MEXICO
Page: 4
A Latin music executive accused of doing business with a concert promoter linked to Mexican drug cartels is now asking a federal judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that the indictment is unfairly vague and the sign of an eventual “sucker punch” by prosecutors.
Angel Del Villar, the CEO of Los Angeles-based Del Records, was charged in 2022 with violating a federal law that bars U.S. residents from doing business with known drug traffickers. Prosecutors say he repeatedly arranged concerts with a Guadalajara-based promoter who has ties to Mexican cartels.
But in a motion filed Thursday, Del Villar’s attorneys say the indictment failed to clearly state what aspects of that federal law he allegedly violated, leaving him unable to properly prepare a defense.
Trending on Billboard
“The purpose of an indictment is to protect individuals from government ambush,” writes Del Villar’s attorney. “A person whose liberty is at stake is entitled to know with certainty what offenses they are alleged to have committed [and] against what theories they must be prepared to contend.”
“The indictment here thwarts those goals,” Del Villar’s lawyers say. “Neither Del Villar nor his codefendants, upon reading it, can be sure from which direction the government’s attack will come — a sure setup for a sucker punch.”
Del Villar is represented by Drew Findling, a well-known criminal defense attorney for music industry figures. The Atlanta lawyer with has previously represented Gucci Mane, YFN Lucci and members of Migos in criminal cases; last year, he successfully defended Cardi B over a microphone-throwing incident in Las Vegas.
Founded by Del Villar in 2008, Del Records has grown into a top record company for Regional Mexican music. The label is home to música mexicana supergroup Eslabon Armado, whose global hit, “Ella Baila Sola” with Peso Pluma, became one of the biggest songs of 2023, as well as Lenin Ramirez and other chart-topping artists.
But in June 2022, Del Villar, 41, and chief financial officer Luca Scalisi, 56, and Del Records itself were all charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Passed in 1999, the law allows the U.S. to impose targeted sanctions on foreign individuals involved in the illegal drug trade and ban U.S. residents from doing business with them.
In Del Villar’s case, prosecutors claim that he repeatedly worked with Jesus Perez Alvear, a Mexican concert promoter who runs a company called Gallistica Diamente (Ticket Premier). The U.S. Treasury Department added Perez to the sanctions list in 2018, claiming he and Gallistica had helped cartels “exploit the Mexican music industry to launder drug proceeds and glorify their criminal activities.”
Prosecutors claim Del Villar and Scalisi used Perez to arrange four Mexican concerts for an undisclosed Del Records artist, then accepted nearly $200,000 in payments from him, all while clearly aware that Perez had been sanctioned. Charging documents cite a never-sent Del Records press release acknowledging that status, as well as private messages in which Scalisi noted that Perez was “under homeland security watch” and Del Villar was directly told that Perez was “a sanctioned US person.”
Two and a half years later – after the case was pushed back numerous times – both Del Villar and Scalisi are now pushing to dismiss the charges.
In his filing on Thursday, Del Villar’s attorneys argue that the indictment is not clear about which aspect of the Kingpin Act he was accused of violating. Is it a provision banning transactions related to a significant drug trafficker, or another one prohibiting transactions that seek to evade the law itself? Findling says prosecutors “do not specify.”
“It would be one thing had the indictment plainly set out the precise elements of [those separate provisions],” Del Villar’s attorney writes. “It would even be acceptable had the indictment set out facts that would make clear which provision was at issue. But it does neither.”
A response from prosecutors is due next month. If the case is not dismissed, a trial is tentatively scheduled for October.
Mexican influencer and singer Yeri Mua has signed a contract with Sony Music Mexico for the recording of her first album. The signing, exclusively announced by Billboard Español, comes after Mua released four songs in the last year that positioned her among the most influential urban artists of the moment. Previously known for her fashion, lifestyle and makeup […]
As a child, Vivir Quintana thought she could aspire to be anything but president of Mexico. “Back then I thought it was a job for men,” recalls the Mexican singer-songwriter, who now sings to the woman who could become on Sunday (June 2) the first female president of the Latin American country, framed for years by its machista culture.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Compañera Presidenta” is the song that Quintana composed in honor of Mexico’s potential first female president, a respectful letter to the two women leading the polls: candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, of the ruling Morena party, and Xóchitl Gálvez, the standard-bearer of the opposition alliance formed by the PRI, PAN and PRD parties.
