Photo: residentadvisor.net
Photo: residentadvisor.net

Cristina Torres Gómez, the mayor of Playa Del Carmen, has stated that there will be no more electronic music festivals in her city. Even the upcoming Arena Festival in February has been cancelled.

Following the murders of five people at the Blue Parrot nightclub on Monday, January 16th, Gómez is forbidding any further large scale events like the BPM Festival. Although she stopped short of laying the blame for the tragic events at anyone’s feet, there’s lots of speculation that the drug wars plaguing Mexico had a hand in the tragedy that played out on Monday morning.

These kinds of events are important for the community of people who love the festival atmosphere. It’s important for the DJs who play the festivals, too. I just don’t see a direct connection between banning festivals and reducing tragedy. I do see a very complex set of circumstances in situations like this, including the power of the drug cartels.

Where do you stand? Is the mayor on the right track?