The future of Mexico's dance music festivals is in limbo after the BPM festival, one of Mexico's preeminent electronic music events, ended in a bloody shootout that left five people dead and 15 others injured on Monday. The incident took place at a nightclub in Playa Del Carmen, a top tourist destination on Mexico's Caribbean coast. In response to increased organized crime-related violence in the iconic Riviera Maya region, local authorities are now calling for a ban on upcoming festivals until further notice.
Almost two days after the incident, authorities have yet to shed light on what exactly happened at the Blue Parrot night club at around 2:30 AM on Monday, when a gunman entered the establishment on closing night of the festival's tenth edition. Yesterday, Quintana Roo state attorney Miguel Angel Pech Cen said that local law enforcement are pursuing three different lines of investigation pertaining to extortion, drug dealing, or a targeted execution. But while authorities work on determining the motive, Monday's deadly shooting is already threatening the future of the area's live music scene. Local officials and businesses are now voicing their opposition to BPM's return next year, bringing to light some of the complex tensions between a burgeoning musical tourism industry, organized crime, and public safety.
"We want […] to generate jobs, but in a cordial and healthy environment, where families, [those of] us who live here, can live in peace," said Maria Elena Mata, president of a local union representing business owners in the region, at a press conference on Monday. "We also ask, and we're having a positive response, that these kinds of events go away from here, that we do not allow one more. We don't want more BPM, nor any other events like it." Mata added that the area was hoping to attract a different, "healthier" kind of clientele.
Read more on Thump
Advertisement