Showing city ruins is a known trend in the music industry. Singers prove themselves rebellious by showing an attitude that is against the odds and moving towards something unique, out of the box and destructive as well. Following the same tradition, the Mexican singer Joni Sandez announced his upcoming album Por Las Calles Vol. 1. He is expecting to launch the album in December. However, the real shock came out when he showed up with the poster of the album.
As we may already know teasers and promotion material are always set to create hype before the actual launch of an entertainment product. Similarly, the design of an album cover illustrates the feel and mood of the actual music but this cover has got some locals like Maria Aguilar 22 year San Bernardino resident saying “I don’t know who this artist is and I don’t care, but I’ve been living here for over 20 years and I don’t appreciate showing our SB sign like this.”
City of San Bernardino in Ruins
The theme of the Norteño album Por Las Calles is showing a destroyed city and music being glorified. It’s a kind of shock for all the residents and fans at the same time. They were not expecting the poster to be this ruthless and damaging. Illustration of the city is good in the first place as it let the singer to use the geographical representation of the city. However, all the destruction and broken logo of the city entrance is disturbing. The question is will it be released in this unacceptable way or will some changes be adhered to.
Not Acceptable Mexican Music
The rebellious attitude of singers towards society is something common in the music industry. They have always been challenging the social norms, values, setup and system in their songs and videos. It is their right to express things in their unique artistic form. However, showing a landmark to be destructed in this type of way isn’t acceptable to most citizens. The designers and A&R needs to understand the sensitivity of the issue and pay attention to the matter accordingly.
A Not So Smart Artistic Move
A close view of the poster shows the Mexican artist’s logo dropping on the street breaking the landmark San Bernardino sign in half. It depicts that the upcoming Regional Mexican album and singer will be some kind of rock norteño music that will make everyone feel indifferent and uncomfortable. It is unable to deliver the accurate meaning of music showing that this logo will destroy the whole city. It is not showing any good signs for the local community and will be the talk of city going into the Christmas holidays. For the marketing, publicity, and presentation purpose of this singer, it is not a great move.
Possible Threats from San Bernardino Locals
For Sandez it is necessary to initiate an explanation for the public about the poster. The harsh launch of the poster on the music platforms is not a good thing for the career of this young artist. If the management is not able to clear the clouds before album launch, things can get bad for the label, the Mexican singer and management may have to face a backlash from followers and other local residents like Maria Santana.
BY DAVID BALDEZ dBaldez@sng.com
