A dance by high school students in Michoacán has ignited debate on social networks due to its high political and surreal content. The young people of the municipality of Contepec participated in the Sector Dances competition organized by the College of High School Students (Cobaem). According to local media, the students were winners, but the institute has ruled out their participation in the state stage for appearing on a stage, hooded, with bulletproof vests, camouflage pants and props.
For six minutes they perform choreography and simulate tactical movements. Before the first minute, a large-scale printed circular image enters the scene with the face of Enrique Velázquez Orozco, municipal president of the municipality of Contepec and murdered at the beginning of 2022. The photograph has the legend “murdered” in red letters. A voice explains precisely this, who he is and how he died, and is suddenly interrupted when two dancers point their guns at him and gesture a shot.
This sequence is repeated several times: dance, image, shot. The narrating voice says: “A month later, Cesar Arturo Valencia Caballero, mayor of Aguililla, was murdered aboard his truck”; “in June of that year, the municipal president of Cotija, was murdered in her town”; “On June 5, 2025, Salvador Bastida García, mayor of Tacámbaro, was shot at the door of his house”; “In recent days, Mexico and the world have been shocked by the murder of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan.”
Towards the end of the presentation, the student group also added the voice of the Mexican president, Claudia Shienbaum, when she presented the , and pointed out that security is not sustained by wars, but by justice, development and respect for life. A few minutes later, the young people dance to the rhythm of a tribal song and fall to the floor, as if they had been struck down, at the moment when an angel appears at the back of the stage (a student dressed in white, with wings mounted on her arms).
The presentation took place at the beginning of this week. On Wednesday the 25th, the institute issued a statement, which was published on its social networks. “[Desaprobamos] “any manifestation that or could be interpreted as an apology for crime,” it reads. They add that they recognize and respect the freedom of creation and expression of students and teachers. “However, the educational community is urged to privilege expressions that promote positive values and avoid those that may be perceived as promoting, accepting or normalizing violence.”
Michoacán, as well as in many States of the Republic, has been under a security crisis for some time. The most recent case was that of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, who was at a public event during the Day of the Dead celebration, when a man approached him and shot him at point-blank range in the middle of the street.
As this newspaper reported, The president created the umpteenth pacification plan for Michoacán and forced the change of some key positions in the state administration of Alfredo Ramírez, also a Morenoist.
The Michoacan Government calls on the community that demonstrations that advocate crime in any academic, civic, cultural and sporting expression that take place in Cobaem are strictly prohibited. It also warns: “Anyone who publicly provokes the consumption of a crime, incites the consumption of illicit substances or makes excuses for these, will be sentenced to three to six months in prison and a fine of 80 to 150 Updated Measurement Units[whichthisyearstandsat11731pesos”[queesteañosesituaen11731pesos”
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