HomeNewsBriefPopstar Children of Knights Templar Leader Glamorize Narco-Culture
BRIEF

Popstar Children of Knights Templar Leader Glamorize Narco-Culture

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR / 23 JAN 2014 BY MICHAEL LOHMULLER EN

The children of a drug cartel leader in Mexico have reportedly become pop singers, and are openly sharing their extravagant lifestyle glamorizing drug trafficking culture on social media.

Self-defense groups in Michoacan, Mexico have outed two young local pop stars as being the children of Knights Templar leader Enrique Plancarte. The vigilantes published pictures of the interior of a house they seized during recent confrontations, and highlighted how it had been the setting for music videos of Melissa Plancarte and her brother Kike Plancarte, reported Milenio.

In response to their accusations, Melissa posted a video featuring images of her over the soundtrack to the song "Me Vale Todo," -- which roughly translates to "it's all good."

The siblings, known as the "Princess of La Banda," and the "Prince of La Banda" (La Banda is a form of Mexican music), began their careers in 2012, and release records on their own label, Plan Records, which has just four artists on its books.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of the Knights Templar

Both Melissa and Kike have posted photos of themselves on Facebook and Instagram riding horses, posing with famous musicians and expensive cars, and wearing clothing with Knights Templar symbols.

Among Melissa's repertoire is a song dedicated to the founder of the Knight's predecessors, the Familia Michoacana -- the messianic Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, alias "El Chayo," -- with the lines, "I am not a drug trafficker, I am the head of the family. If they persecuted Christ, they have to persecute me" (see video below). 

InSight Crime Analysis

Mexico has a very strong culture associated with drug trafficking, and the materialistic lives of Mexican drug traffickers, with their fancy cars, expensive clothes, and elaborate parties are a subject of public fascination. This glamorization of the culture helps drug traffickers to easily recruit youth to their ranks and operate with relative impunity. 

Drug traffickers have long cultivated this allure and fascination. The Familia Michoacana is known for using so-called "narcocorridos" -- ballads about drugs, easy money, and violence that are sung in a traditional folk music style -- to appeal to religious sentiments and justify their behavior to locals. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has also reportedly commissioned "narcocorridos" to tell his version of his life story. Narcocorridos have become so popular that in some areas politicians have banned them from being played in public venues. 

The Plancartes are not the first children of prominent drug traffickers to openly document their lifestyle on social networks. This past November, Mexican media revealed photos posted on social media of the children of Ismael Zambada and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, which were used by US authorities to arrest Serafin Zambada.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

DISPLACEMENT / 2 JUN 2021

The number of displaced people within Mexico has increased for the first time in three years, indicating that the country's…

MARIJUANA / 13 DEC 2022

The legalization of marijuana at the state level in the US has forced organized crime groups in Mexico to adapt…

COCAINE / 8 NOV 2021

Cocaine, synthetic drugs, weapons, migrants, gasoline - this range of criminal economies has seen violence escalate in Mexico's northern state…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…