Mexican State Cancels Luis R. Conriquez Fair Concert Over Crime-Glorification Concerns
The government of Zacatecas, Mexico, has cancelled a scheduled performance by regional Mexican music star Luis R. Conriquez at the Fresnillo National Fair, citing concerns that his artistic content glorifies organised crime.
Conriquez had been set to perform on 28 August. In a letter sent on 18 August, Zacatecas secretary general of government Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza asked the municipality of Fresnillo to reconsider the singer's participation, arguing that his material contradicts the state's social-violence-prevention efforts. By 19 August, Reyes Mugüerza confirmed the cancellation, describing it as a recommendation rooted in prior discussions with Fresnillo authorities. He said the performance did not align with the vision of the state's Peacebuilding Council or with the guidelines governing such events. Billboard
In his letter to the Fresnillo city council, Reyes Mugüerza invoked Article 190 of the Penal Code for the State of Zacatecas, which addresses glorification of crime. He wrote that the artistic content associated with Conriquez's performance exalts violence and imagery linked to organised crime groups. The Zacatecas government said it would support Fresnillo in hiring a replacement artist.
Conriquez is one of the leading figures in corridos bélicos, a subgenre of regional Mexican music whose lyrics centre on drug trafficking and its notorious figures. Two of his most controversial songs are named in the reporting: "JGL," whose initials refer to Joaquín Guzmán Loera — better known as "El Chapo" — and "Por clave el R1," dedicated to Rubén Guerrero Valadez, a figure linked to a drug cartel who was arrested by federal forces in July.
Conriquez's publicists pushed back against the cancellation. They said his team submitted all required documentation to Fresnillo authorities on time, including a setlist that was delivered and approved. That setlist, they said, did not include any corridos — the narrative ballads associated with the narcocorrido tradition.
This is not the first time Conriquez has clashed with authorities over his repertoire. In April 2025, a concert at the Feria del Caballo in the State of Mexico ended in chaos after he told the crowd he would not perform narcocorridos, citing prohibitions on expressions glorifying violence that had been implemented in municipalities across that state. Following that incident, Conriquez announced he would make significant changes to the lyrics he performs to comply with the new rules.
The prohibition of narcocorridos — songs that narrate the exploits of drug traffickers — reached its peak across Mexican states in 2025, as multiple municipalities adopted restrictions on performances deemed to celebrate criminal figures.
Meanwhile, the Zacatecas government is also reviewing the previously announced performance of another corridos tumbados artist, Oscar Maydón, at the same fair. No decision on that appearance has been confirmed.
For Conriquez, the Fresnillo cancellation means a high-profile fair date lost to the same legal framework that disrupted his April show — despite his team's insistence that the approved setlist contained no corridos at all.
