Muting the music of mayhem in Mexico
Mexico is as famous for its drug violence as it is for its tequila these days. As the country continues its bloody battle against the powerful drug cartels in the region, the popularity of some of the cultural facets that surround the drug trade are dropping.
The whiskey is flowing at La Cantina when Calor Norteña kicks out the accordion jams for a homage to gangster Arturo Villarreal, who rose from drug cartel protege to crime boss in a six-year reign of mayhem and murder, writes Richard Marosi from Tijuana.
"The law calls me a dangerous [criminal] so don't dare take me on because I have bullets to spare," the band members sing, as beer-swilling youths shout and long-nailed women twirl on the dance floor.
Since drug traffickers set foot in this border city, Mexican musicians have strummed along, chronicling their exploits in the traditional polka-based rhythms of the corrido. The sub-genre has been a soundtrack for the city, with bands like Calor Norteña sprinkling their repertoires with tunes about the city's most feared gunmen. But with drug war violence and kidnappings escalating, the narcocorridos are losing their swagger.
Radio stations have stopped playing the songs and promoters have banned the music from many public events. Nightclub owners ask bands to turn down narcocorrido requests. At the cavernous Las Pulgas nightclub downtown, managers banned the music two months ago -- a decision tantamount to West Hollywood's Whisky A Go-Go banning heavy metal hair bands in the 1980s.
For more on Mexico's drug trafficking problems click here.
Photo: Alfredo Madrigal, a member of Herederos de la Frontera, plays accordion for admiring fans at the Baby Rock club in Tijuana. His group specializes in traditional Norteño-style ballads. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times
