Norteño Singer Killed

Valentin Elizalde, a popular Banda singer, was gunned down November 25th in the border city of Reynosa, Mexico.

The 27-year-old Elizalde, his manager and his driver were killed in a gangland-style shooting shortly after Elizalde performed at a local fair, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Two vehicles pursued Elizalde’s black Suburban when he left the concert. With dozens of witnesses watching, passengers in the other vehicles opened fire with automatic weapons, striking Elizalde as many as eight times, the Times said.

Elizalde, who recorded several albums for Universal Music Group, frequently toured the United States, and was awarded the “soloist of the year” prize earlier this month at the Los Premios de la Radio awards for regional Mexican music, held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

In addition to his more mainstream norteño hits, Elizalde also wrote drug ballads, or narcocorridos, detailing the exploits of the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Guzman, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords, escaped from prison in 2001 and remains at large.

When questioned by the Associated Press in 2005 about glorifying violence through narcocorridos, Elizalde said, “In no way do I think [the ballads] should be banned, because they are part of popular expression, what the people sing and what they want. All we do is sing them, like minstrels.”