show, Rigo painted the entire set by hand, as opposed to printing on vinyl. The set for MTZ's concert — which audiences can enjoy on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. by visiting ritmoycolormcd.com — features subliminal messages that are meaningful to the pair.

"The messages in the paintings, in the collaboration of the music, and the meanings of what [Rigo] did on the paintings is something special that we want to do for the Latin people, for everyone working to keep growing, to keep pursuing their dreams," Manuel gushed.

For Rigo, the Aug. 29 experience "is not just a concert."

"It also tells the story of Manuel and the collab," the artist teased. Viewers "will see us apart and then together," and will be invited to see how the two combined forces to "make it happen."

Before parting ways, we asked the Latinx artists about their go-to McDonald's orders, and what they would propose if the Golden Arches approached them for a signature meal.

"For me, it would be the Egg McMuffin Turizo," Manuel immediately replied. As for Rigo? "An order of McRigo Nuggets," he joked.