Musicians wanted

I have a number of friends who are (or want to be) musicians. I’ve discovered that a number of musicians are needed in Mexico due to recent unexpected vacancies.

Mexican singer Zayda Pena, 28, was shot in the neck on November 30th. The next day, someone entered the hospital where Pena was recovering and shot her in the chest, killing her. Someone really wanted this woman dead. Her lyrics often focused on drug trafficking and violence. Two members of her band were also killed in the original assault.

Trumpeter Jose Aquino, 33, was found bound and beaten to death earlier this week.

Lead singer Sergio Gomez was strangled this week as well.

Singer Valentin Elizalde was killed last year.

Here’s why, according to the San Diego Union Tribune: “Some fear that singers, whether they have any links to drug cartels or not, are routinely ‘adopted’ by drug gangs, which post Internet videos showing their members torturing and executing rivals to soundtracks of popular tunes.”

So one of your songs is picked as the theme song for a gang and suddenly you are a target of all the rival gangs? Wow!

I knew their deaths couldn’t be related to their musicianship; there wasn’t a drummer in the lot!