Mexican singer ‘El Chapo de Sinaloa”‘plans mayoral run

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.

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