Attendees of Viña Del Mar International Festival will still get to listen to the raspy vocals and tubas of Peso Pluma‘s muisc later this year.
On Thursday night, festival organizers confirmed that they would not remove the performer from the lineup after a Viña council member wrote a letter to Mayor Macarena Serrano asking that he be removed from the lineup for “exult[ing] violence” in his lyrics.
“Following the controversy generated [about] Peso Pluma’s participation in the upcoming edition of the festival, organizers of Viña del Mar International Festival state the festival will not censure or discriminate,” read a press release, confirming that the musician’s show would go on as scheduled.
“The biggest Latin festival in the world celebrates the diversity of all artists who step on this stage. Music is universal and describes different realities,” the release added, referencing his awards at major awards show in the U.S.
Earlier this week, council member René Luis wrote a letter, which was published by different outlets in Chile, according to Billboard, expressing his dissatisfaction with Peso headlining the prestigious Latin American festival after reading a column written by scholar Alberto Mayol.
“Artists explicitly exult the violence and confrontations of organized crime and corruption, drug dealing and drug cartels: all this together with the ostentation and ambition for money, jewelry, luxury, cars, guns, a life that particularly seduces young people into believing they can easily and quickly achieve everything by ignoring the law,” he wrote, referencing “corridos tumbados.”
“It’s the so-called narco culture that artists like Peso Pluma put a sound to and validate from their place of great privilege,” he added. “For this reason, and despite the fame of this musician, considered one of the most popular in the music industry, and his millions of followers, I believe it’s not appropriate to use the channels, resources and public spaces to promote this genre of music and songs linked to drug dealers.”
The six-day fesival is set to take place from Feb. 25 to March 1, with performances from the likes of, Alejandro Sanz, Miranda!, Maná, Men at Work, Peso Pluma, Anitta, and Maria Becerra, along others. The iconic festival is hosted at Quinta Vergara in Villa del Mar, Chile.