On August 16, Plácido Domingo received the Premio Batuta at the Arena Ciudad de México.

The award was given to Domingo following a concert that he gave at the theater. In Domingo’s presence was director of the Conservatorio Nacional de Música, David Rodríguez De La Peña, director de la Orquesta Clásica de México, Carlos Esteva, y el director of coros y orquesta, René Platiní Godínez Castro.

The award, which was a plaque and baton, was given in recognition of Domingo’s work in classical music as a singer and orchestra director.

The recognition comes as Domingo is in the midst of a scandal in which Argentine law enforcement captured audiotapes during a raid to dismantle a criminal sect that showed Domingo making a deal with one of the leaders of the organization. Since the audiotapes were revealed, Argentine Commissioner Ricardo Juri has made it clear that the singer is not being investigated because he is not part of the criminal sect. Juri said, “what is interpreted in the investigation is that they wanted to capture him through music, they knew that there was going to be a recital in April and, as a result, they did some errands to contact him. He communicated with Mendy, whom he had known for many years and they have met a couple of times.”

The scandal has brought renewed attention to the 2019 allegations of sexual misconduct. Domingo has yet to release a statement regarding the audiotapes and continues performing. He next takes the stage of the Arena di Verona.