Is Romeo Santos Facing Jail Time for Performing a Banned Song in the Dominican Republic?
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 14: Romeo Santos performs onstage during his Formula Vol. 3 Tour at Amway Center on November 14, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
Romeo Santos recently challenged local authorities in the Dominican Republic after performing one of his songs that was banned. As part of Aventura’s “Cerrando Ciclos Tour,” the King of Bachata performed his controversial song “Suegra” in Santo Domingo on Dec. 29.
“Suegra” is one of the songs from Santos’ 2022 album Formula, Vol. 3. The bachata track was controversial because of the lyrics, where Santos sings about exacting his revenge on a mother-in-law who didn’t like him. On Feb. 27, 2023, Dominican politician Víctor Pavón filed a motion to ban the song from the country’s radio. The National Commission of Public Entertainment and Radio (CNEPR) agreed with Pavón’s claims that “Suegra” promoted violence against women and approved the ban on March 3. That same day, Santos released the music video for the song, which paid homage to Dominican comedian Luisito Martí. He also dismissed the ban by saying he was honoring Dominican people’s “dark humor.”
Now, Aventura is closing out their reunion tour at the Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez in Santo Domingo. For the penultimate show of the tour on Sunday night, Santos surprised the crowd by singing “Suegra” live with his bandmates. Before the performance, he ripped into the CNEPR with his thoughts about the song’s ban. “Last year, some foolish, deluded, misguided… people censored a song that said absolutely nothing wrong,” he said. “Today, I feel like doing something different to see if they put me in jail.” He also reiterated his intention to always proudly represent Dominican culture through his artistic expression.
The CNEPR caught wind of Santos and Aventura’s performance of “La Suegra” and his comments about the commission. On Dec. 31, Geovanny Cruz, the president of CNEPR, announced that the commission is investigating the situation. Pavón and his lawyer, Carlos Mesa, added that they plan to file a criminal complaint against Santos, Aventura, and the concert’s promoter Saymon Díaz for the performance of “Suegra.” According to Pavón and Mesa, Santos, Aventura, and Díaz could face three to six months for defying the song’s ban.
“Nobody, not even you, are above laws and regulations,” Cruz said in a statement. “The current National Commission for Public Entertainment and Radio is analyzing his case and the challenge (including insults) that Santos made to a state institution in an official facility during his Cerrando Ciclos concert.”