Ariel Camacho, Lead Singer of Los Plebes del Rancho, Dies at 22
By PAULINA VILLEGAS
MEXICO CITY — Ariel Camacho, the lead singer of the popular norteño group Los Plebes del Rancho, died in a car accident early Wednesday on a highway near the Mexican state of Sinaloa. He was 22.
Mr. Camacho was returning from a performance at a music festival, Carnaval de Mocorito. He had been on tour with his group, whose name roughly translates as “the ranch’s plebeians,” promoting their album “El Karma.” It was not immediately known what caused the accident or who was driving.
Mr. Camacho, who played guitar and wrote songs as well as singing, was idolized by youngsters in rural Mexicoand had begun amassing a fan base on the other side of the border.
He was known for his original narcocorridos — accordion-driven ballads telling of the violent lives of drug traffickers. But his fans, and the musicians he worked with, argued that his message was broader. He himself referred to his songs as “campirana”: music for farmers.