Peso Pluma, the Mexican singer-songwriter who burst onto the world stage earlier this year, said security concerns forced him to cancel his Oct. 14 show in Tijuana, Mexico, just over a week after he appeared to be the target of threats from had become a drug cartel.
The singer, who performed at the MTV Video Music Awards last week, had already postponed a series of concerts in the US until later in the fall. Pluma’s US performances are scheduled to resume on September 30th in Chula Vista, California.
“Our goal is to protect the fans and our team,” said a statement the singer posted on Instagram on Wednesday. “For the safety of everyone involved, we will be canceling our show in Tijuana.”
Peso Pluma has written and appeared on several tracks dedicated to Joaquín Guzmán Loera or “El Chapo,” the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a life sentence in an American prison.
Unlike its predecessors, Peso Pluma has achieved international fame, introducing new audiences to the dangers of a genre frighteningly familiar in Mexico. Drug cartels are suspected of ordering the murders of stars such as Valentin Elizalde and Chalino Sanchez, who were murdered after performances.
According to Juan Carlos Ramírez-Pimienta, a professor at San Diego State University who has studied the issue, the danger Mexican musicians face while performing in Mexico has declined in recent years, but Tijuana is among them Cities where artists are still regularly threatened Relationship between Mexican music and organized crime.
Last week, three banners bearing threats in large red letters were spotted in different areas of the border city. They turned to the 24-year-old artist and warned him in Spanish: “Avoid performing on October 14th because it will be your last presentation.”
The banners, known as Narcomantas, were signed with the initials of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, or Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels and a rival to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Authorities told local media last week that they had arrested one person in connection with the threats and were investigating.
It was unclear whether the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was responsible for the banners, but narcomantas have been an enduring form of public messaging for organized crime for more than a decade. They often contain messages to authorities, competitors or the public.
Peso Pluma, whose real name is Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija and whose stage name means “featherweight,” has helped spark an international surge in what is known in the United States under the umbrella term regional Mexican music. He was featured on the hit song “Ella Baila Sola,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
The singer, who is on a North American concert tour following the release of his album “Génesis,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts upon its release in June, has racked up hundreds of millions of digital streams. He is best known for Corridos Tumbados, a modern take on narcorridos, songs that tell stories about the Mexican drug trade and combine regional Mexican styles such as ranchera, norteño, banda and mariachi with influences from American and Latin rap.
The October 14 show’s cancellation marks the second time this year that Peso Pluma has canceled an appearance in the city.
In February, a concert he was scheduled to give alongside other Mexican artists such as Eden Muñoz, Roberto Tapia and El Fantasma was canceled by the organizer, citing “insecurity and threats to other events.”
Earlier this month, a mall meet-and-greet event for the band Grupo Arriesgado was interrupted by gunfire, prompting the band to cancel its performance in the city. Threats against a narcomanta were also made against them, Mexican media reported.