The popular norteno musical group Los Tucanes de Tijuana continues to be banned from playing to their hometown audience in Tijuana, Mexico for their ‘narcocorrido’ music. The band has been barred from Tijuana for over a year without a welcome mat arriving any time soon.
The narcocorridos are distinctive accordion laded ballads paying homage to the life of drug cartels or their leaders. As a result of the Tucanes musical homage to crime bosses ‘El Teo’ and ‘Muletas’, both responsible for killing 45 Tijuana police, they were barred from performing in Mexico. Some of their song lyrics are even being investigated for containing a hidden death threat to the head of police in Tijuana.
The Mexican government in an effort to curb the overwhelming drug-related violence is placing restrictions on narcocorridos being played in radio, nightclubs and even public transportation. The government sees this as a public safety measure, performers like the Tucanes see it as censorship. Some groups are even being detained and interrogated when drug raids occur and groups are present as paid performers.
Here for your listening pleasure is a Los Tucanes musical video with over 1 million You Tube viewers, that glorifies the drug lords and the bounty they put on their enemies heads.
