Los Tigres del Norte sing of censorship, bail on Mexican award

MEXICO CITY - Politicians say that narcocorridos, the songs which extol the exploits of drug traffickers, must go. But these ballads appeal to a significant audience.

Caught in the middle are the Mexican musicians themselves, who say their art merely chronicles of the political and business interests that fuel the drug trade and wreak havoc on the streets.

In the most recent standoff, the popular “norteño” band Los Tigres del Norte canceled an appearance at an awards show in Mexico for alleged “censorship.” Universal Music, the Tigres' record label, said that the government-owned National Auditorium in Mexico City asked them not to play their narcocorrido hit "La Granja" during Las Lunas Awards ceremony Wednesday night. In protest, Los Tigres bailed out.

La Granja, which translate as “The Farm,” seems to take aim at the military-led war against drug trafficking, which has unleashed violence between rival drug traffickers (see our briefing on the key cartels and the Mexican government campaign against them) and taken a livelihood away from many would-be marijuana growers and dealers.

The lyrics, translated by the Los Angeles Times, go like this:

Today we have, every day

Much insecurity

Because they let the dog loose

And it all came tumbling down . . . .

The video of the song can be seen here on YouTube.

Mexico’s office of radio, TV, and film in the Secretary of Government issued a statement denying that it “censored” the song.

But the band members disagree. "They have to explain to us the reason for this censorship," Tigres leader Jorge Hernandez was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times. "We always sing what the people want to hear, and what the people are living.”

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