Chui Montana, a rising star in the speedway scene, was found dead in Mexico on Wednesday (February 7).
His body was discovered on the highway that connects Rosarito to Tijuana. According The San Diego Tribune, Fernando Sánchez, Mexico's Minister of Security and Citizen Protection, told local media that Cárdenas' body had been shot multiple times and was found handcuffed. Law enforcement believes she had been kidnapped prior to her death.
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The Tijuana native, whose real name is Jesús Cárdenas, was part of the musical roster of Street Mob Records, a label headed by Jesús Ortiz Paz (JOP), the lead singer of Fuerza Regida.
“On behalf of Street Mob Records, we are deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague and brother Chuy Montana,” wrote the tag in an Instagram post on Thursday. “We are in solidarity with his family at this time of grief. We kindly ask for understanding and respect from the media at this difficult time.”
The label and its artists have been major contributors to the corridos tumbados and belikeada movement, subgenres of local Mexican music that have gained notoriety in recent years. Montana's career has been marked by a significant online presence, with 816,000 monthly streams on Spotify. He often played his guitar for the public in the traffic lanes at the Tijuana-San Ysidro border crossing, where he was discovered by JOP.
According Punto Norte, A newspaper in Mexico, investigators believe Montana may have tried to escape his captors, leading to a chase and eventual fatal shooting. Responding officers found shell casings at the scene, according to the report. Montana had gunshot wounds to his head and hands.
Montana's music, particularly his 2023 single “Porte de Scarface,” has seen success, amassing more than 22 million plays on Spotify. His collaboration with Fuerza Regida, “Polvos de Chanel”, also highlighted his rising status in the music industry.
The artist's death has also raised concerns about the safety of artists in genres dealing with controversial subjects.
In October 2023, Fuerza Regida received death threats via a drug banner they left in Tijuana. After the threat surfaced, the band San Bernardino canceled their concert at Tijuana's Estadio Caliente, as did Peso Pluma weeks earlier after receiving the same death threat on a tarp with the initials CJNG, which refers to the Jalisco Nueva Cartel. Generation.
Tijuana has taken steps to address the glorification of violence in music by banning narcocorridos from public performances, a measure that Mayor Montserrat Caballero reiterated in light of recent events.
Chuy Montana's death adds to the ongoing trend of violence against performers in the corridos and narcocorridos dating back to the 1992 murder of Chalino Sánchez. Other stars who have been victims of violence in the genres include Valentín Elizalde, Ariel Camacho, Zayda Peña, Sergio Gómez, Javier Reyes “El Príncipe del Corrido” and many more.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/chuy-montana-dead-corridos-singer-killed-1235603702/
