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Narcocorridos go quiet
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Banned: Music that has been censored because of its “violence”
Funk in Brazilian prisons In early 2014 Brazilian authorities began an investigation in the prisons of the Brazilian state of Maranhão by the presence of funk popular among criminals who use that kind of music to reaffirm themselves against their enemies. These songs began
to transcend the prison walls and become popular at parties in nearby favelas, where criminals are supported by some communities. The musician MC Segal is one of those identified by the authorities.
This is a sight music fans won’t be seeing for a while, as El Komander has temporarily retired from the music industry / EL KOMANDER
Mexican music. The controversial Mexico drug war ballad genre has been silenced following pressure from the government, fearing that the music inspires violence. It’s a thorn in the side of authorities trying to end Mexico’s drug war: the popular Narcocorridos music genre generates millions in sales, but its songs brazenly romanticize narcotic smugglers, kingpins and the gory violence that goes associated with them. But it seems officials are winning the battle against the music. Its leading balladeer Alfredo Rios, aka El Komander, recently announced his temporary retirement from the music industry, after his music was banned in three states across Mexico, where local governments argue that his music “encourages antisocial behavior”. With his music threatened to be censored elsewhere, El Komander said,
in an exclusive interview with Metro, that “there cannot be a law that prohibited people to express themselves.” “The stories that I sing about are not from another planet; they are not brought from Mars, they are situations that are happening in my country, in my city. If they want to ban it now, we do not know where we will end afterwards,” said El Komander via telephone, adding that although he does not agree with the actions of governments, he is in no position to do anything about it. For Raul Benitez Manaut, sociologist and security expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, “censorship itself is an act of repression,” but admits that these songs “promote violence and drug use. They also praise to illegal forms of life, and speak ill of the authorities.” Although the narcocorridos derived from corridos, a style of ballad music that has a long tradition in Mexico, the controversial music genre first met censorship in 2011, during the height of former Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s declared war on the country’s drug cartels. However, experts believe
that government censorship has done little to quell those who want to listen to the banned music. “Censorship has not stopped the genre’s listeners, nor has it affected them in any way,” said Jesus Cesar Burgos Dávila, psychology researcher at Autonomous University of Barcelona and expert on narcocorridos. “While censorship has been widespread on radio and television, this hasn’t deterred people listening to it via the internet.” Narcocorridos are not exactly the source of the problem of drug trafficking and violence in Mexico. However, this musical genre has been directly linked to drug cartels and the death of some singers. “It is true that some drug lords pay to have their own ‘corrido’ and it is true that some songwriters dedicate songs to cartel leader,” said Julian WoodQuote
“Betrayal is also punishable, a musical group that sings for a rival drug group.” Raul Benitez Manaut, sociologist at UNAM
side, Mexico-based journalist on music. Indeed, the relationship between drug traffickers and the singers can end violently, as happened with several artists who have been executed by the cartels. Narcocorridos is not the only musical genre that has been linked to criminal or violent acts. Historically, gangsta rap in the U.S. has had long associated with the criminal underworld, and with the death of famous singers like Tupac Amaru Shakur. In fact many experts such as Elijah Wald, author of ‘Narcocorrido’, compare these two genres and ensure that Narcocorridos are the “Latino Gangsta Rap.” Amid censorship, Burgos Dávila notes that “the idea that ‘narcocorridos are bad’ is an argument that has stimulated the government, who has preferred to blame the musicians as promoting a culture of drug trafficking rather than direct looking at the to economic, cultural and political issues that underlie the conditions of violence and crime”.
DANIEL CASILLAS
Metro World News
Q&A
“I just want to express myself” EL KOMANDER
Narcocorridos singer
How do you define your music? My music reflects what exists in my country, in my nice city of Culiacán in northwestern state Sinaloa where we like to dance. We like beautiful women like our music. My music is made for the people who love Mexican regional songs.
What inspires you to create your corridos? When I can, I go to the ranch in the mountains and that’s where I get my inspiration. The truth is that God gave me the gift to write songs. I thank God I am dedicated to what I love and get paid to do it. What do you think of censorship that you have suffered in recent months? Music is a medium in which you have to express yourself and I think you cannot prohibit when someone wants to sing a story, when someone wants to tell what is happening. It’s like the news, you should not be banned from talking about what happens in reality. I think singing corridos and stories would not
I would say that there cannot be a law that prohibits people from expressing themselves. These days I see a lot of content on the internet and we’re not at a time when the government has to tell us what you can say. I want to express just how I feel, what I’m seeing. El Komander on stage. / EL KOMANDER
have to stop, but when there is an order you cannot do anything. For security reasons, I’ll stop singing for now. Insecurity in Mexico is very strong. What would you say to the government that censors your music?
What do you think of the support you have received? People want to hear my music and my stories. If you forbid something to people, they’ll claim it for themselves. If people are asking for a different musical genre, like mine, it’s because they like it and we have to give it, but if the government does not want to, I can’t do anything about it.
Reggaeton criticized by authorities Although it has not been prohibited, reggaeton is one of the genres most criticized by various sectors of the population due to its violent and sexist content. In 2012 the president of the Cuban In-
stitute of Music, Orlando Vistel, reported a draft legal standard with which it is intended that such music is not transmitted across the official media of Cuba.
Aggressive hip hop censored in Jamaica In 2009 the Jamaican authorities decided to ban violent hip hop songs and concerts of famous local
musicians like Mr.Vegas, claiming that his lyrics glorified rape and murder.
What’s in a name? Violence, apparently Their music was hardly inflammatory, but in 2003, less than a week into the U.S. invasion of Iraq, MTV decided to introduce a widescale ban of any music that contained “war” lyrics or
images in their videos – so the unfortunately-titled punk band (named after the fleet of American strategic bombers) had to be turned off.