(CNN Spanish) – The Mexican Peso Pluma has established himself as one of the new singer-songwriters with the greatest presence in music: in 2023 he was the fifth most listened to artist in the world on Spotify, and he has just been announced as one of the stars on the poster of the American festival Coachella 2024. And Peso Pluma has also been the talk of another festival in recent weeks: the Viña del Mar Song International 2024.
The controversy surrounding the participation of artist Viña de Mar, originally from the state of Jalisco, centers on his songs and what some people see as an excuse for drug trafficking.
Despite the controversy, the Viña del Mar Festival confirmed this Wednesday that, after a meeting with the organizers of the event that took place a few hours earlier, “the artist's participation will be maintained” after analyzing the situation with the legal areas of the parties, it says a statement emailed to CNN en Español from the festival's communications directorate.
What controversy was caused in Chile by Peso Pluma's participation in Viña del Mar? We know this.
The beginning of the controversy: an opinion column that sparked the debate
Peso Pluma was announced in October last year as one of the artists at the Viña del Mar 2024 festival.
“From the deepest roots to the most modern sounds, Peso Pluma lets you feel the true essence of Mexican music. Her soulful lyrics and powerful voice take you into a world where tradition and innovation come together. With a unique and unmistakable style, the Mexican has conquered number 1 in all charts, set records and left an indelible mark on the music industry,” wrote the festival on Instagram when it announced the singer's participation.
Although there have been positions for and against the artist since then, the controversy erupted months later and as early as 2024.
Peso Pluma performs on stage during TikTok In The Mix at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona on December 10, 2023. (Source: Rich Fury/Getty Images for TikTok)
On January 8, sociologist Alberto Mayol wrote an opinion column in the Chilean news portal BioBioChile entitled “Featherweight in Viña: Sometimes you have to listen to the voice of the drug trafficker.”
In his article, Mayol criticizes that “a promoter of narco culture” will appear on the Viña stage and that “all this will happen with the high support of the Republic of Chile,” since the festival is jointly organized by the Chilean community of Viña del Mar and the channels TVN (Chile's public television channel) and Canal 13.
Peso Pluma's main musical genre is the Corridos Tumbados, which are best known for addressing situations or topics related to drug trafficking and have even been criticized by the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, saying that it is about “the music of certain corridos (…) they paint everything rosy and very masculine, very successful”, which he refuted by emphasizing that it is rooted in the problem of drug use among young people.
One of the artists who responded to López Obrador's criticism – which he has done more than once – was Natanael Cano, one of the greatest representatives of the Corridos Tumbados in Mexico. The singer said in an interview with local media El Universal that despite the sensitivity of some issues, he does not support the drug trade: “I know it's wrong, but it's what I had to live with.”
On January 9, and based on Mayol's reflections, Francisco Vidal Salinas, former Chilean defense minister and recently appointed president of TVN's board of directors, told BioBioChile that he was in talks with Alfredo Ramírez, executive president of the network, about Peso's participation Pluma at the Viña Festival.
And since then, the situation began to escalate, reaching the highest levels of President Gabriel Boric's government.
Reactions to the Featherweight Controversy
One of the officials who first responded to the controversy was Viña del Mar City Councilor René Lues, who sent letters to both Viña del Mar Mayor Macarena Ripamonti and the Viña del Mar Festival Promotion Commission to request the To demand cancellation of the featherweight show.
“I ask the concessionaires of the television channels of the Viña del Mar Song Festival, through the Mayor and the Festival Promotion Commission, to verify the maintenance of the contract with the artist Peso Pluma for his participation in the show on the last evening of the festival. Lues said in the letter to Ripamonti, which was published the day after Mayol's column.
“I believe that it is not appropriate to use channels, resources and public spaces to promote this genre of music and songs related to drug trafficking (…). Drug trafficking is the greatest tragedy we have in Chile and in Viña del Mar and a generator of all forms of crime that today overwhelms our country and our city,” the councilor added.
As part of these requests, the Viña del Mar Festival's Communications Directorate released a statement declaring that “Peso Pluma's participation does not entail any censorship or discrimination” to ensure that “diversity is celebrated.” of all artists”.
Then the controversy escalated to Boric's minister.
Carolina Tohá, Chile's Minister of Interior and Public Security, said authorities were concerned about massive surveillance of “songs that promote drug culture.”
