One of Romeo Santos’ songs was banned from being played on the radio in the Dominican Republic. On Friday (March 3), El Rey de la Bachata responded by releasing the music video for the prohibited track, “Suegra.”
“Suegra” is one of the songs from Santos’ recent album Formula, Vol. 3. In the bachata track, he sings about exacting his revenge on a mother-in-law who doesn’t like him. The chorus includes lyrics where he talks about poisoning his mother-in-law’s coffee and sending her over a cliff in his car.
When Santos released a preview of the music video on Feb. 27, politician Víctor Pavón filed a motion to have “Suegra” banned from radio in the Dominican Republic. On Mar. 3, the National Commission of Public Entertainment and Radio agreed with Pavón’s claims that the song promoted violence against women and approved the song’s ban on the radio.
In his response on Instagram, Santos denied that he was being serious with his lyrics in “Suegra.” “Among many favorable things, being Dominican is distinguished by having a sense of humor and creativity,” he wrote. “Another element that characterizes us is our DARK HUMOR. Perhaps while some in my position would be discouraged from representing a beautiful but sometimes hard-to-please culture, I remain PROUD of my QUISQUEYANA roots.”
After the song was banned in DR, Santos pushed forward the release of the “Suegra” music video. In the vintage video, he dresses up like the late Dominican comedian and musician Luisito Martí. Santos twists the dark humor even more by having the mother-in-law run him down and send him over a cliff in her car.
“You have to be a tabloid, ignorant, or a sonidista, or all three to not be able to notice that the song as well as the video was only intended to pay homage ONCE AGAIN to being Dominican,” he wrote in another Instagram post.
The U.S. leg of Santos’ Formula, Vol. 3 Tour kicks off on June 3 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. His tour will also visit stadiums in New York, Miami, and Houston that month.
Watch the music video for “Suegra” below.
