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
In that case, the American Morons won’t like Los Cuates de Sinaloa’s famous “Negro Y Azul: The Ballad of Heisenberg”…..from the blockbuster TV series “Breaking Bad.” Total bunch of embarrassing jerks from the DEA & DOJ…all the way down. Saludos desde Acapulco!
The concert was real life; Breaking Bad is fiction.
So? It’s real life? It’s the same thing, two entertainment/media entities doing the same thing. There’s no difference. Personally I’m into liberty. And I fully understand there’s all kinds of different reactions to the same event. And that all of those reactions have justifications that are valid.
I don’t usually advocate for “cancelling” people, but why in god’s name would they pay homage to, and have people cheer, El Mencho, who has wreaked havoc on Mexico and its people. Disgusting.
i spent two years in a small town outside a city in Jalisco… there… these cartel men are known as peace keepers… no crime in town. Locals i noticed like-love this man and are protective of him…. I have become aware ( people told me… Americans ) that this man protected American whistleblowers ! who were under attack – targeted individuals…. under attack by directed energy weapons…. wonderful American government runs this global program….. so seems there is more and more to know… re drugs and cartels… WHAT OPPORTUNITIES do young people have upon graduation High school – NONE…. so it seems sooner or later… they join cartel who pays them in hand…. vs forever competing for who will cut the lawn…Education needs to change: age 14… give kids Myers Briggs test to identify their talents… create groups with teachers working to expand knowledge and experience in areas of talents… last year in school…contact local businesses in these areas for kids to come to help out…. get an idea what it is like to work in the chosen field..WHERE best to go to school…make business contacts… I am VERY CURIOUS to learn HOW The Lost Decade came about…. what caused it…. how can this be transformed BACK…. although countries independently prospering seem to always get brought down into poverty again latest: Lybia ? and i am sure others…long ago Cuba and Mexico…
Why do you use so many periods in your sentences and no capital letters to start a new sentences? Is English your first language or second?
dareN, there are maneeee reasons that Mexicans wud feel differentleee than americanS u get fed tuuuu many propaganDA from USA…… u no Understand anything otherer than u perspective!e
This cartel acts like it is out of “Clockwork Orange” with not just violence but sociopathic violence. Not having studied it I can’t be sure but it seems far worse than the Sinaloa Cartel. But, the band having glorified both competing cartels seems to not be supporting one over the other. We shouldn’t confuse advocacy of offensive ideas with inciting violence. The band in this regard is legions above Trump who regularly bullies, advocates violence, and threatens violence against women, migrants, Democrats, heads of State, and countries.
As someone who lives very close to cartels, and communitorios, there’s good and bad. It’s not black and white. There’s a drug market. Cartels provide the product. The economy benefits. People will gladly pay to get smuggled into the US. They WANT to go. Once again a service offered and the economy benefits. I agree there’s many many terrible things that are carried out by cartels, but it’s not all bad. And not everyone has to agree with you.
Bands like these are sometimes forced to pay homage under death threats, why hasn’t this been mentioned?
Kinda dumb.. the band I mean.