|
Omar Valenzuela, Rios' manager, acknowledges that "El Komander" has built a reputation. "When he comes on to sing, people see him as a real big Mafia hotshot, even though he isn't," Valenzuela said. Age, marriage
-- and perhaps a well-founded fear -- have changed him. "His songs have changed a lot ... Now that he's getting radio play, he has some love songs out," Valenzuela said. "He shows a lot of respect for the cities (where he performs), and for his own life. We wouldn't want anyone to get mad, so there a lot of songs he doesn't sing anymore." A number of famous Mexican banda and norteno singers have been killed in recent years, and some of the killings have been attributed to drug capos angered by the musicians' songs or personal life. But the whole idea of trying to censor songs irks Valenzuela. "This censorship is a big fat lie," Valenzuela said. "The politicians can tell the press they're banning this ... but they continue to listen to it. The police who stop us on the street ask for records." "A lot of people from the government, the federal police, the security forces, were sitting there enjoying it, drinking wine when El Komander sang," Valenzuela said. "They even requested songs." Concert organizers seem to have accepted the lost deposits as one of the prices of bringing well-known acts to the city. And Rios, who didn't have to pay any fine, has no plans to change his repertoire. "Alfredo is more worried about what his fans want, than what the governor or the press says," said Valenzuela.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.