To their critics, Mexican drug ballads glorify violence
For their fans, they are tales of guts—and a reflection of reality
On January 5th Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmán in the north-western state of Sinaloa. He is a son of Joaquín Guzmán, an infamous drug lord better known as “El Chapo”. Irate gunmen took to the streets; at least 29 people were killed. Something similar happened when Ovidio was apprehended in 2019. On that occasion, the country’s president ordered his release.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Arms and the men”
Culture January 14th 2023
- To their critics, Mexican drug ballads glorify violence
- Cinema meets radicalism in “Picture in the Sand”
- The quest for the perfect chip
- “For Blood and Money” charts a race to develop a blockbuster drug
- How Cambodian music survived the horrors of the Khmers Rouges
- The truth about Stone Mountain’s giant Confederate memorial
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