Narco Cultura - Reportage by Getty Images · 2013-01-05 · “The market is bigger than ever. ......

NarcoCultura text & photographs by

Shaul Schwarz

Looking down from the hilltop over the border city of El Paso, Texas, it is impossible to tell where El Paso ends and Juarez, its bigger sister town on the Mexican side begins. Both towns merge together surrounded by an endless desert. On both sides, “Spanglish” is spoken. Thousands cross back and forth each day, visiting their relatives, going shop-ping or working. But one fact sharply divides Juarez and El Paso: more than 4,500 people have been killed in Juarez since 2006, making it the homicide capital of the world, while El Paso is one of the safest cities in the United States. Scenes being filmed on the set of Baja Films Production "Narco Jr.," in Tijuana on June 25, 2009. Baja Films is a leading production company specializing in low budget "Narco films," The film

“Narco Jr.” is based on a Narco Corrido from singer Fabian Ortegs known as “ El Halcom de La Sierra” meaning the "Hawk of the Sierra."

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Scenes being filmed on the set of Baja Films Production of "Narco Jr.," in Tijuana on June 25, 2009. Baja Films is a leading production company specializing in low budget "Narco films."

Scenes being filmed on the set of Baja Films Production of "Narco Jr.," in Tijuana on June 25, 2009. Baja Films is a leading production company specializing in low budget "Narco films."


Scenes being filmed on the set of Baja Films Production of "Narco Jr.," in Tijuana on June 25, 2009. Baja Films is a leading production company specializing in low budget "Narco films." The film “Narco Jr” is based on a Narco Corrido from singer Fabian Ortegs Know as “ El Halcom de La Sierra” meaning the Hawk of the Sierra.

“Let’s face it, the heroes these days are not the lawyers or the politicians, the heroes are the guys flashing the money,” says Narco music promoter Joel Vasquez outside a Narcocorrido club in Los Angeles. Narcocorridos are drug ballads with lyrics typically spinning off a real event that always glorify drug dealers and their violent and luxurious lifestyles. Narcocor-ridos are gaining in popularity – not only south of the border, but mainly among the 30 million Hispanics living in America. There are dozens of clubs dedicated to Narcocorrido music and instances of the Narco Culture are mushrooming all over the United States. “They are expressing and manifesting an anti-system way of life,” Joel says about the teens in the club. “The market is bigger than ever. I think we can be the next Hip-Hop.”

From the death cults of Mexico City to the ever-changing US-Mexican border that is redefining immigration, the Drug War is touching the lives of millions beyond the 28,000 lives it has already claimed. This work takes a deeper look at the Drug War that is constantly captivating the news media. While death statistics have been documented ad nauseam, far less has been said about the broader social reality created by the drug trade. This work focuses not only to the harsh existence in border towns, but also on the culture shared by millions of Mexicans and Latin-Americans inevitably involved in or affected by the drug trade and a desire for “Narco Luxury.”


Los Angeles based Narcocorrido El Komander (Alfredo Rios), inside a Mariscos (seafood) restaurant in Lynwood, CA. He is signed with Twins Enterprises based in both Burbank and Sinaloa. El Koman-der is from Culiacan, Sinaloa and writes, composes and performs for the king-pins of the Sinaloa Cartel. He is considered one of the newer and more successful crossover artists. Violent Narcocorrido mu-sic has become a main staple of the narco lifestyle, and it influ-ences the culture and promote the violence. Most of their profits, as corrido artists come from singing at private Narco parties, or writing songs for Narco bosses, which, for a cross over artist can be between $15,000-20,000 for a single song, about a Narco Boss. Most local corridos aspire to one day make the cross-over to the Los Angeles music scene, where they naturally become more mainstream.


TOP LEFT: Club El Centenario, a popular Mexican/ LA Narco hangout in Moreno Valley, CA. El Centario is one of many night clubs within a 100 mile radius of of LA, ca-tering to the Mexican and Sinaloa related Mexicans living in California and those connected to the Narco scene/ lifestyle.

TOP RIGHT: Los Angeles based Narcocorrido group BuKnas de Culiacan Sinaloa outside the club Centenario, a popular Mexican hangout in Moreno Valley, CA.

BOTTOM LEFT: Club El Cente-nario, a popular Mexican/ LA Narco hangout in Moreno Valley, CA. El Centario is one of many night clubs within a 100 mile radius of of LA, ca-tering to the Mexican and Sinaloa related Mexicans living in California and those connected to the Narco scene/ lifestyle.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Los Angeles based Narcocorrido group BuKnas de Culiacan Sinaloa, playing on-stage with show props at club Cen-tenario a popular Mexican hangout in Moreno Valley, CA.


Thousands of devotees pray to-gether as they to attend a mass for Santa Muerte “The Saint of Holy Death” outside the shrine in Tepito, Mexico City July 1,2009. Tepito, a run-down area in the capital’s his-toric center famous for its street markets brimming with pirated and stolen merchandise. Its violent and dangerous streets serves as a sort of Mecca for Santa Muerte fol-lowers. Tepito is also home to the most popular Santa Muerte shrine, which sits outside a simple home. On the first day of every month, the shrine fills with followers who come bearing statuettes of the saint. Some pilgrims make their way from the subway on their knees; many smoke marijuana or cigars with their saints.


