Despite the controversy earlier this week, Mexican star Peso Pluma will indeed perform at the 2024 Viña del Mar International festival, as previously announced. His participation was confirmed in an official press release sent out by festival organizers on Thursday night (January 11).
“Following the controversy created regarding the participation of Peso Pluma in the upcoming edition of the festival, the organizers of the Viña del Mar International festival declare that the festival will not criticize or discriminate,” the statement said. a representative of the festival also confirmed Advertising sign that Pluma's show will go on as planned.
The “controversy” referred to in the press release is a letter written by René Lues, a Viña del Mar council member, to Viña Macarena Mayor Ripamonti Serrano, requesting the cancellation of Peso Pluma's performance at the festival in the final week of February. In the letter — published in several media outlets in Chile — Lues says a column written by scholar Alberto Mayol made him “reflect a lot on the music and lyrics of the so-called corridos tumbados, where the artists explicitly express violence and confrontations of organized crime and corruption, drug trade and drug cartels: all this together with display and ambition for money, jewelry, luxury, cars, weapons, a life that seduces especially young people into believing that they can easily and quickly achieve the always ignoring the law.”
He continued, “It's the so-called narco culture that artists like Peso Pluma put a sound on and validate from their place of great privilege. For this reason, and despite the reputation of this musician, who is considered one of the most popular in the music industry, and his millions of fans, I believe that it is not appropriate to use the channels, resources and public spaces to promote this the kind of music and songs associated with drug dealers […] Drug trafficking is the biggest tragedy we have in Chile and Viña del Mar and is the generator of all the forms of delinquency that today overwhelm our country and our city.
However, festival organizers resisted calls to remove Peso Pluma from the lineup, explaining in their statement that, “The largest Latin festival in the world celebrates the diversity of all the artists who take to this stage. Music is universal and describes different realities.”
The release also noted Pluma's many recent accomplishments, including winning Artist of the Year at the Billboard Latin Music Awards in October. “Viña del Mar also recognizes new musical genres and expects a successful, close to six nights, where music and talent from diverse artists will continue to be a pillar of the largest Latin music festival in the world,” organizers said.
The Vina del Mar International festival will take place from February 25th to March 1st in Viña del Mar, Chile. The festival – the longest running in the Spanish-speaking world – will present Peso Pluma as the final act.
See the full lineup here. The headline shows will be broadcast live Billboard.com in the USA
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/peso-pluma-2024-vina-del-mar-performance-confirmed-controversy-1235580652/
