March 28, 2017 - 1:01 PM
MEXICO CITY - A Mexican norteno ballad singer known as "El Chapo de Sinaloa" says he plans to run as an independent candidate for the mayorship of Bahia de Banderas, a suburb of Puerto Vallarta.
The singer's manager confirmed the news Tuesday. The singer's real name is Ernesto Perez and his stage name "Chapo" is a nickname for short people in northern Mexico.
Perez is from Badiraguato, also the home township of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman — the Sinaloa cartel drug lord now facing trial in the United States.
The singer's music tends toward banda-style love songs rather than narco-corridos that focus on the drug trade.
Bahia de Banderas is located in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, which suffered from a wave of drug violence and killings between 2010 and 2012.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017