A Roman Catholic bishop has thrown his support behind an initiative to ban the distribution and promotion of so-called “narcocorridos” music – Mexican folk songs that have been co-opted to exalt the activities of drug traffickers.
Bishop José Guadalupe Galván Galindo, of the Diocese of Torreon in Coahuila state, said the music influences the “state of mind of many adolescents”. “If they listen to ‘narcocorridos’ music, they want to emulate these people and their illegal actions, but if they listened to a different sort of music, in the end they might like another style of life,” he said.
‘Narcocorridos’ stem from a type of Mexican folk ballads known as corridos which usually speak of positive, happy events but in the form of narcocorridos are used to exalt the illegal activities of drug-traffickers and often refer to specific events such as homicides.
In calling for support for the initiative of the Governor of Coahuila State to have the music banned, Bishop Galván Galindo said that music can carry a positive message “because its universal language can fortify social fabric”. “This is why we should support the initiative aimed at seeking the best for our young people.”
– with Fides