Mexican Fans Enraged By Ban On Cartel-Glorifying Songs

Enraged fans forced a popular Mexican singer to flee during a concert Saturday after he told them he would reluctantly comply with a government ban on songs that venerate drug cartels, Billboard reported.

Performing in Texcoco, 15 miles outside Mexico City, Luis R. Conriquez told the audience that he was prohibited from singing his songs celebrating the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel and said that, while the law must be respected, he felt bad he couldn’t sing what the crowd wanted to hear.

The crowd responded angrily, booing the band, throwing objects and drinks at them, and jumping on the stage to destroy instruments and equipment.

The incident follows the increased enforcement of rules that target a controversial sub-genre of music known as “narcocorridos,” which glorifies the activities of Mexican drug cartels and has become popular on digital platforms.

Narcocorridos are banned in multiple Mexican states, such as Nayarit, Baja California, Chihuahua, and Quintana Roo. The State of Mexico’s Security Department over the weekend urged local authorities to enforce the ban on narcorridos at public events.

The US State Department revoked the work and tourism visas of the members of the Los Alegres del Barranco band in March after they displayed the picture of a prominent cartel boss, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” during a performance in the western state of Jalisco.

Oseguera is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and is wanted in both Mexico and the US. The Jalisco cartel is considered a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.

Afterward, prosecutors from the state of Jalisco launched an investigation, questioning band members about whether they were promoting violence, a crime punishable by up to six months in prison.

On April 11, Jalisco’s state government proposed a new law to allow municipalities to regulate or ban narcocorridos altogether at public or private events.

Recently, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum launched a music contest “for peace and against addictions” to provide an alternative to the popular narcocorridos in Mexico and the US, CBS News explained.

Meanwhile, Conriquez said on social media that he regrets what happened and will make significant changes to his lyrics.