[embedded content]
“Que no te duermas sin deberle la justicia a las madres que ahora buscan por ahí a sus hijas entre fosas clandestinas,” reads a fragment of her song, translating to “That you do not go to sleep without owing justice to the mothers who are now searching out there for their daughters among clandestine graves.” Released Monday (May 27) night, the song honors the tireless work done by Mexican mothers searching for their missing children among the nearly 100,000 unaccounted for since 1962, according to official figures.
Trending on Billboard
“The mothers who fight are the ones who have touched my life and my heart the most. I have been with them in public and intimate moments, feeling pain for all of them and crying out for justice,” Quintana tells Billboard Español.
The song arrives just days after the artist, originally from Coahuila, in northern Mexico, posted a message on her X account addressing both candidates where she asks them for empathy for causes such as gender violence. The response from the presidential hopefuls came just hours later on the same social network.
“Dear Vivir, dear companion. Your music moves and inspires me. Your call to work together gives me the certainty that Mexico can be a different country. A country where going out on the street is not a risk for women. A country where equality is not a claim but a palpable reality,” tweeted Galvez.
On the other hand, Sheimbaum responded: “Vivir, thank you for your letter. It is clear to me that I do not arrive alone, we all arrive; with our ancestors, with our mothers, with our daughters and our granddaughters. I will be a companion, with responsibility and sensitivity. I will be at the service of our generous and wonderful people.”
“I didn’t expect the response so quickly,” Quintana tells Billboard Español about the May 24 exchange. “The truth is that I was very hopeful about the response from both of them, and I hope that whoever is elected, I will accompany her with my music. Yes, I am being a supporter, but I also hope that it is a commitment on their part.”
The social-justice corridos singer explains that “Compañera Presidenta” (roughly translating to “Dear Madam President”) is her own composition, featured in the book Presidenta, by journalist Yuriria Sierra. In the book, Sierra brings together a hundred women from various fields including culture, politics, activism and economy, to share their hopes for the nation’s future with the next leader of the Federal Executive.
“My way of communicating with people, with my parents, with my friends, is through music,” explains Quintana. “That’s where the idea came from.”
With one album to her name, 2023’s Te Mereces Un Amor, Vivir Quintana has become a benchmark for social corridos, a fusion of traditional Mexican music with lyrics about societal issues. Her song “Canción Sin Miedo” (2020), inspired by the femicide of a friend, became the feminist anthem that accompanies all marches and demonstrations against gender violence in Mexico, and the struggle of searching mothers and defenders of human rights and the environment.
In addition, the song “Árboles Bajo el Mar,” which she performs as a duet with Mare Advertencia Lirika, was included in the soundtrack of the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. And her song “Te Mereces un Amor” was part of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s playlist to confront corridos tumbados, which he believes glorifies the opulent and eccentric lifestyles of drug traffickers to the youth.
Mexico will hold the largest general election in its history on Sunday, when more than 97 million Mexicans will go to the polls to vote for the renewal of just over 20,000 elected officials, including the country’s presidency.
Quintana says she will also make her vote count as a Mexican citizen. In addition to Sheinbaum and Gálvez, the standard-bearer of the Movimiento Ciudadano party, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, also aspires to be president of Mexico.
“I feel that Xóchitl (Gálvez) and Claudia (Sheinbaum) serve as referents, showing that there have been other female candidates before them, and that we are not far from it being achieved,” she says. “My 16-year-old niece can now dream of becoming a woman president. Let it not be seen as unattainable.”
The second (and last) day of the Tecate Emblema festival in Mexico City was all about female power, with Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado and Annita gracing the stage. The international superstars all sang and spoke in Spanish, conquering the almost 72,000 attendees that packed the Curve 4 of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Saturday (May […]
The first day of the Tecate Emblema festival in Mexico City on Friday (May 17) featured a lineup that was sonically broad and led mainly by women, bringing everything from electro-pop to hip-hop to the Curve 4 of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. As the icing on the cake at the fest, British star Sam Smith […]
The series of concertsthe Jonas Brothers were scheduled to perform in Mexico City and Monterrey this weekend and early next week have been postponed to August due to Nick Jonas‘ health issues. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Due to health issues, Nick Jonas is unable to offer […]
Madonna is performing a series of five concerts in Mexico City this week as part of her Celebration Tour, an occasion that the Queen of Pop has taken to reiterate her love for Mexican culture and one of its most iconic figures: the famous painter Frida Kahlo.
