Los Tigres Del Norte Cancellation Causes Stir October 28, 2009
- Latin
By Ayala Ben-Yehuda, L.A.
Los Tigres del Norte aren't performing at tonight's (Oct. 28) Lunas awards at Mexico City's Auditorio Nacional-- either because of official censorship or because of a creative disagreement with the event producers, depending on who you ask.
The veteran regional Mexican act held a press conference in the Mexican capital today to say that it was canceling its performance at the awards, which honor live entertainment in the country, because they were asked not to perform its single "La Granja." The song, a critique of corrupt governments that pursue power at the expense of the common man, has been compared to George Orwell's book "Animal Farm."
The band's leader, Jorge Hernandez, reportedly blamed the awards show organizers' request that Los Tigres not perform the song during its closing set on a directive by Mexico's federal government against playing "La Granja."
Auditorio Nacional, which is government-owned, released a statement saying that "due to production requirements, and as a function of the rhythm and atmosphere of the ceremony, [Los Tigres] were made a proposal of songs that they rejected."
The venue re-iterated its commitment to freedom of artistic expression, naming a list of politically charged acts (such as Molotov and Alex Lora) that have played the venue.
The statement added that Auditorio Nacional re-invited Los Tigres today to perform songs proposed by the band, but that the invitation was declined.
For its part, the Secretary of Government's office of radio, TV and film issued a statement denying that it had sent any official letter to radio stations asking them not to play "La Granja."
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