Luis Demetrio Perez Diaz a street vender at Tepito market and a dev-otee ot the Santa Muerte, The saint of Holy Death, has a cigar at his pri-vate altar Mexico City July 1,2009. Mr. Perez says he started believing in the saint when she protected him in his former criminal life, he used to be a thief and has made different promises to the saint for what he calls "her favors." Tepito, a run-down area in the capitals historic center famous for its street markets brimming with pirated and stolen merchandise, and it's violent and dangerous streets serves as a sort of Mecca for Santa Muerte fol-lowers. Tepito is also home to the most popular Santa Muerte shrine, which sits outside a simple home. On the first day of every month, the shrine fills with followers who come bearing statuettes of the saint. Some pilgrims make their way from the subway on their knees; many smoke marijuana or cigars with their saints.


TOP LEFT: Devotees pray during a mass held on day of the dead in the church of Santa Muerte Inter-national in Tultitlan, Mexico, just outside Mexico City. In the center of the court yard of the church stands the biggest Santa Muerte statue in the world standing at 22 meters high.

TOP RIGHT: The Santa Muerte, dressed in green, receives worship-pers moments after a mass ended. Thousands gathered to attend a mass for Santa Muerte, “The Saint of Holy Death” outside the shrine in Tepito, Mexico City July 1,2009.

BOTTOM LEFT: Young men drink, smoke marijuana, and sniff glue in the back of a truck caring a statue of San Judas Tadeo as they make their way to the San Hippolito church in the center of Mexico City on "El Día de San Judas Tadeo ."

BOTTOM RIGHT: Devotees pray during a mass held on day of the dead in the church of Santa Muerte International in Tultitlan, State of Mexico, Just outside Mexico City. In the center of the court yard of the church stands the biggest Santa Muerte statue in the world standing at 22 meter high.


TOP LEFT: Shopkeeper and young window shoppers at a store called "Marco" in the downtown center of Culiacan, Sinaloa. Expensive "bling-bling" style clothing, jewelry and accessories have become a major piece of the bourgeoning narco sub-culture and many stores carry products with guns, violence, skulls, St. Muertes, and other narco related themes.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Trendy boxer shorts are displayed as part of the growing narco culture. Expensive "bling-bling" style clothing, jewelry and accessories have become a major piece of the bourgeoning narco sub-culture and many stores carry products with guns, violence, skulls, St. Muertes, and other narco related themes.

ABOVE: The shrine of Malverde at sunset July 3, 2009. In Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, long a hot-bed of drug cultiva-tion and the drug trade. For decades narco-traffickers have joined in worshipping at the shrine of San Malverde.


Junkies with tattoos, some of La Santa Muerte, hang out on the ridge of the Rio Grande River basin on the the Tijuana side of the San Diego border region. It is common to see junkies in "picaderos," or shooting galleries, shooting heroin along the border separating Mexico and the U.S., uninterrupted by nearby border patrol agents or Mexican police. Tijuana, a city of 1.3 million, has the highest prevalence of drug use in Mexico. The more than 2,000 mile border separating Mexico and the U.S forms the most extensive land frontier separating a devel-oped and developing country.


TOP LEFT: The boyfriend and friends of 18 year-old Maria Arias Medina smoke marijuana near the old border fence looking towards the U.S. in Tijuana's notorious Co-lonia Libertad neighborhood on June 14, 2009 in Tijuana, Mexico. In the distance the border patrol can be scene driving back and forth watching for movement. The Colonia Libertad neighborhood is alongside the old border fence separating Tijuana with San Diego.

TOP RIGHT: Soldiers salute during a presentation and ceremony, held by the Army to witness the burning of over 5 tons of Marijuana in the desert of Juarez August 4, 2009, Ciudad Juarez. Politicians, and their families, and Press are typi-cally invited to such events to make a show of what they have caught.

BOTTOM LEFT: A trafficking sus-pect is presented by the Army at the Military headquarters in Tijua-na, Mexico June 15. 2009. Since the beginning of Caldron's drug-war officials for both Army, Fed-eral, State and Local Police have held press conferences to show detained suspects of drug related crimes. At the same time the vio-lence persists, with over 11,500 murders in the last 2 years.

BOTTOM RIGHT: 18 year-old Maria Arias Medina, with a large La Santa Muerte tattoo on her back, holds her son as they look towards the U.S., the old fence and the new border fence in Tijuana's notorious Colonia Libertad neighborhood on June 14, 2009 in Tijuana, Mexico. The Colonia Libertad neighbor-hood is alongside the old border fence separating Tijuana with San Diego.


Federal Police feel the breasts of a stripper inside a dance club in downtown Tijuana during a large organized night raid by Police and Army on several dancing clubs, bars, and hotels in the notorious downtown red-light district of Ti-juana, Mexico on June 12, 2009. Normal activities continued on the strip, near the raid, foreign men approached young prostitutes, families with small children walked by with little notice and mariachis played on.


Crime scene of two dead bodies found in the desert outside of Jua-rez. The violence generated by the war of the drug cartels for control of drug routes translated into some 6,000 killings in 2008. More than 1,600 of them occurred in Juarez, three times more than the most murderous city in the United States. As of July 14, 2009, the body count in Juarez surpassed 1000, which came two months earlier than in 2008. There were 90 Murders in the first two weeks of August alone. With out of control kidnappings and widespread corruption many feel Juarez is facing a humanitar-ian crisis.

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Narco Cultura - Reportage by Getty Images · 2013-01-05 · “The market is bigger than ever. ......

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