Folk singer Facundo Cabral killed in Guatemala

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: AP


One of Latin America's most admired folk singers, Facundo Cabral, was killed Saturday when three carloads of gunmen ambushed the vehicle in which he was riding, prompting expressions of anguish from across the region. Authorities said the performer's concert promoter was apparently the target.

Interior Minister Carlos Menocal said the Argentine singer and novelist was on his way to Guatemala's main airport at 5:20 a.m. when cars carrying the gunmen flanked it on both sides and opened fire as a third vehicle blocked it from the front.

Speaking at a news conference along with President Alvaro Colom, the minister said early investigations indicated the bullets were meant for the driver, Cabral's Nicaraguan promoter Henry Farinas, who was wounded.

Cabral, 74, rose to fame in the early 1970s, one of a generation of singers who mixed political protest with literary lyrics and created deep bonds with an audience struggling through an era of revolution and repression across Latin America.





Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/Folk-singer-Facundo-Cabral-killed-in-Guatemala-1459093.php

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Ironically, Cabral, who said he was inspired by Jesus Christ and Mohandas Gandhi, was recognized in 1996 by the Organization of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a "World Peace Messenger."

Cabral gained fame as a protest singer. His song, "No Soy De Aqui, Ni Soy De Alla" ("I'm Not From Here Nor There") was recorded in nine languages by stars including Julio Iglesias and Neil Diamond.

http://youtu.be/-h0slcUo94U

[Beacool]

1. I heard it on the radio while driving.

I went to high school in Buenos Aires and learned to appreciate tango and also folk music. Facundo Cabral was one of the best folk & protest singers in Argentina and well known throughout Latin America. I'm shocked that he was killed by thugs. Guatemala is a pretty dangerous place nowadays. More women have been murdered there than in Mexico's infamous Ciudad Juarez.

Rest in peace, Facundo.

:(

[Kurmudgeon]

2. That is so sad, Lord be with him and let's hope they catch the killers.

Never realized it was so rough down there these days.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[theHandpuppet]

4. Well of course

We all know this had to be the fault of the U.S., somehow. :eyes:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. WTF????!!!

;(

[Odin2005]

6. RW thugs, obviously.

:grr:

[rabs]

7. Facundo Cabral was not the target

(For those who are not aware of who Argentina's Facundo Cabral was, it can be said that he was the Spanish-speaking world's John Lennon. That is why Cabral's shooting death is as shocking to Latin Americans as Lennon's murder was to people in the English-language world.)

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The driver of the vehicle, Henry Farinas, was the target. Facundo just happened to be in the vehicle with Farinas, who was taking him to the airport. Facundo has originally planned to take the hotel shuttle bus to the airport, but Farinas offered to take him instead. Farinas was the promoter of Facundo's two concerts in Guatemala last week.

Farinas is reputed to be involved in high-level drug-trafficking and prostitution in the chain of fancy night clubs he owns in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama.

More likely is that Mexico's Zetas or Sinaloas were after Farinas because of a conflict in the narco-trafficking industry. If Farinas survives his wounds, the real truth may out in interrogation.