Los Buitres de Culiacán, forefathers of the narcocorrido: ‘Imagine Peso Pluma singing purely romantic songs... that’s not him’

Los Buitres de Culiacán, forefathers of the narcocorrido: ‘Imagine Peso Pluma singing purely romantic songs...

that’s not him’ Eulogio Sosa, a member of the band, reflects on the controversy that has put the genre in the spotlight. He also acknowledges the widespread concern over the withdrawal of US visas from artists who sing these ballads It all started in a typical way: four guys in their twenties gathered in a Culiacán garage in the early 2000s, forming a small band. They gave their first concerts at small parties, playing for family and friends.



They always dressed in black, which is why they became known as Los Buitres (“The Vultures”). The band signed with a local record label and, a few years later, achieved success with love songs. One hit, however, stood out: No Tengas Miedo – “Don’t Be Afraid” – was part of the corridos alterados , the genre of Mexican ballads that contain explicit lyrics, heavily influenced by the violence of President Felipe Calderón’s War on Drugs (2006-2012).

These songs triumphed across the country, until the state of Sinaloa banned so-called narcocorridos. Just over 10 years later, however, the genre is back in the spotlight, for the umpteenth time. “We’ve already paid the price,” Eulogio Sosa chuckles, during a conversation with EL PAÍS.

He’s a musician with Los Buitres. The recent performance by another band, Los Alegres del Barranco, in the state of Guadalajara sparked controversy over the genre. The face of El Mencho – leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) – was projected on a wall.

And, in the city of Texcoco, located in the state of Mexico (Edomex), the area surrounding Mexico City, fans rioted when Luis R. Conríquez refused to perform his “war ballads.” Subsequently, the United States has revoked visas for Los Alegres, while several states in Mexico have begun banning and sanctioning artists of the genre.

The echoes resonated in the National Palace, where President Claudia Sheinbaum is trying to encourage artists not to glorify the narco world in their songs. Sosa reflects on this controversy and acknowledges that the threat of the United States withdrawing work visas, as happened to Los Alegres, has led bands to remove certain songs from their concerts. But as a result of this, as seen with Luis R.

’s concert, the audience reacted by throwing garbage at the stage. Question. Were you able to see the footage of Luis R.

performing in Texcoco? Answer. Yes, it was pretty big news. It surprised us.

People sometimes want to blame people: “Oh, it’s because they play [ narcocorridos ] and [those songs] cause that.” But that’s not what it is. Something the singer said triggered that reaction.

I felt like Luis R. was challenging the audience when he said, “There aren’t going to be any [corridos].” Q.

In the footage, it seems like the audience really wanted to hear his corridos...

A. Of course. If you buy a sports car, but then they tell you, “don’t speed, go slowly,” why would you buy one in the first place? If I’m going to listen to a singer who sings corridos and he doesn’t sing corridos , why did I pay? Obviously, the audience was upset.

I started to think: if you’re a corrido singer and they forbid you from singing corridos , well, it would have been smart for him to [consider] what he knows is going to happen. Q. What do you think about this controversy, after more than 20 years of performing? A.

Perhaps this [controversy] should happen now, because there’s very little regulation...

and not just in corridos . Reggaeton was at the top of the charts last year and the lyrics [in the genre] are very offensive. It’s a good time for the government to regulate this and I’ll include myself [in the process] if there’s something in any of our lyrics that needs to be changed, because that’s what the younger generations are listening to.

Q. But right now, the focus is on narcocorridos . A.

Corridos have always existed. We’ve already paid the price. When we created the corridos alterados movement, [our songs] were also banned.

Q. There have been many reactions following what happened to Los Alegres. Many states are proposing sanctions on the musical genre and revoking licenses.

A. I see these [restrictions] as being positive. I feel that there needs to be more regulation.

Too much music is created every day. Of all of us in regional Mexican music, I think 80% of us sing corridos . The problem is the lyrics you’re going to use in your particular corrido , how you’re going to express yourself.

It’s almost like a means of communication, where we share stories...

but you have to know which stories to share and how to tell them. Q. It feels like the same controversy as a few years ago, when the popularity of these ballads surged.

A. It’s exactly the same, but it’s already gone beyond the limits of where it reached [at the time]. It’s reached the president’s ears.

With the corrido alterado movement, it didn’t reach the top. The ban is useless. The more you prohibit it, the more people will consume it.

[10 years ago], corridos were banned in [public spaces in the state of] Sinaloa. So, people would drive around in their pickup trucks and stand outside the governor’s house, blasting corridos . Because you can ban them on the street, but not in a pickup truck.

Q. The Sheinbaum administration claims it wants to encourage other types of lyrics, but not ban the genre. A.

That’s fine, but only to a certain extent. I don’t think corridos can be banned. There are ballads dedicated to Pancho Villa.

Are you going to ban him? He was part of Mexico’s history. I’ve always defended this idea [of moderating tone and lyrics]: it’s the way in which you sing. Imagine Luis R.

, Peso Pluma, or Natanael singing romantic songs, or cumbia. That’s not who they are. They’d ruin their careers.

It’s not that you shouldn’t sing corridos , but you have to moderate the way you sing them. [You cannot be] too explicit. At the moment, the lyrics [in the genre] are very grotesque, very vulgar.

Los Buitres have it all. When the corrido alterado movement began, we sang [these types of ballads] because people asked for them. This past weekend, though, we tried not to sing corridos .

Nobody booed. [But] we’re also talking about a process that took many years. Q.

Can this kind of government initiative stop narcocorridos ? A. Not as such. But the commotion [that the genre is] creating is what will make the new generations think about what to compose.

New composers are going to think to themselves, “I can’t record this.” Q. Why do you think Los Alegres’ performance stirred up so much controversy? A.

I think it’s because of the speed of social media, but also because of pressure from the United States. The character they projected (El Mencho) is one of the most-wanted people out there. And what was the result? [The withdrawal of] their visas.

It was a big event, so people felt a little offended. In my opinion, they were wrong [to do it]. It was wrong and it’s affecting all of our colleagues.

Q. Do you think the withdrawal of U.S.

visas could be a problem for Mexican artists working in this genre? A. Of course. We’ve decided not to renew our work visas for the time being.

We’re afraid that just because one of us [did something], they’ll screw us all. And there have already been several cases of people whose visa renewals have been denied, or who’ve had to go through [a longer] administrative process, which can take up to two years. Q.

Junior H. didn’t sing corridos about drug traffickers during his performance at Coachella . Could this be for this same reason? A.

Yes. Definitely. Getting a U.

S. visa is hard..

. and it’s not cheap. My colleagues and I are currently trying to get work visas.

Q. Will you also stop singing corridos at your concerts? A. Our corridos are festive, such as Corrido del Tamarindo (2015), which is about one of the first YouTubers .

But if we have corridos that are going to offend anyone, they’re omitted from the show without a problem. We can do a set without corridos . Q .

Are we facing a crisis in the genre? A. We’re on a very thin line. It can affect us all if we don’t do our part.

This is a time to raise awareness...

and if we don’t do it, [restrictions] will be imposed on us. And then, this will affect and hurt us greatly. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo ¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción? Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro.

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