“As you know, I have a great history, a long history with Mexico,” the superstar said Saturday night at the Palacio de los Deportes during her performance of “Burning Up,” according to La Razón. “When I was a girl, I discovered Frida Kahlo. I went to the only museum that existed in Detroit, and there were Diego Rivera murals everywhere, but to be honest, I was more interested in a small picture in a corner, of a beautiful woman with her hair gathered in braids and intense eyes.”
Previously, Madonna met with the Kahlo family on Thursday at their home in the city neighborhood of El Pedregal, and wrote an emotional dedication in the guest book expressing she was inspired by the iconic painter, who she considers to be her “soul mate,” reported Mexican newspaper Reforma.
Trending on Billboard
Just as she’s been doing at different stops on her tour, the Material Girl has had special guests in Mexico during the performance of “Vogue” to judge a handful of dancers in a dance competition. On Saturday, at the first of her shows at the Palacio de los Deportes, she had Mexican comedian Guillermo Rodriguez, known as Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick on ABC’s late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“When you go to a Madonna concert and she CALLS YOU UP ON STAGE!!!,” says a shared post from Rodriguez and Kimmel on Instagram with a video of the moment in the show.
The second guest was Cuban actor Alberto Guerra, who lives in Mexico. He shared the moment on his social media, along with some snapshots to immortalize the moment. “Thank you Madonna, for giving me the memory of a night that will live forever in my heart,” the actor wrote in English on Instagram.
On Tuesday (April 23), the surprise guest was Mexican influencer Wendy Guevara, a trans actress who won Televisa’s reality show La Casa de los Famosos in 2023, and who was greeted with cheers from the audience when she got onstage. “And a dream come true,” Guevara captioned a photo of her with Madonna on Instagram.
Madonna’s final performances in Mexico City are on Wednesday and Friday. It’s unknown if she will have more guests at press time.
Bobo Producciones, the production and promotion company that for the past few years has produced the successful “90’s Pop Tour” in Mexico and the United States, this week expanded and launched new management, A&R and marketing departments in addition to a record label: Bobo Music.
“We are very excited about everything that is coming this year for our company. We continue to look for opportunities and expand strategically, especially in the Latin market in the United States,” Ari Borovoy tells Bilboard Español. The former member of pop group OV7 — which had its heyday in the 1990s — heads Bobo along with his brother, Jack Borovoy and Sonia Salvador.
For its expansion, the company brought in veteran music industry executives, including Humberto Calderón, who has headed marketing and A&R at BMG and Universal Music; Sabo Romo, the renowned musician, producer and founder of legendary rock band Caifanes; and Eliseo Reyna, who has been a key player in conceiving successful concept albums such as Rock En Tu Idioma and Rock En Tu Idioma Sinfónico.
Trending on Billboard
“Bobo’s strength and growth in Mexico, the United States, Spain and Latin America will be materialized with our offer of development and consolidation of artists,” says Calderón.
The team aims to develop new projects and expand marketing and production to strengthen the company’s work. Bobo has more than 15 years of experience in musical events and managing Mexican stars including Pedro Fernández, Lupita D’alessio and Sentidos Opuestos, among others.
The company’s most recent success is the 90’s Pop Tour, which last year toured 10 cities in the United States and Mexico, including a stop at Madison Square Garden. The tour has begun its sixth season, featuring Paulina Rubio on four dates, including a May 3 stop in Querétaro and another on May 18 in Mérida. The tour includes a cast of stars from the 90s, such as Caló, The Sacados, Magneto, Kabah, JNS, Ana Torroja, Mercurio and Sentidos Opuestos. In addition to performing their beloved hits that made history in Spanish language music, they also collaborate on new versions with their colleagues.
Blink-182 fans in Mexico held on to hope that the rock band’s bassist, Mark Hoppus, could overcome his health problems and perform the concerts scheduled for this weekend in the capital city. However, the medical diagnosis said otherwise and the cancellation was inevitable: Out of a total of four performances, they were only able to offer one.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Dear fans, sadly, Blink-182 shows on April 5 and 6 at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City have been cancelled due to illness,” said promoter Ocesa in a statement on Friday (April 5), two days after the trio also comprised by Tom DeLonge (vocals and guitar) and Travis Barker (drums), had already canceled one performance after offering an energetic show the previous night (April 2) at the same venue, which represented their long-awaited return to the country after a 20-year absence.
