Calle 13 is dealing with the consequences of singer Rene Perez’s political leanings (and t-shirts) during Los Premios MTV on Sunday evening. First, the duo’s upcoming Halloween concert in Puerto Rico was cancelled. Now, Colombia is following suit and closing the door on the guys.
Manizales mayor Juan Manuel Llano announced that the Grammy Award–winning act would not be allowed to participate in an upcoming festival in the coffee-growing city after appearing at the awards show wearing a tee with the message “Uribe paramilitary,” possibly linking Colombia’s president with far-right paramilitary groups.
“It is an insult to Colombians that someone of talent would use this to attack Colombians and especially our president,” Llano said in a radio interview. “Manizales has decided under no circumstances or for any reason can this group take part.”
A man of conviction, Perez isn’t apologizing to the powers that be. Here’s what he wrote on his twitter page: “Fire at me with whatever you want, but I’ll never stop saying what I mean. I don’t care about the record label, the radio, no one.