A raspy voice paired with the gentle strums of a guitar narrate the pain of a life cut short. Like other narcocorridos — a genre of folk songs glorifying drug kingpins — the lyrics touch on a violent end: “There’s witnesses to how he was executed,” the ballad proclaims.
But unlike other narcocorridos, this one is a testament to the death of a tactical-vest-wearing spider monkey in a custom camo jacket.
The monkey — referred to online as “El Chango,” or “the primate” in Spanish, and also known as the Sicario monkey — was the pet of a member of La Familia Michoacana, a notorious cartel in Mexico. It and its apparent owner were killed June 14 during a standoff between state security forces and the organized criminal group in Texcaltitlán, according to the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office.
After last week’s shooting rampage — which left 11 dead, three injured and seven arrested by police — photos of the bloody scene began circulating online. In a country mired in a deepening crisis of violence that has displaced thousands, images of bodies peppered by bullets and scores of military-grade weapons seized by authorities are nothing new. Yet one provoked a social media frenzy: the monkey’s body, clad with his tiny vest, lying on top of a dead man’s chest in an apparent hug.
“It’s such a short life and it wasn’t the monkey’s turn to die,” say the lyrics of the composition shared widely on Twitter. “Someone stole his story because he came here to triumph and shine in so many things.”
But unlike other narcocorridos, this one is a testament to the death of a tactical-vest-wearing spider monkey in a custom camo jacket.
The monkey — referred to online as “El Chango,” or “the primate” in Spanish, and also known as the Sicario monkey — was the pet of a member of La Familia Michoacana, a notorious cartel in Mexico. It and its apparent owner were killed June 14 during a standoff between state security forces and the organized criminal group in Texcaltitlán, according to the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office.
After last week’s shooting rampage — which left 11 dead, three injured and seven arrested by police — photos of the bloody scene began circulating online. In a country mired in a deepening crisis of violence that has displaced thousands, images of bodies peppered by bullets and scores of military-grade weapons seized by authorities are nothing new. Yet one provoked a social media frenzy: the monkey’s body, clad with his tiny vest, lying on top of a dead man’s chest in an apparent hug.
“It’s such a short life and it wasn’t the monkey’s turn to die,” say the lyrics of the composition shared widely on Twitter. “Someone stole his story because he came here to triumph and shine in so many things.”
