Mario Olvera, Regional Mexican Music Promoter, Murdered at 42

Mario Olvera Acevedo, an event promoter specializing in Regional Mexican music, has died at the hands of unknown assailants in a direct attack that occurred in the early morning hours on Saturday (April 27).

According to a statement issued by the Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana (or Secretariat of Public Safety) of the Government of San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, police officers responded to the scene after receiving a report of gunshots.

Paramedics from the Municipal Civil Protection confirmed that Olvera, age 42, no longer had vital signs when he was found. They proceeded to cordon off the area while awaiting forensic experts from the State Attorney General’s Office.

Initial investigations indicate that it was a “presumed direct attack.” According to the press release from Seguridad Ciudadana, after “a motorist hit the rear of the truck of the deceased to force him to get out and shoot him, at that moment a third person on a motorcycle arrived and both subjects fled in the direction of Periférico Ecológico, where they finally abandoned the vehicle.” The authorities are still looking for the perpetrators.

The death of Olvera shocked the world of Regional Mexican music. For more than two decades, Olvera was a promoter of events in the states of Tlaxcala and Puebla with his company, Ranch Music Sinaloa, and countless artists and managers had working relationships and friendships with him.

Over the weekend, misinformation circulating in several media outlets about Olvera’s relationship with big stars of the genre suggested he acted as their representative and was a direct part of their teams, neither of which is true.

Last Wednesday (April 23), Olvera attended a meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico, of the ADEEM (Association of Entertainment Entrepreneurs in Mexico), of which he was once a member of the board of directors.

Multiple artists took to social media to express their condolences, including Los Tucanes de Tijuana, El Flaco Elizalde and El Yaki. The latter artist said he was close to Olvera and considered him an older brother, though the two were not biologically related.

“This is how I say goodbye to you my brother! Because I know you would have liked me to share it… and I do it from my heart,” wrote El Yaki on Instagram below a photo of the two together. “You taught me some really bitchin’ things and opened my eyes to something that today little by little I’m still building […] Fly high compa!”

In Puebla, Olvera was also known for his activities in the restaurant business. At the time of his death, he owned three establishments: Humo Gris, Ostería Humo and Puerto Marisco.

On Monday (April 29), Olvera’s body will be buried at the Valle de Los Angeles Funeral Home in Puebla.