According to NME, "emo" kids in Mexico and Chile have recently been attacked by other music subcultures -- punks, metalheads and even the rockabilly set.

"Emo" refers to a youth subculture which involves a punk-meets-geek approach to fashion, angst-driven "emotional" music, and a general depressive nature. It is often regarded as a watered down version of the punk movement, much to the emo kid's dismay.

Daniel Hernandez, of LA Weekly, who has been covering the recent attacks, blames the hostility towards the emos on two things: the fact that Mexicans generally regard the emo movement as a joke, and that a certain Televisa personality, Kristoff, recently spewed out his emo hatred on national television. This clip includes a few choice swear words in English. (It is in Spanish but you will get the gist of it.)

Obviously there is a lot of controversy about the attacks and both sides are responding by looking for someone to blame. Some have chosen to blame the lack of opportunities for the youth stating, "in Latin America, there are nearly 30 million young people who have no opportunity to study or work," and so they are turning to drugs, crime or even taking it out on those not directly involved.

Hostility towards the emo subculture in Mexico has hit chat rooms, message boards and social networking sites. On March 7th in Queretaro, a state in central Mexico, around 800 youths gathered in the city's Centro Historico district looking to pick a fight with the emo kids who regularly hangout there. Judging by the videos circulating on YouTube, they certainly found the fight they were looking for. The following week the same thing happened in Mexico City, check out the video below to take a look.

When asked why the recent violence has occurred, a young emo guy said he believed it was because the punks and metal-heads felt that emos were 'posers'. But, basically from the news I can find (in Spanish mostly) there doesn't seem to be any clear indication of why this specific group has been targeted.

Kristoff has apparently called off the attack but whether this will quell the violence remains to be seen. The Mexican government wants to point the finger at someone and should Televisa be held accountable, Kristoff might be feeling a little emotional himself.







"No Wrong Turns" chronicles Kelsey and her husband's road trip -- in real time -- from Canada to the southern tip of South America in their trusty red VW Golf named Marlin.

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