narco corrido
Luis R. Conriquez, one of the most popular singers of corridos bélicos — songs often associated with glorifying drug cartels and violence — is making changes to his music after a chaotic concert in Mexico.
On Friday (April 11), Conriquez performed at the Feria del Caballo in Texcoco, State of Mexico, but things didn’t go as planned. Due to new government rules banning songs that promote violence in certain areas, Conriquez decided to leave narcocorridos out of his setlist. The result? Angry fans, booing, fights, and even destroyed property at the venue.
In a statement shared on his social media accounts the next day, Conriquez expressed regret over what happened and announced that he’ll be making significant changes to his lyrics moving forward.
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“My fans are the most important thing to me — I owe them everything. But as an artist, I must follow the new rules the government has set regarding corridos,” he said.
He also asked his audience to understand his decision, saying he’ll continue focusing on his passion for music despite these challenges.
Conriquez’s show took a turn for the worse during his performance at the palenque — a smaller, intimate venue typically seen at fairs. When Conriquez told the crowd there wouldn’t be any narcocorridos that night, people started booing and shouting. Videos posted on social media show fans growing more upset as he tried to explain the decision. Eventually, Conriquez decided to leave the stage, which led to chairs and objects being thrown in frustration.
The ban on songs that glorify violence was introduced on April 9 in Texcoco and two other municipalities in the State of Mexico — Metepec and Tejupilco. The new rule applies to fairs and mass events, with penalties of up to six months in jail for violations. The State of Mexico’s Security Department doubled down on this policy in a statement released Saturday, urging local authorities to enforce the prohibition of such songs at public events.
This crackdown on narcocorridos isn’t limited to the State of Mexico. Other parts of the country are implementing similar measures, especially after a major controversy in March when the University of Guadalajara hosted a concert where images of a well-known drug lord were projected on stage. That incident led to the U.S. revoking the visas of the band involved, Los Alegres del Barranco. On April 11, the government of Jalisco proposed a new law allowing municipalities to regulate or ban songs that glorify violence at public or private events.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been pushing for a cultural shift in music. This week, the government’s Culture Department announced a binational contest called “México Canta,” which aims to encourage young artists — especially those making corridos tumbados, a trendy subgenre — to create songs without promoting violence or drug-related themes. The initiative comes as Mexico grapples with rising violence in certain areas.
For Conriquez, this new reality means adapting his music to comply with these rules, even if it upsets some of his fans. As he put it in his statement: “The unfortunate events last night put at risk not only the safety and lives of the audience, but also the integrity of my team and myself.” Despite the backlash, he says he’s determined to keep making music — just with a different approach.
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The U.S. State Department has canceled the work and tourist visas of the members of Mexican corrido group Los Alegres del Barranco after they displayed images of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” during a concert on Saturday (March 29) at an auditorium at the University of Guadalajara.
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The news was confirmed on Tuesday (April 1) by Christopher Landau, the Deputy Secretary of State, in a post on X.
I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences. A Mexican band, “Los Alegres del Barranco,” portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin “El Mencho” — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert… pic.twitter.com/neSIib7EC4— Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) April 2, 2025
“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” wrote Landau in his post. “A Mexican band, Los Alegres del Barranco, portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin “El Mencho” — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert in Mexico. I’m pleased to announce that the State Department has revoked the band members’ work and tourism visas. In the Trump Administration, we take seriously our responsibility over foreigners’ access to our country. The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.”
The State Department, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announced on Feb. 20 the designation of eight cartels and transnational organizations — including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel — as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).
Prior to Landau’s announcement, the concert had caused significant controversy and outrage in Mexico, which has long tried to curb the glorification of drug lords in popular Mexican music and narcocorridos.
The concert was condemned on Monday (March 31) by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. It prompted the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation for “glorification of crime.”
📢 Tras la proyección de imágenes en un concierto en Zapopan, que presuntamente hacían alusión a un personaje vinculado a un grupo criminal, la Fiscalía del Estado inició una carpeta de investigación. (1-3) pic.twitter.com/OU4R8EYr6q— Fiscalía del Estado de Jalisco (@FiscaliaJal) March 31, 2025
On Tuesday (April 1), the governor of Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, wrote in a post on X that his government supports the measures adopted by the University of Guadalajara to prevent criminal acts from being glorified at concerts, as occurred over the weekend at the Telmex Auditorium. The local leader said he signed an executive order to ensure that no singer or group with a history of endorsing criminal activity will perform at events linked to his government.
“Next week, I will introduce an initiative to ensure that, in any legally sanctioned public event, producers and performers are held accountable for what happens during their shows, and no one can wash their hands of responsibility,” Lemus announced.
Los Alegres del Barranco were scheduled to play shows in several U.S. cities, where the band was announced as part of the lineup for the Bésame Mucho festival April 5 in Austin, Texas. In a TikTok livestream on Tuesday, Pavel Morales, a member of the Sinaloan group, stated that the majority of their audience supports them and referred to their critics as “confused.”
Billboard Español reached out for comment to the band’s reps, but hasn’t received a reply by press time. Meanwhile, authorities from the municipality of Pedro Escobedo, in the Mexican state of Querétaro, confirmed on Tuesday that the group’s scheduled performance for April 19 was canceled because “it does not meet the necessary municipal permits for its realization,” the local government said in a statement on Tuesday.
The projection of the controversial images took place during a concert titled “Los Señores del Corrido” at the Telmex Auditorium, where Los Alegres del Barranco performed the song “El Dueño del Palenque” (The Owner of the Palenque) and displayed on screen photos of the cartel leader, as well as other images created by AI.
The images appeared on multiple videos on social media. They include the moments in which fans burst into cheers when the images of the cartel leader were shown, adding to the controversy.
In a statement, Auditorio Telmex Adistanced itself from the events, arguing that the venue “has no influence on the selection of the repertoire, speeches, or audiovisual material that artists decide to share with their audiences.” However, it acknowledged that the images of the kingpin could be considered an “exultation of crime.”
The controversy over the alleged tribute to the drug trafficker arises after information has surfaced over how the cartel uses clandestine ranches to recruit people through deceptive job offers, according to federal authorities and media reports. This followed the recent discovery of Izaguirre Ranch in early March in the municipality of Teuchitlán, where acts of torture and murder were allegedly committed, according to the Guerreros Buscadores collective.
🚨#AlertaADN¡Se cancela! El municipio de Pedro Escobedo, Querétaro, suspendió la presentación de “Los Alegres del Barranco”, prevista para el 19 de abril, tras la controversia por un homenaje a “El Mencho” en un concierto en Jalisco pic.twitter.com/ChxD61VNps— adn40 (@adn40) April 2, 2025
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