Exclusive Excerpt
Murrieta Protestors Block Immigrants, Alienate Mexican Music Star
By Eliana Alcaraz Esparza
On this particular Tuesday morning, July 1, 2014, Mexican singer Lupillo Rivera felt happy as a “King.” It was on this day his much-anticipated single, “El Rey de los Borrachos” was to be released. He had been signing pre-sold CDs for days and today was the day they would officially ship out, solidifying Rivera’s rise as one of Mexico and Latin America’s most popular artists.
While at his Temecula, CA residence packing the dozens of CDs, Rivera ran out of envelopes. With his wife and 5-year old son in tow, he drove his pickup truck toward nearby Murrieta. The events that transpired next were coincidental but painfully revealing.
“I happened to be driving by at the precise moment the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) buses were trying to enter Murrieta. A bunch of people were blocking the street,” he recalled.
Rivera had come upon a political protest on the street. He looked around and was suddenly confronted with something quite opposite of the warm welcomes the popular singer was accustomed to receiving.
Angry demonstrators stood in front of a DHS bus, screaming and holding up signs. Curious, Lupillo parked his truck and walked up to a nearby police officer to ask what was happening. The officer informed him it was an “immigration protest.” But simple words didn’t convey the complete meaning.
As Lupillo walked closer, he could read the hatred and rage written on the faces of the protestors. Then he read it on the signs they were carrying and it all slowly began to register:
“Illegals Out!” “Return to Sender” “Protect Your Kids From Disease” “Send Them Back w/Birth Control” “We Don’t Want You”
What he stumbled upon was a small war. Anti-immigrant protestors were blocking passage of three DHS buses that were transporting 140 undocumented immigrants. The passengers were mostly Central American mothers and their children who had been apprehended at the Southwest border in Texas. The kids certainly knew nothing about the immigration crisis that has been going on in the U.S. for decades; let alone what they were fleeing or that they were seeking “asylum.” The protestors managed to prevent the buses from entering Murrieta and the nearby USCIS Detention and Processing Center.
Since he looked Latino, some of the protestors made a beeline towards him. “Almost instantly,” said Rivera, “I was being yelled at with insults.”
First came the ugly words and then a large Caucasian man spat at him. Lupillo quickly realized in modern America despite whatever status you achieve the color of your skin still defines you. Although an American citizen, Rivera was accosted by protesters because, “According to them, we’re all illegal.”
The beloved singer further explained, “It was like an out of body experience.”
When they spit on my face,” declared Rivera, “they spat in all of our faces.”
Now the award-winning singer finds himself on the news and at the center of a national border crisis controversy. Ironically, neither the Mayor of Murrieta, Alan Long nor the protestors who zeroed in on Rivera with verbal attacks, were aware of the Mexican singer’s celebrity whose fan base is in the hundreds of thousands.
Rather than offer a real apology, the mayor only seemed to stir the pot of controversy further when he decided to turn a humanitarian crisis into a political one, and then insulted the singer as a bonus.
Sitting with Lupillo Rivera as he recounted his horrific experience in Murrieta, I was profoundly affected by his relaxed and grounded, spiritual nature. While Rivera himself was too humble to accept any weighty comparisons, I could only identify his graciousness in the line of fire with other important names of the past—names like Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy all great men capable of seeing life and community beyond racial segregation.
EE: You found yourself in the middle of a protest that you really didn’t understand initially. What was going on in your mind?
LR: I felt undignified and violated. I was surprised that the Murrieta Police Department just stood by allowing these attacks. It is just one example of how the city of Murrieta failed its residents and innocent bystanders. Some protestors defending the city say the protests are not an act of racism, but now I see that it is. I hesitate to use the word racism because of its negative meaning, but there is no doubt that it was the motivating factor behind Murrieta’s horrible attack against Latino immigrants, documented or undocumented—adult or child. If the bus had been transporting children from Russia, Europe, or Canada there would have been no protest.
EE: How were you able to restrain yourself while being attacked?
LR: [He sighed, with tears in his eyes]I have to admit, getting spit on, criticized… it hurt… it hurt a lot. But I’m a grown man and I can handle it. I can walk away. My children stopped me from fighting back. My five-year old little boy was a few feet away witnessing what was happening and I didn’t want him to see me as a violent person. I have to lead by example. After he witnessed the man spitting in my face, my son said, ‘That man should not be on the street. Call the police.’ My boy should have witnessed the police doing their job instead he saw them stand by as a stranger attacked his dad.
EE: Did you have any idea the power that Tweeting would have?
LR: Twitter is powerful. I mean I can tweet and gather 5,000 views in 30 minutes. That’s a huge responsibility and one I take very seriously. My wife knew that my fans would not abandon me.
EE: It must have come as a total surprise to the Murrieta’s officials when they found out who you were.
LR: They had no idea. I’m sure it ruined their day to read and hear in the news about who I am and what happened to me.
EE: In your opinion, did the police department fail to do their job?
LR: Yes. The attacks were verbal and then there is the shoving and spitting, but what if someone had pulled a gun or knife? We were all in the middle of chaos and the police stood by and did nothing. We were not the ones standing carrying signs with racist messages. We did not provoke this incident. Yes, I believe the mayor is responsible for his police officers standing by and do nothing.
EE: Congratulations, your new CD is climbing fast on the Billboard charts. You’re also touring Mexico as well as the U.S. What other projects are you working on?
LR: I’m really excited about my new upcoming radio show, ‘De Farra con Lupillo Rivera,’ which will be broadcast throughout the major U.S. markets on both AM and FM and people will be able to stream it online and download a mobile app. I’ll let everyone know when we’re on the airwaves via Tweeter!
Also, I’m working on a couple of video games that I can’t really talk about yet but they will help and inspire children, especially those suffering with terminal diseases.
EE: What do you want the world to remember about this past week?
LR: I didn’t ask for this, but here I am. I’m still not really sure what I’ve been drawn into. People are congratulating me and I’m saying to myself, ‘For doing the right thing?’ I’m going to let the chips fall where they may. If I’m needed, I’m there. A friend told me it’s not about the disrespect toward me… it’s about the children.
EE: Thank you, Lupillo Rivera for rising above the turmoil and showing the world that all people of all ethnicities matter in America.
Murrieta’s border crisis is not going to go away any time soon. As for Lupillo Rivera, he continues to say he is in it for the long haul, ready to defend and ensure that undocumented immigrant children are shielded from the shameful and sickening anti-immigration sentiments. We don’t know if his newfound role as a potential leader will have a lasting impact or will promote any positive change in immigration reform, but for now it’s enough.
Read the full Herald de Paris interview where Rivera gives a detailed account of exactly what: http://www.heralddeparis.com/lupillo-rivera-a-stranger-in-his-own-land/239050
Follow Lupillo Rivera on social media: Twitter: @Lupillo8 Facebook: Lupillo Rivera Official Instagram: lupilloriveraoficial
Lupillo Rivera is the younger brother of the late singing superstar Jenni Rivera who died in a tragic plane crash on December 9, 2012. He was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1972, and was raised in Long Beach, CA. He is a naturalized American citizen. His father, singer Pedro Rivera, owner of the independent label Cintas Acuario, helped launch Lupillo’s first single, “El Moreno,” and soon he was signed up to Sony Discos.
–Vanessa Verduga, Randy Vasquez, Danny Mora contributed to this editorial.
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