The 10 Narcoballads That Shaped the Legend of El Mencho

Long before Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes "El Mencho" became a household name tied to cartel violence and international manhunts, his reputation was already circulating through a different channel: music.

Oseguera was killed on Sunday, February 22, in a operation occurred in the western state of Jalisco and followed by roadblocks and burning vehicles, a tactic frequently used by cartels to slow security forces. The strike was part of an operation in the mountains of Jalisco and was framed as a major security success for President Claudia Sheinbaum's government.

El Mencho rose from local criminal networks into the top tier of Mexico's underworld, becoming the face of CJNG's rapid expansion. The cartel emerged after fractures in earlier organizations, and over time built a reputation for combining sophisticated trafficking with aggressive territorial violence, as well as diversification into other illicit businesses.

Narcocorridos and narcoballads have long functioned as an unofficial archive of Mexico's underworld, documenting figures not through court records but through rhythm, bravado, and coded language. In the case of El Mencho, artists often avoided direct naming, opting instead for nicknames, initials, geographic markers, or symbolic references tied to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). Some mention him as Nemesio, his first name, El señor de los gallos, one of his nicknames, or el M. Others, like "El presidente".

Here are 10 songs that either explicitly mention El Mencho or are widely recognized as referencing him or the CJNG era,

1. El Señor de los Gallos – Los Alegres del Barranco

2. El tío de Jalisco – Luis R. Conriquez

3. Nemesio – Luis R. Conriquez

4. El Señor de los Gallos– Enigma Norteño

5. Soy Mencho – Lenín Ramírez

6. El M – Gerardo Ortíz

7. Doble R – Los dos carnales

8. Estrategia de Escape – El Komander

9. GTA – Luis R Conriquez, Jasiel Nuñez

10. Presidente -Natanael Cano, Gabito Ballesteros

Unlike traditional biographies, narcocorridos operate without footnotes or fact-checking. Their goal is not accuracy but impact. For El Mencho, music amplified fear, projected reach, and reinforced the CJNG brand far beyond Mexico.

Cultural researchers note that these songs often spread faster than official information, shaping public perception even in regions untouched by cartel violence.

Mexican authorities have repeatedly criticized narcocorridos for normalizing violence. Several states have banned public performances of songs referencing cartel figures, including El Mencho. Yet despite restrictions, the music persists online, where streaming algorithms and viral sharing keep these tracks alive.

With El Mencho now dead, these songs remain as cultural artifacts, echoes of how organized crime embeds itself into popular culture. They document not just one man, but an era when music, fear, and power converged.