Yet another regional Mexican singer has been the victim of attempted murder in Mexico, but in the most brazen fashion. Alfredo Olivas was in the middle of a performance in Chihuahua, Mexico on Friday night (Feb. 27) when someone reportedly shot at him as he played his accordion and sang onstage.
In a video posted on YouTube, Olivas can be seen collapsing, still holding the accordion.
The attack took place in the City of Hildago del Parra in the state of Chihuahua. According to published reports in Mexico’s daily El Universal, Olivas, 22, dedicated a song to a woman sitting in one of the front rows of the audience. The woman’s boyfriend, bothered by the attention, got up and apparently went for a gun. When he came back, he shot at Olivas seven times, but only hit him twice.
The singer survived. The attacker and a male friend were both arrested.
Olivas is part of a new generation of young regional Mexican acts who are starting to impact the charts, singing both corridos and romantic songs. His most recent single, “El Porvenir,” is currently at No. 33 on the regional Mexican airplay chart, and several of his videos, including “El Inicio del Final” (The Beginning of the End) have over 3 million views on YouTube.
Multiple Mexican artists have been gunned down in Mexico in the past decade, with many speculating that the murders have to do with musician’s ties to organized crime.
That does not seem to be the case in the Olivas case.