Concern over Duelo mention in article

To the editor:

I was troubled by one sentence in an. Oct. 16 story: “The waitress, a family friend with ties to the popular norteño band Grupo Duelo, allegedly owed Gonzalez’s husband, Joel Lopez Sr., thousands of dollars in drug smuggling debts.”

What was the purpose of mentioning Duelo? I read the story several times to see if there was some other reference to the group or if they or any of their members played a role in any of the events related to your story. I did not find any. Perhaps it was edited out. The result is that the group has been branded as somehow criminal by association. Mentioning them was as valid as mentioning her close association with, say, her third grade teacher. Neither one has a bearing on the story but would be tarnished just the same.

I should point out that I am not connected in any way with the group nor am I even familiar with their music. I could not identify them if shown a photo, nor could I recognize a single song of theirs. However, I do recognize how poorly they were treated in your article.

I thought is was a bit of shoddy and gratuitous front page sensationalism worthy of the tabloids or terribly poor editing. I think the reporter and the newspaper owe the group an apology if the group had no relation to the events.

Arnoldo Mata

Pharr