“We don’t take canceling lightly. We know people booked flights, hotels, made plans, got babysitters… We had multiple lengthy discussions all morning within the band, with promoters, managers. We tried moving the date, tried every possible solution, but this is the reality. We appreciate your understanding and support,” Hoppus wrote on his Discord account on Wednesday.
Trending on Billboard
“For me and my illness, I have seen a doctor here and talked to my doctor back home. I am on multiple medications and have been in bed the past three days except to go to the show, and yesterday I was hoping it was just allergies… Saw docs, was told I had an acute infection in my throat and severe bronchitis. Got on meds immediately with the kind help of the local promoters and have been on treatment,” added the bassist, who fought a battle with cancer in 2021.
Promoter Ocesa said in a statement on Friday that refunds will be issued to ticket-holders of the cancelled shows. They said that for users who bought tickets online the refund will automatically be refunded on the card with which the purchase was made. If the purchase was made at the box office or Ticketmaster centers, refunds can be requested starting Monday (April 8) at the place of purchase.
In mid-2021, Hoppus revealed that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma. Months later, he declared on Instagram that he was “cancer free”. Last weekend, Blink-182 performed at the 2024 Pa’l Norte Festival held in Monterrey, Mexico, in front of an audience of 85,000 in a moment that Hoppus shared on the same social network.
On Monday (April 1), Interpol announced a free concert at Mexico City’s Zócalo slated for April 20. It will be, according to a press release, the biggest show the New York band has ever played in their career.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“We are absolutely electric with excitement to announce that we will be playing a free concert for our Mexican fans — and fans from all over for that matter — at the Zócalo in the heart of Mexico City on Saturday April 20, 2024,” the band wrote on their social media in both English and Spanish. “It’s a dream for us to be able to perform in such an iconic and historic setting! We are gonna give it some ganas, so be there or be square as they say. More information to follow soon.”
https://twitter.com/Interpol/status/1774851731114905612
The announcement was also made by the government and the secretariat of culture of Mexico City in a press conference and on social networks, causing excitement among fans online. “On Saturday, April 20, the Zócalo welcomes Interpol, a post-punk band formed by Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler and Sam Fogarino,” the post reads. “Come sing iconic songs of this New York band like ‘C’mere’ or ‘Evil’ in the Zócalo.”
Trending on Billboard
This is the second massive show announced so far this year in the Primer Cuadro of the city, following Mexican-American artist Julieta Venegas’ gig on March 16 to commemorate International Women’s Day, when she drew some 80,000 fans to the venue, according to figures from the capital’s authorities.
Interpol’s show in the Zócalo was a rumor that circulated for at least two years, when the group came to the Mexican capital to promote their 2022 album The Other Side of Make-Believe, and even visited the Museum of Mexico City.
“The concert will be an opportunity for Interpol to give back to their long and dedicated Mexican fan base for their unconditional support over the years,” the band’s press office in Mexico said in a statement, referring to the performance as “the biggest show of their career.”
Mexico City’s Zócalo, where international artists such as Paul McCartney, Rosalía and Roger Waters have performed, is the country’s main public plaza, and the second largest in the world after Tiananmen Square in Beijing. So far, the group with the largest attendance in the Zócalo has been the Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, which in June 2023 gathered 300,000 concertgoers, according to official figures, taking the record away from Mexico’s Grupo Firme, who in September 2022 gathered 280,000.
Interpol, the trio formed by Paul Banks (vocals and guitar), Daniel Kessler (bass) and Sam Fogarino (drums), has found its most loyal audience in Mexico. Banks, who lived and studied in the Mexican capital many years ago when his father, a top executive in the automotive sector, was temporarily transferred to Mexico, has talked about the loyalty of the band’s Mexican fans on several occasions.
The “Evil” and “Obstacle 1” musicians have headlined festivals such as Corona Capital Mexico City in 2019 and Corona Capital Guadalajara in 2023. Last year, they participated in The World Is a Vampire festival alongside the Smashing Pumpkins at the Foro Sol in the Mexican capital. A year earlier, they performed a concert at the Palacio de los Deportes to present their album Marauder.
Formed in New York in 1997, Interpol quickly rose to fame with their unique blend of post-punk, shoegaze and dark wave influences. Their debut album, Turn on the Bright Lights (2002), was critically acclaimed, establishing the band as a major force in alternative music. Over the course of their career, Interpol has released seven studio albums, including The Other Side of Make-Believe.