Mexicali forbids narcocorridos on city premises

The City of Mexicali and three concert organizers signed an agreement to forbid narcocorrido bands from performing at the Center of Fairs and Expos, or FEX in Spanish.

Mexicali Mayor Norma Bustamante, who weeks ago publicly expressed her opposition to playing music that highlights drug culture, said those acts were admitted while now former FEX Director Omar Landa held the office.

The city could have either cancelled those concerts or have the agreement signed, La Cronica newspaper said.

According to the mayor, given about two-fifths of tickets were already sold, the concerts could not be canceled.

“We decided to speak with two businessmen and decided to sign the agreement,” the Mayor told the newspaper.

The accord is expected to include a clause to forbid marijuana and alcohol consumption at the FEX.

Concert businessmen signed the agreement as bands have songs different from narcocorridos, or those that promote violence.

The mayor said the city can turn lights off or put concerts to an end in case of agreement violations.

According to the mayor, the strategy seeks to forbid bands in the future from performing such songs on city premises.

“This is an experiment to see how it works,” Mayor Bustamante said. “If (those bands do not comply with agreement terms), I will change the strategy.”

According to the mayor, two bands approached the city to hold concerts at the FEX. While the agreements have been shown to promoters the mayor plans to hear some of their songs before allowing their acts to perform on city premises.