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News Tue Dec 04 2007
K-Paz de la Sierra's Singer Found Dead
After being kidnapped in southern Mexico on Sunday night, Chicago-based K-Paz de la Sierra bandleader Sergio Gomez was found dead in Michoacan on Monday. The group had spent extensive time in Mexico recently, although they made their homes in the Chicago area. Leaving a concert Sunday morning, the band and promoters were kidnapped. Everyone except Gomez was soon released. It's been a difficult year for K-Paz de la Sierra with many members leaving to form a new band, AK-7, in the spring.
The last few years have been quite brutal on Mexican band members who play a style of music based on drug trafficking drama known as narcorrido. Many have died in drug-related violence that puts them far too close to the environment that they sing about for entertainment. What makes the news of Gomez different is K-Paz de la Sierra's style is duranguense, a form of upbeat romantic music that does not glorify the drug trade. Also killed over the weekend was Zayda Peña, another Mexican singer whose songs were not related to narcorrido.