Murdered Mexican singer's group to tour

Murdered Mexican singer's group to tour

MEXICO CITY - Members of the K-Paz de la Sierra band vowed to go ahead with a planned tour despite the murder of their lead singer, Sergio Gomez, who was killed Dec. 2 in the latest in a string of slayings of Mexican musiciansObviously, it is a big loss. Nobody is prepared for something like this, but it is a big motivation to carry on," vocalist Humberto Duran told reporters Monday. "We are not going to stand around with our arms crossed."

With Gomez's brother Juan taking over as the new lead singer, the group expects to go ahead with a planned tour of North and South America and possibly release a new album later this year.

His band mates also said they could hold a mass memorial concert for Gomez, who was famous for his up-tempo "Pasito Duranguense" rhythm.

Gomez had reportedly received death threats urging him not to appear in the capital of the western state of Michoacan, a hotbed of the drug trade, where he was tortured and strangled. Police have made no arrests in his killing.

K-Paz de la Sierra's album "Conquistando Corazones" ("Conquering Hearts") has been nominated for a Grammy in the best banda album category, and the musicians said Gomez's parents should attend the ceremony to accept any award his behalf.

A number of musicians' killings in recent years have been linked to a wave of organized crime violence terrorizing many parts of Mexico, including singers of so-called "narcocorridos," or drug ballads. Valentin Elizalde was murdered in November 2006 after his song "To My Enemies" became a drug lord's anthem.

But neither Gomez nor other more recent victims were known for narcocorridos; also killed in December was female singer Zayda Pena — who crooned about love and loss, not drugs and guns.