Los Alegres del Barranco are breaking their silence after the United States State Department revoked the band members’ visas for displaying a visual of a cartel kingpin during a recent show. On Wednesday night, the Sinaloa band apologized for the incident, saying that it will be more careful with their show “narratives” in the future.
“Through this message, Los Alegres del Barranco would like to offer our sincerest apologies for what happened,” the band wrote of the Guadalajara show. “As a musical group, it was never our intention to create controversy, much less to offend. We acknowledge that, as artists, we have a great responsibility to our audiences, especially to the new generations who follow our music.”
During their March 29 show at Auditorio TelMex, Los Alegres’ video backdrop displayed a mugshot of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, as they played their song, “El Del Palenque,” about the kingpin. The drug cartel organization was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February.
“We deeply regret that part of the show was perceived as offensive or inappropriate.
We reaffirm that our music is inspired by telling popular stories within Mexican music,” the band wrote in their statement. “We will take more rigorous measures regarding the visual and narrative content of our performances.”
Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau announced on X that the State Department had revoked the band’s work and tourism visas for “glorifying” El Mencho by displaying him on screen. “In the Trump Administration, we take seriously our responsibility over foreigners’ access to our country. The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists,” Landau wrote in his post.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum also condemned the performance earlier this week, saying things like these “should not occur,” and urged for an investigation. “We have to see the connotation but … There can be no apology for violent, criminal groups,” she said.
Los Alegres’ case comes as Mexican music, including narcocorridos, have seen exponential growth in the United States. Just last week, the CEO of Del Records was found guilty of conspiracy to transact with a cartel, along with 10 other counts related to the Kingpin Act, over performances with the CJNG.
Mexican songs telling stories about the drug trade and the leaders behind it date back decades, and bands like Alegres have sung their tunes, including Mencho-mentioning “El Del Palenque,” without issue.
Fellow Sinaloa band Máximo Grado addressed some of the conversations about the controversial lyrics about drug trafficking and the idolization of narcos in a recent Rolling Stone interview. “Stopping narcocorridos is not the main solution to ending violence and drug trafficking issues that have affected the country for so long,” frontman Christian Félix said. “Censoring free speech is never the solution to any problem.”
