A corrido to El Salvador's president from SoCal

Pedro Rivera is the patriarch of Southern California's most famous corrido dynasty. So why did he pen a song to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Los Angeles Times] [Essential California Newsletter] July 11, 2022 [View in browser]( [Click to view images]( supporter of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele hoists a poster of the controversial leader during a rally in MacArthur Park earlier this year. (Soudi Jiménez / Los Angeles Times en Español) Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California [newsletter](. It’s Monday, July 11. I’m Gustavo Arellano, reporting from Orange County and filling in all this week — wait, don’t leave! Stay along. I plan to do quick dispatches that touch on the big news we’re all going through but also some random randomness, as [I always do in my column](. We’re gonna have what we Mexicans call a puro pinche pari — a nonstop fiesta. Just like Pedro Rivera. The Southern California-based producer of Mexican regional music calls himself “El Patriarca del Corrido” — “The Patriarch of Corridos,” a humblebrag only matched by the facts. He’s the father of the [late superstar]( Jenni Rivera and her [brother Lupillo]( grandfather to singer and perpetual escándalosa Chiquis Rivera, and remains head of Cintas Acuario, the Long Beach record label that launched the career of Chalino Sánchez, the singer-songwriter who continues to tower over Mexican music [30 years after his murder](. Now 79, Pedro could understandably bask in the royalties of his artists and family during the autumn of his life. Instead, he’s courting geopolitical desmadre by releasing a corrido about El Salvador’s controversial president, Nayib Bukele. The first-term leader is probably best known worldwide for making El Salvador[the first nation to allow cryptocurrency]( as legal tender. But critics think of him as something else: [an autocrat]( a diss only matched by the facts. Bukele’s legislative allies dismissed all members of El Salvador’s Supreme Court last year and replaced them with apologists. He has mocked opponents on social media in ways that would make Donald Trump seem as sober as Pope Francis. Bukele has [launched investigations into critical press outlets]( and has blasted the Biden administration for allegedly funding a communist plot to overthrow his regime. If any of that bothers Pedro Rivera, he sure doesn’t show it in his song. “[El Corrido de Nayib Bukele]( is pro forma balladry: A birthdate, a semblance of a rhyming scheme, shoutouts to ostensible victories. Rivera praises Bukele as a “grand, intelligent man” who has “accomplished what he promised”: an end to violence, delinquency and the jailing of all gang members. Rivera even pulls off a pun by using the meaning of El Salvador (“The Savior” in Spanish) to, um, paint Bukele as Jesus? Yet “they keep criticizing him, saying he’s a dictator,” Rivera concludes in his clear-but-flat voice. “El Corrido de Durango” this is not. At least the backing banda sinaloense is tight. Cintas Acuario offered no reason for the song drop, but I suspect it’s for the usual reasons Rivera does business: He knows the market. Despite all the scandals, Bukele is wildly popular in El Salvador and in the diaspora. That’s why Rivera debuted his corrido on Sunday at MacArthur Park, which saw its third pro-Bukele rally this year. El Salvador’s president, unsurprisingly, accepted Rivera’s love on Twitter despite admitting he hadn’t heard “El Corrido de Nayib Bukele.” Instead, he autographed a Salvadoran flag that he plans to send as a gift to Rivera and tweeted out photos of the grand occasion. Man, imagine if [Bad Bunny]( had done something? And now, here’s what’s happening across California: Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. ADVERTISEMENT L.A. STORIES Dramatic new 6th Street Bridge opens, delivering a ‘love letter’ to Los Angeles. Unlike most bridges built mostly to sustain the weight of big rigs barreling down them, the new bridge is meant to hold massive celebrations — and did it hold ‘em this weekend. [Los Angeles Times]( [Pachucos on the 6th Street Bridge] Frank Sifuentes, left, and Manny Alcaraz display their vintage cars during Saturday’s 6th Street Viaduct community celebration. (Myung J. 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