The regional band Los Alegres del Barranco faces legal and professional fallout following a weekend performance in which they paid tribute to Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, a notorious drug lord.
On Monday, the United States reportedly revoked the Mexican band’s work and travel visas, and Mexican authorities are pursuing possible criminal charges.
🚨 Polémica en Guadalajara: Durante el concierto de Los Alegres del Barranco, apareció la imagen de “El Mencho” en las pantallas, generando indignación.
Las autoridades investigan mientras crece la preocupación por la normalización del crimen organizado en la cultura popular. pic.twitter.com/eF1hkad5Qh
— Códices Oaxaca (@codicesoax) March 31, 2025
During a concert in Guadalajara, Jalisco, on Saturday night, the band played one of their most popular corridos, “El del Palenque.”
The corrido — a traditional Mexican narrative ballad often depicting real people or events — pays homage to “El Mencho” and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which he allegedly leads.
As the band performed the song, images of “El Mencho” were displayed on the big screen behind the stage, eliciting cheers from the audience. Later, they performed a song about former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán while flashing his image on the big screen.
“El Chapo” is currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison.
Los Alegres del Barranco is scheduled to perform on April 4 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and on April 5 in Austin, Texas. According to the newspaper El Universal, a representative of the U.S. Department of Justice said the band’s visas were canceled for “promoting a group defined as terrorists in the United States.”
In February, the U.S. government designated the CJNG, the Sinaloa Cartel and four other Mexican organized crime groups as terrorist organizations.
Indignation and backlash following Los Alegres del Barranco’s GDL performance
Outrage erupted when a video of the incident was made public. The band was criticized not only for their actions but also for their insensitivity.
The concert took place at an arena owned by the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), just 60 kilometers from the Izaguirre Ranch, an alleged extermination camp linked to the CJNG.
In a social media post, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus said “outrage [following the spectacle] is not enough.” He said the band and its producer will be summoned to testify, lamenting that they were “advocating violence.”
The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the band citing the charge of “apología del delito” (“glorification of crime”) A conviction could result in a prison sentence of up to six months.
On Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the band for its homage to a wanted criminal and suggested federal authorities might open an investigation. She also said organizers of the event should be called to the carpet.
The UdeG was vilified for allowing the glorification of a criminal to take place on its premises.
University Rector Ricardo Villanueva said the university had no control over the content at the event, but said the university would consider inserting clauses in future contracts to prohibit expressions that incite violence or glorify crime.
Governor Lemus backed the idea, proposing that event organizers and producers should be required to sign “a letter of commitment … to avoid making such references, otherwise they will face monetary and criminal sanctions.”
Several Mexican states have enacted measures to restrict or sanction the public performance of narcocorridos, but Jalisco is not among them.
With reports from El Universal, Milenio, ABC Noticias and Infobae
