The young reggaeton singer Mario Alberto Barreto Domínguez, known artistically as Degezeta, was shot dead on Thursday night in Culiacán, capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa (northwest), in an armed attack in which a member of his work team was also killed, local media reported on Friday.
According to the media, the aggression occurred around 21.00 local time (03.00 GMT Friday) at the intersection of Constitución and Jesús Andrade streets, in the Miguel Alemán neighborhood, in front of the Angel Flores stadium, home of the Tomateros de Culiacán baseball team and near the Monumento a la Pelota.
According to preliminary reports, the 22-year-old artist was traveling in a gray Nissan Versa together with Iván Marlon, 45, when armed men took advantage of a forced stop at a traffic light to approach the vehicle and shoot repeatedly at its occupants.
After the attack, the car was left with the engine running and badly parked, while Mexican Army and National Guard troops cordoned off the area. Forensic technicians from the state prosecutor’s office seized the vehicle and collected ballistic evidence.
Initially, authorities did not confirm the identity of the victims, but hours later it was revealed that one of the deceased was Degezeta, the name by which Mario Alberto Barreto was known on social networks and music platforms.
The singer, originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, had moved some time ago to Culiacán to further his career in urban music.
According to versions spread after the attack, moments before the aggression he had left a recording studio and minutes before he shared on Instagram a story from the place, which became his last publication.
The death of the performer generated reactions in social networks, especially after the message released by Hyphyurban, the music label that represented the artist.
“Last night we had to say goodbye to someone who was not only an artist of the label… he was our brother,” the company wrote in a publication accompanied by a photograph of the singer.
The label also recalled that the young man left Sonora to pursue his musical dream in Sinaloa. “He left his homeland in Hermosillo to go to Culiacán to pursue his dream. To make music, to get ahead and earn a place with his talent,” she said.
Degezeta started writing rap songs at the age of 10 and formally began his musical career in 2020. In 2023 he chose to focus on reggaeton, influenced by exponents such as Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Wisin y Yandel.
With more than 38,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the singer emerged as a promise of the urban genre, with tracks such as ‘Welcome To The Club’, ‘Chanel’, ‘TOSTO NAZO’ and ‘Mentira Buena (Versión Tumbada)’ among his most played songs, reported Agencia EFE.
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