Ariel Camacho Dies: Grupera Music Singer Killed In Car Crash At 22

Another tragic loss for Mexican regional music. Ariel Camacho, leader of the band Los Plebes del Rancho, died in a car accident after leaving his concert on February 25, his record company confirmed Thursday. Camacho and his band were very popular in their home state of Sinaloa, later transitioning to the US to promote their music. They were part of a new generation of artists known as “altered movement,” singing about the realities of drug trafficking and uncontrolled violence in an explicit way. After all, they hail from a small town there the narco-culture is in full bloom, since it’s the home to Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel.

"My heart is broken by the loss of Ariel Camacho," Angel Del Villar, CEO and founder of DEL Records, said in the statement. "Ariel was like a son to me. I knew he was going to transform the genre in Mexico and the United States. Millions of people would have become fans and would have gotten to know the man I did. We send our condolences to the families of all those involved in the accident." According to El Universal, in the car with Camacho was Melina Sarahí Durán Martínez, 22, who also lost her life, and two more people who were wounded at the accident.

Camacho was on tour promoting his album, El Karma, and was also in the recording studio with a new project. He was to perform several shows this weekend in Southern California, where he was becoming very popular. Many Mexican musicians, including Bob Vega , Luis Coronel , Karla Sierra, Gerardo Orti z, Fidel Rueda, and more, expressed their condolences to Camacho’s family on social media. May he rest in peace.