A New Year’s Eve concert in Mexico was cancelled after three grenades were thrown outside the venue.
The show by Los Angeles-born, Sinaloa-raised narcocorrido (drug ballad) singer Larry Hernández had been due to take place at the Casa Blanca nightclub in eastern Tijuana.
“Unfortunately because of the events that just happened at the place where I was going to perform, it is impossible to do so,” says Hernández in a social media video. “These are things that are out of one’s control, so I apologise and send you a hug.”
GazetteXtra reports that people threw what appeared to be fragmentation grenades, which did not detonate, from a vehicle on Sunday (31 December).
According to Tijuana’s secretary of security and citizen protection Fernando Sánchez, the Mexican army arrived on site to remove the devices.
Baja California governor Marina del Pilar Ávila says the case is being investigated, but no evidence had been found of a direct threat either to Hernández or the concert venue. No arrests have yet been made.
Mexican singer-songwriter Peso Pluma also cancelled a concert in Tijuana last year following death threats
Hernández’s breakthrough album, 2009’s 16 Narco Corridos featured “vivid depictions” of drug trafficking culture and reached No.4 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.
Mexican singer-songwriter Peso Pluma, who is similarly known for making narcoculture references in his music, also cancelled a concert in Tijuana last year following death threats from local drug cartel members. The October 2023 performance was set for the 33,333-capacity Estadio Caliente stadium.
The cancellation came after several public banners from alleged cartel members targeted the 24-year-old Guadalajara native. The band Fuerza Regida cancelled a show at the same stadium “for reasons beyond our reach” due to death threats.
“I would say there’s a situation between the criminal groups and the narcocorrido singers,” Tijuana mayor Montserrat Caballero told 12News.
Last November, the Guardian reported that local politicians in the city voted to ban narcocorridos from being performed or even played in the city, claiming they glorify violence and the drug trade. However, attempts to censor the genre have appeared to only enhance its popularity.
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