“We are concerned that there are so many followers of songs that promote narco culture and often also promote a rather derogatory view of women and reproduce very discriminatory paradigms in terms of sexism.” Regardless, we are concerned about the Viña- Festival,” he told the press.
Regarding the position of the Viña del Mar festival, the minister added that in this and any other event there is the freedom to invite artists or not, so the decision not to invite someone “does not mean that he is censoring it .” ”
“When you invite an artist, you want to promote them, and there are artists that sometimes you don't want to promote, especially those who are behind the narco culture,” Tohá added.
Eduardo Vergara, Undersecretary of Crime Prevention in Chile, supported the minister's words, saying: “We do not like a voice and a mechanism that can promote a culture that has grown in many areas today.”
According to a May 2023 report by market research firm Ipsos, violence is the top concern of citizens in Chile. InSight Crime, a security analysis center, takes up this measurement.
“The decline in the security of citizens is due to the increase in cross-border drug trafficking, as well as the presence of foreign criminal organizations such as the Tren de Aragua. Violence has also increased. “Homicides increased 32% between 2021 and 2022,” notes InSight Crime.
Chile has taken several measures to address the problem, such as the “Anti-Drug Law” of May 2023, which “increases penalties for those who distribute drugs to children and creates a new crime against those who do them pass it on to third parties without their consent.”
TVN is strengthening its position, but the featherweight will be in Viña
Mexican featherweight and Argentinian Nicki Nicole on stage during the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards at the Watsco Center on October 5, 2023 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Image credit: Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
Amid the reactions to the Peso Pluma controversy in Viña del Mar, the TVN board pointed out in a statement on January 11 that “the determination of the participants of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival is the responsibility of an assembled commission.” of the Municipality of Viña del Mar, Channel 13 and TVN” and assured that the TVN board “has no interference in the choice of artists that will be part of the program of the musical event”.
However, this Tuesday, January 16, the TVN board toughened its position in another statement in which it expressed its desire to cancel Peso Pluma's participation in Viña del Mar in order to avoid “repertoires that allude to violence to share, transmit or promote”. Drug trafficking and other elements related to the so-called “narcoculture”.
Despite the controversy surrounding the issue, the Viña del Mar Festival said in a statement on Wednesday that it “maintains the artist's participation.”
“There are no legal or contractual reasons to withdraw the artist's participation, moreover the publications were not made within the deadlines established in the tender rules and their annexes,” explained the Viña del Mar Festival's Communications Directorate in the statement, which TVN received via E -Email sent to CNN en Español and published on Instagram.
Peso Pluma spoke this Thursday about his participation in the Viña del Mar Festival. The artist mentioned that he is “honored” to participate in several festivals in 2024 and hopes to bring “greater awareness” to Mexican music.
“I am honored to have the privilege of participating in so many legendary festivals this year and to continue to spread Mexican music around the world. Showing the world what my country has to offer has been one of the most rewarding experiences of this trip and I hope so.” “We are creating greater awareness of our music and continuing to fly the Mexican flag,” Peso Pluma said in a statement the artist's press team told CNN en Español.
Peso Pluma has previously spoken out on the issue of “Corridos Tumbados” as an excuse for drug trafficking. In an interview with the show Soy Grupero, the Mexican said: “It's not that we (say) 'we will pay tribute (to the drug trade)' or 'we will allude to it' or that people will adore it.” It. ” In an interview on YouTuber Julio Orozco's podcast, Peso Pluma also noted that the issue of drug culture is “very demonized in Mexico,” but assured that “it is bad,” although “I'm not saying they should start with it.” .” What their songs say.
In addition, the singer from Jalisco pointed out that what he says in his songs comes from the reality that he observes: “Something they actually say: 'Oh, they talk about guns, this and that.' Well, it's reality, it's what I do.” See. It's my job, it's what I express.
Regarding the general controversy caused by narcocorridos, academic César Jesús Burgos Dávila of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (Mexico) pointed out in an interview with CNN en Español that the censorship of these songs in the country began in the late 1990s . 1980 as a policy of “supposedly preventing drug trafficking” in Sinaloa.
“There the idea is established and expanded that the narcocorrido is an apologetic message because it highlights values or issues related to the drug trade,” he explained.