Artists specializing in Mexican folk music on social media began sharing original compositions this week honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the form of corridos, songs typically reserved for celebrating influential men.
Corridos, typically using trumpets and accordions as main instruments, serve as both a storytelling form and a mode of honoring individuals. They typically tell the stories of real-life figures or mythical heroes; having a corrido written for one is considered a sign of high respect.
At least three artists have published original corridos honoring Kirk since Thursday on Tiktok and Instagram, with lyrics mostly offering details of his assassination and wishing he rest in peace.
Kirk was a conservative commentator, activist, and political organizer best known for founding Turning Point USA, a group dedicated to empowering young conservatives, particularly on college campuses. He was traveling the country this fall on what Turning Point branded the “American Comeback Tour,” hosting events in which he engaged in political discussions with students on campus. Kirk enthusiastically advocated for open and civil political debate and regularly engaged with left-wing individuals at these events. He leaves behind his wife, Erika, and two children; he was 31 years old.
During a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, a gunman shot Kirk in the neck while he listened to a question from one of the students. Law enforcement officials have identified the alleged killer as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson and told reporters on Friday that they found ammunition with leftist messaging on it during the investigation into Robinson.
Following the assassination, artist Ramiro Reyes published a video on the Chinese social media application Tiktok performing an original composition honoring Kirk. The lyrics narrated in Spanish the setting of the assassination and how it transpired.
“With an impact on the neck they stole his life/Charlie Kirk, an activist, he was 31 years old,” Reyes sings. “At a meeting in Utah, his life ended. Wednesday, September 10, while he was giving a talk at the university of the valley, the man could not imagine that at that meeting in Utah, his life would end. … rest in peace Charlie Kirk, he was not able to save his life.”
“Rest in peace, it is sad and, well, the violence is unacceptable, raza, to anyone, it is not justifiable,” Reyes says to his audience after the performance.
@inedito05_oficial #CHARLIE KIRK
♬ sonido original – ramiroreyes_oficial
Compa Camaney, an artist with the band Conjunto Diamante Norteño, published his corrido for Charlie on Friday.
“Who could image that they would suddenly take Charlie Kirk’s life?” the lyrics ask. “We cannot forget this, this happened over in Utah and nobody could prevent it, the news spread throughout the United States, the world shook over the events that happened, everyone fearing over what happened.”
“I’m one of those people who does not wish harm to anyone/ what happened to El Charlie should have never happened but nobody can change destiny, sirs,” the song continues. “The man who killed Charlie is now behind bars after fleeing/ the police apprehended him/they say that his own father handed him over to the law.”
“Friends of Donald Trump, be very careful, stop being so trusting, protect yourself from assassinations,” the song concludes.
@compacamaney El Corrido de Charlie Kirk #charliekirkspeech @.compositorpepe.sanchez #Corridos
♬ original sound – Compa Camaney – Compa Camaney
A band in Los Angeles, Los Comandantes de California, also published a video on Friday of what appeared to be an impromptu homage to Kirk at a performance in East Los Angeles.
“For my buddy, El Charlie,” the singer announces, “I will sing you a corrido/he was speaking to his people, something bad happened, a shot hit his neck, that is what assassinated him.”
@loscomandantesdecali Corrido Del Charlie Kirk ️#corridos #charliekirk #parati #fyp #norteño
♬ original sound – Los Comandantes
The replies to all three videos are filled with Spanish-language users expressing condolences to Kirk, many referring to them as a compa, short for compadre, a term often used for a close friend that literally means the godfather of your child or the father of your godchild. The spontaneous expressions of respect to Kirk follow days of declarations of lament, prayer, and other statements honoring Kirk throughout Latin America and the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world. In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum took a moment to condemn the assassination during a press conference on Thursday, declaring that her government was “against any violence, particularly political violence.”
Elsewhere in Latin America, libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who had met Kirk during a visit to Florida last year, published a photo with the late commentator and praised him as an “incredible human being.”
“He was the victim of an atrocious assassination in the middle of a wave of left-wing political violence in the entire region,” Milei wrote in his statement expressing condolences. “The left is always, at all times and in all places, a violent, hate-filled phenomenon.”
Santiago Oría, a videographer with Milei’s Liberty Advances Party, shared a video of Milei with Kirk, describing Kirk as “one of us.”
On Thursday night, dozens gathered before the American embassy in Madrid, Spain, to leave flowers and candles for Kirk, as well as organize Catholic prayers for the family. Kirk was a devout Christian and often encouraged his young followers to seek Jesus Christ and establish a Christian family.
Kirk’s assassination follows a wave of leftist violence against prominent young conservatives throughout Latin America. In 2023, the conservative frontrunner in the 2023 Ecuadorian presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated in front of a crowd while leaving a campaign event. In a similar event in June, conservative Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot by a child assassin at a campaign event; he died in August after spending two months in intensive care.
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