Mario Quintero, a controversial Mexican songwriter, has a net worth of $10 million.
Mario Quintero grew up in a rural area of Sinaloa, a western Mexican state that is well-known for its drug trafficking industry, as the son of a musical family.
In the mid-’90s, Mario Quintero gained popularity as the frontman of the highly successful norteo group los Tucanes de Tijuana.
Quintero’s writing of narco-corrido-drug ballads is a modern-day style that glorifies smugglers and drug lords, much like traditional corridos depicting heroes who dare to rebel against authority.
Despite the long history of Narco-corridos, Quintero’s songs were among the most popular in the late ’90s. His album contained explicit references to drugs, as well as his storytelling about druggies and their codes of honor, and his songs celebrated the pleasures of drugs.
Quintero’s music, which included love ballads and dance songs, was not solely focused on drug-related songs, but also contributed to the success of the dance hits La Chona and El Tucanazo.
The Arellano Felix brothers, Sinaloa’s most notorious drug kingpins, were believed to favor the band los Tucanes de Tijuana in a 1997 magazine article, which sparked further controversy.
Despite the circumstances, Quintero persisted in performing for his audience and was awarded the Songwriter of the Year award in his native country in 1998.
He shared a BMI award for Songwriter of the Year in Latin music, along with several other hit-makers, two years after.