On April 11th, Luis R. Conriquez performed at the Feria del Caballo in Texcoco, a city in the State of Mexico where the corrido singer has performed four or five times before, always with success. However, this time, the concert organizers gave him a warning: “They said that if I sang a corrido, they would turn off the sound,” Conriquez reveals. The warning came as a result of new ordinances that prohibit live performances of narcocorridos in many states across the country. Conriquez, who is known for his narcocorridos, had previously defied orders not to sing them and had paid fines as a result.
But this time, he was not being threatened with a fine, but with the cancellation of his concert. It was something he was not willing to risk. A few hours before the show, he posted on his social media that his set list would not include any narcocorridos. However, it seems that many of the fans in attendance did not read the post. After an hour and forty minutes into the show, they began to request that he sing his most well-known corridos. When Conriquez explained that he couldn’t do it, many fans booed and threw objects onto the stage.
Finally, Conriquez said, “There are no corridos. What do we do? Should I just go home?” And he stood up and left. The next day, Conriquez spoke out again on his Instagram stories, saying, “There are a lot of people who don’t understand. They think that we come to set the rules, but the truth is that there will be no corridos at any artist’s events from now on, plebes.” Since then, Conriquez has received support from both his fans and other artists.
Now, he is preparing to take his Trakas tour to the United States, starting at the UBS Arena in New York on April 25th, where he can sing any type of repertoire. But at his next concert in Mexico, there may not be any corridos. Conriquez spoke exclusively with Billboard about his decision.
Why did you decide not to sing corridos at this particular show?
They said that if I sang a corrido, they would turn off the sound. They said, “They will turn off the sound. It’s prohibited.” “OK,” I said. That was my desperation. It wasn’t anger, really. I wanted to give the people what they wanted to hear, but I had to abide by the rules.
Did you consider canceling the show?
No. I always wanted to keep going. I said, I’m going to post something that I won’t sing corridos. But before arriving at the shows, I always said that I wouldn’t sing corridos.
What happened at the show?
I had been singing for an hour and forty minutes, and they started asking for songs that I couldn’t sing. At that time, at that point, people are a little more stubborn or they’ve had too much to drink, so they think anything is easy. There came a point where I said, I should leave, or else they’ll hit me with a chair or something. And that’s when the disaster started. Last year