The Mexican government, along with a gang of petition endorsing media fans and content guardians are opposing a Latino music video that contains what they believe to be explicit content. At this point, the video has skyrocketed to upward of 20 million views.
Gerardo Ortiz has spent his career attempting to make a name for himself with music that the signer describes “doesn’t try to do anything other than show a vision of everyday reality”. The polarizing Vevo endorsed video f0r Ortiz’s new work “Fuiste Mia” displays a reality in which the protagonist finds his female companion in bed with another man and reacts harshly. Shooting the perpetrator square in the head, Ortiz ties up his romantic friend and locks her in the trunk of a vehicle. The police roll towards the car and he is portrayed unashamedly lighting the car on fire.
Ortíz, who is no stranger to accolades for his work, did not anticipate this grating form of reaction. In a statement, Ortiz’s music is said to have “touched the combative spirit of the people, with different stories that come from people’s daily reality, without ever having been an invitation to any kind of behaviour in particular”.
The artist won a Grammy nomination for best norteño album for his debut Ni Hoy Ni Mañana. Defined by the genre of “narcocorridos”, or narco ballads, songs which chronicle Mexico’s violent drug wars, Ortiz documents lyrically a dangerous lifestyle. While only acknowledging the way of life with his musical delivery and not legitimately living it out daily, some of the lyrical messaging has slipped into fruition before. In 2011, Ortíz survived after an ambush left his cousin and manager dead. Javier Rosa, another Latin artist, was shot six times in a 2015 assault. The touting of a culture is not without its consequences. Watch the video below and decide for yourself if it should be removed from the internet or not.
