MEXICAN BALLADS' PERCEIVED DRUG THEME WORRIES CRITICS

TIJUANA -- Popular Mexican ballads said to glorify drug trafficking are
coming under attack from some members of the community who want the songs
eliminated from local radio stations and music concerts.

Groups such as Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Los Tigres del Norte are the
primary targets because of their narcocorridos, catchy tunes that refer to
corrupt U.S. and Mexican officials, drug growers and imprisoned
traffickers. One ode describes an adult party where a pinata is filled with
drugs instead of candy.

While the groups frequently use innuendoes and double-entendres, critics
say the message young people hear is quite clear and corrosive.

"The fundamental values that are being spread in these corridos are the use
of firearms and drugs as a way to have money, power, women and good
positions," said Tijuana Councilman Catalino Zavala Marquez, who has urged
taking the songs off the air.

Tijuana's City Council is expected to discuss the issue and meet with radio
station representatives in the coming weeks. Though the city does not have
authority to ban the tunes, council members say they hope stations will do
so voluntarily.

Jaime Rodriguez, 22, of Tijuana said it is easier for politicians to talk
about banning the corridos than to deal with drug-related violence.

"Just because you enjoy hearing the songs doesn't mean you are going to do
what they say," said Rodriguez, who contends a ban won't stop people from
listening to the songs on their own.

Gerardo Lopez, program director for La Mejor 97.7, said his station decided
about a month and a half ago to stop airing songs that might be considered
narcocorridos. He said three or four other stations in Tijuana play or have
played the songs.

Tijuana's proposal is part of a national backlash against the songs. The
National Chamber of Radio and Television Industries, a business coalition,
recommended several weeks ago that its members reconsider playing the
tunes, Lopez said. And the state chapter in Sinaloa, considered a cradle of
the drug trade, has banned the corridos from its airwaves.

"We believe that playing this kind of music means planting something that
will take root and not be very productive or positive," said Manuel Perez
Munoz, president of the Sinaloa branch.

Zavala and other critics say any song that refers to drugs, whether it is a
description or a glorification, should be banned. Lopez says he is
following that standard.

Program directors with two Spanish-language stations that target San Diego
listeners said they don't play songs promoting the drug-trafficking lifestyle.

Though the songs are popular among young people on both sides of the
border, Lopez said interest has been waning over the past year. His station
used to devote about 10 percent of its air time to the songs, he said, but
that has fallen to just 2 percent or 3 percent in recent months.

Zavala, the councilman, said he hasn't received a single phone call
opposing the voluntary ban. The proposal also has the backing of most, if
not all, City Council members, who represent three political parties,
Zavala said.

"A young man came up to me recently and told me that what we are doing is
good and that he had thrown away all his tapes," he said. "That's the kind
of reaction we want to provoke."

German Rodriguez Perez, 20, who works in a sandwich shop, remains a fan.

"Most of these kinds of songs just talk about things that are taking place,
like the drug cartels and the planting of drugs," he said. "Perhaps it
influences some people, but if you have values to begin with, then it
shouldn't change you."

Narcocorridos are a spinoff of the original corridos, songs that date back
to the 1800s and were popular for their anti-authority messages during a
time of government oppression. Outlaws were painted as heroes. As the drug
trade evolved, the outlaws of the songs became traffickers.

Los Tigres del Norte is among a newer generation of artists who took on the
subject of drug trafficking, with a message more along the lines of people
beating the system. Over the past few years, critics say, groups such as
Los Tucanes de Tijuana have glorified the drug trade.

The Tucanes have a wide repertoire ranging from less-controversial pieces
about border culture to love ballads. One recent song is a requiem to
former Tijuana Police Chief Alfredo de la Torre Marquez, who was killed
last year in a hail of gunfire.

De la Torre's assassins are allegedly linked to drug traffickers, but that
was not the focus of the song, which has been praised by the chief's family
members.

Zavala wants the Tucanes and other groups to perform the other kinds of
pieces rather than the narcocorridos when they play concerts in Tijuana.
While the city is trying to get voluntary compliance from local radio
stations, Zavala says the city has the power to establish rules for rock
concerts since it issues the permits. Still, he hopes the bands will agree
on their own.

A representative of Los Tucanes was not available for comment. But in one
of their tunes, "No Solo de Traficante," they sing what could be considered
a response to all the talk in Tijuana:

"Each one of us is what we want to be and we do what we want to do. I
listen to narcocorridos and I don't sell bad weed."