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Anti-Emo Riots in Mexico: ¡Pánico en el Disco!

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In our June issue, we chronicle the escalating violence inside Mexico against emo fans, there commonly referred to as “emos.” The wave of thuggery made national headlines after hundreds of youths pummeled a handful of emos on March 7 in the central Mexican city of Querétaro’s main plaza, resulting in three injuries and 28 arrests. Eight days later, dozens of self-styled punks, “darks” (goths), and skaters marched on a plaza in Mexico City where emos gather daily, and the ensuing war of words eventually deteriorated into a rock-hurling, bottle-throwing melee before police arrived. Similar disturbances erupted that month in the northern city of Durango, leaving two injured and 80 in police custody.

No deaths have been blamed on the emo-bashing to date, but the grainy cell-phone video images of terrified emos being cornered by a howling mob in downtown Querétaro (see below) have alarmed officials. “We are troubled by the fact that only violence seems to interest young people,” says Adolfo Ortega Osorio, president of the Querétaro State human rights commission. “And while one can’t generalize, this attraction is becoming increasingly obvious.”

It’s a volatile cocktail of homophobia, culture clash, politics, and internet-savvy youth using social networking sites and blogs to both positive and negative ends.We’ve posted some videos from the Mexican emo riots below.

Mexican VJ Kristoff’s anti-emo diatribe, which many believe added fuel to the fire
Translation: Emo music is for wimps — it sucks. It’s for little girls who are 15 years old who have barely made it through puberty. They’ve gotten “emotional” since they have a crush on the singer in the band. Not because they actually like the music. Is it necessary to create a new genre to express emotions? Can’t we do that with heavy metal, punk, with Camela Sin Bandera, Jose Jose? Is it necessary create a new genre of music that says everyone else is wrong? That emotionally they can’t take us as far? Fucking bullshit kids. There isn’t a movement here. There isn’t a unified manner of thinking, there isn’t musicians. You have confused hard rock, punk and screamo and you have grouped together all the ideas of these scenes, just to give significance to your stupid bullshit movement.