Narco Cultura: Can Prohibition of Ballads About Drug Trafficking in Mexico Last? John Vaughn - Bajo El Sol
go to original July 1, 2014

“Narco Cultura” by filmmaker Schaul Schwarz shines a light on a way of life that some see as glorifying drug traffickers while others see as simply accepting the reality of modern Mexico. (FilmFestivalVideos)

Ciudad Obregon, Son., is the latest city in Mexico to prohibit performances, either over the air waves or in concerts, of narcocorridos, which are ballads about drug trafficking, according to the Mexican news magazine Proceso.

The ban follows the slaying in that city of Tomas Tovar Rascon, a Phoenix-born musician who sometimes sang about the now-prohibited topic.

Obregon’s city council members say the ballads glorify drugs traffickers and incite violence among rival traffickers, but it seems to me the city is merely silencing the messenger without getting to the root of the problem.

People get into the illegal drug trade for the financial profit they can enjoy, not so someone will sing about them.

More than a year ago, Mexico’s supreme court overturned a similar ban in the state of Sinaloa. That begs the question whether Obregon’s prohibition can survive.

See the original at Yuma Sun

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