A Chilean court upheld a right-wing lawmaker's Amparo complaint seeking to block Mexican singer Peso Pluma from performing at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival on the grounds that he promoted drug culture – a controversy that has ignited his performance keeps you in suspense.
The concert of Peso Pluma, whose single “She dances alone” has surpassed a billion views on Spotify, is scheduled for Friday March 1, on the last day of the Viña Festival, one of the most important Latin American music competitions. Millions of viewers will watch the broadcast different channels.
But for several weeks in Chile, the legitimacy of the show has been questioned, arguing that a public institution like the municipality of Viña, to which the festival belongs, cannot host artists who advocate arms and drug trafficking in their lyrics, especially if Chile There is a serious security crisis that is worrying citizens. On the other hand, others describe the attempt to prevent the artist's presentation as censorship.
The municipality of the ruling mayor Macarena Ripamonti and the channels that organize and broadcast the festival, the public broadcaster Televisión Nacional (TVN) and the private broadcaster Tele 13, “will have to answer on the stage of the Quinta “why they narco- Want culture”. Vergara, the deputy said in his release, attached the document presented to the court. This indicates that they will be given 8 days to submit the documents enabling a decision to be made on the complaint.
The controversy surrounding the intervention of Peso Pluma, who dominates the global popularity charts, arises from the publication of an opinion column by the left-wing sociologist Alberto Mayol, who questioned the musician's artistic abilities, accused him of promoting the drug trade and declared: “This everything will happen with the great support of the Republic of Chile.”
Mayol's column was taken up by some Viñamarino city councilors and MPs, who questioned the concert.
It's not the only controversy Featherweight has faced. In September, he received threats with several banners posted in various parts of the border city of Tijuana, leading to the cancellation of several of his live performances in Mexico.
Last week, the board of TVN, the broadcaster responsible for broadcasting the festival, took the strongest action yet by directly calling for the concert to be canceled.
However, the festival organizers continue to consistently support the artists selected for this edition. They pointed out that “there are no legal or contractual arguments for withdrawing the artist’s participation.”
The organization “recognizes Peso Pluma’s international reputation as an artist. His music, in addition to his millions of listeners across all platforms, is amplified by the fact that he participates in festivals such as “Coachella, one of the three largest festivals in the world.” At the same time, they stated that they will ensure “as always, the editorial standards for the execution of each festival show are adhered to.”
“She dances alone,” a romantic song with no reference to drug trafficking, released in March last year by Eslabón Armado and Peso Pluma, was nominated for Best Song of the Year and Best Regional Mexican Song at the Latin Grammys became the first regional Mexican music hit to enter the top 10 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart.
Last year, Peso Pluma, real name Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, performed for the first time at the Billboard Latin Music Awards (where he was named Debutant of the Year) and the MTV Video Music Awards.