Facundo Cabral, Folk Singer Shot And Killed In Guatemala

Facundo Cabral, one of Latin America's most beloved folk singers, was shot and killed on Saturday in Guatemala City, reports MSNBC.

The Argentinian musician had been touring the country and was enroute to Guatemala's main airport when men with rifles attacked the vehicle, shooting him at least eight times, and wounding his concert promoter Henry Farina. Cabral died at the scene.

According to firefighters at the scene two black vehicles pulled up and opened fire on the singer's white Range Rover and the beige Chevrolet Tahoe following him, reports MSNBC.

The motive is still unclear but police are investigating whether the shooting was an attempted robbery or a targeted attack.

Ronaldo Robles, a spokesman for Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, said the leader was "dismayed by this cowardly act," reports BBC.

Cabral's representative, David Llanos, told reporters: "I don't know how and why this happened, because Facundo is well-known around the world and I don't see why anyone would be interested in killing him."

The 74-year-old singer gained notoriety in the early 1970s as a protest singer in Argentina. In 1978 he lost both his wife and infant daughter in a plane crash. His most famous song, "No soy de aqui ni alla" -- "I'm Not From Here or There -- was recorded about 700 times in 27 languages, reports MSNBC.

In an interview with Associated Press in 2008, he said: "I love life so much because it cost me so much to enjoy it. From the cradle to the grave is a school, so if what we call problems are lessons, we see life differently."

Comments

[tedpikul]

10:00 PM on 07/10/2011

Langley knows who did it - personally. They flew some of our stuff, we let them fly some of their stuff. Not one domino shall fall - or $omething.

[wadeless]

10:46 AM on 07/10/2011

Lot's of strange things going on in the news related to this country recently.

[LucreziaBorgia]

10:40 AM on 07/10/2011

Gracias, Maestro. You are now immortal.

[Mayela]

10:05 AM on 07/10/2011

He can't give you or anyone another perspective. See? He is an example of the theory of the absolutes: absolutely nothing to learn; nothing to listen; nothing to analyze. He cannot give it a try because he does not have the tools to process the information, that's all.

[1differentdrummer]

09:51 AM on 07/10/2011

He really got someone mad, didn't he?

[Pig Bodine]

02:30 PM on 07/10/2011

Probably the CIA director.

[malango]

09:43 AM on 07/10/2011

Ni soy de aqui ni soy de alla...Gracias Don Facundo..You really Help lots of smart people to get it...Thank You.

[pacrimco]

09:20 AM on 07/10/2011

You can kill a man but you cannot kill his ideas, his music or his memories. Muchas Gracias Facundo Cabral. Your memory and your music will remain with us always. You served us well and now may you finally rest with your loved ones.

[Buscandolaverdad]

09:12 AM on 07/10/2011

For any lover of peace and happiness and commonsense, these are very sad news. Facundo Cabral was an immense poet and singer who always had something beautiful and wise to sing about. He was a simple man who liked to say, "the key to happiness is to have little, and the little that you have, want it little". This is an immense loss to humanity.

Adios Gran Maestro...te extraniaremos por siempre.

[Barbara Lilly]

09:00 AM on 07/10/2011

Senor Cabral! We have lost a great voice of our times.

[GreeseMonkey]

08:55 AM on 07/10/2011

R.I.P. and thank you.
Shot 8 times? I seriously doubt it was a robbery. Looks more like a hit. Same goes for the recent helicopter "accident" of Guatemalan Nationalist Change Union party vice presidential candidate and senatorial candidate Mauricio Urruela.

[BillyClub]

08:33 AM on 07/10/2011

RIP, Facundo Cabral!

[Tony Santos]

05:39 AM on 07/10/2011

This man is a fixture in Latin American Culture. He's the "Bob Dylan" of Latin America. And to have him gunned down like this is downright shameful. If this isn't a gleaming example of the escalating problems in Central America, I don't know what is. RIP Senor Cabral.

[eyelashviper]

11:22 AM on 07/10/2011

Guatemala is an extraordinarily beautiful country, and has been plagued with violence, some with the involvement of the CIA, starting many decades ago (Google "History of United Fruit, Guatemala" for details). In the 1980s it became brutal, with mass k!llings of workers, civilians, and even foreigners who "sympathized" with the oppressed. The country has a very small middle class, with the power held by a small group of wealthy citizens. Interestingly enough, it has had the finest of telephone systems in the region, thanks to the needs of the CIA.
When some kind of economic parity comes to Guatemala, and the oligarchs' power is diminished, perhaps there will be a more peaceable time for the good people there.

[Tony Santos]

06:00 PM on 07/10/2011

Yes, Guatemala is indeed a beautiful country. I've spent more than 7 years in Central America, and it is still one of my favorite countries. But the problems associated with Guatemala are multi-faceted, the fruit companies may have been the catalyst, but trust me when I tell you, they have nothing on the Narcos, and even less on the oligarchs. Who will NEVER give up wealth and power. One thing to bear in mind. More than 90% of Guatemala's wealth (and real estate) is owned by a mere 15 or so extended families. And you can be assured that at least many of those families would rather work with the narcos than against them. Any questions?

[Douglas Bennett]

05:04 AM on 07/10/2011

REST IN PEACE - "FACUNDO CABRAL" YOU ARE FREE AT LAST FROM AN EARTH THAT IS TRULY A HELL ON EARTH....

[studana51]

04:52 AM on 07/10/2011

This is a political hit, not a robbery attempt. Don't travel in Mexico or Central America, our State Dept doesn't want you to stop spending money there..but they know you won't be safe if you go. This is a tragedy !

[hollywoody5000]

03:23 AM on 07/10/2011

Funny that noone mentions how out of control Mexico and the So Amer countries are. They are mob rule drug countries, third world in every respect, corrupt from top to bottom. Many astute observers saw this coming many years ago. Seems the politicians, the world "leaders" and people "in charge" of law & order must have seen it coming too but they were politically obligated to look the other way while the death & destruction spilled over into the U.S. and they still can't do anything about it for political reasons. It's a tragedy what's happening and looks like what's coming is even worse, thanks to the lack of leadership in the U.S. and south of the border. This man's death is tragic, goes without saying, but there is a much, much larger picture

[Tony Santos]

05:37 AM on 07/10/2011

Uh... Guatemala is in Central America. Mexico is part of NORTH America. Central America is not South America. Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to generalize. Sounds to me like you have no idea what is really going on down there, so may I suggest you don't talk about things you don't really know about?? South America does NOT have the same problems Central America does. The "drug war" is causing FAR more violence in Mexico and Central America than it does in South America. And this includes Colombia. Get your facts straight. You're embarrassing yourself.

[vcrozas]

07:28 AM on 07/10/2011

Yea seems to me South America is great ...look at Venezuela...things are wonderful there ...they have a great government. The Western Hemisphere is in super shape in in both the economical and political spheres. Which is why so many strive to get to the states...they are fleeing there wonderful economy and politics.

[Blackwing]

09:34 AM on 07/10/2011

Yes, aren't they the ones that invaded Iraq and Afghanistan?