‘La Bestia’ Pop Song About Freight Train Is Propoganda By US Customs And Border Protection

The United States has an immigration crisis on their hands and it's one that cannot be ignored. Since last fall, there has been a large influx of Central Americans in Mexico and the United States. More specifically, over 50,000 unaccompanied minors from South America (namely El Salvador, Guatemala and the Honduras) have been detained while attempting to illegally cross over to the United States.

In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, since last October, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection records taking into custody 47,017 unaccompanied children under the age of 18. The data is shocking considering that the first four months of 2014 have had more apprehensions than in the entire 2013 fiscal year, which had 24,493 apprehensions. Given the current rate, some estimates predict four times as many arrests this year than last year.

Described as an “urgent humanitarian situation” by President Obama, federal agencies are working to provide the apprehended children with food, medical treatment and mental health services. Government officials are reporting that most of the children hail from Mexico and Central America, and are coming to the United States to flee poor economies, violence, or to be reunited with their families.

According to The Daily Beast, the U.S. government attempted to stop immigrants from crossing over illegally by pouring millions of dollars into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's 'Dangers Awareness Campaign,' which commissioned a song to be produced. The catchy song -- titled "La Bestia" -- was composed to deter families from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador from migrating to America via Mexico.

A radio hit in Central America, the song warns the listener of the dangers of taking the freight train to America while mentioning robbery, kidnapping, rape and murder. Sung by wedding and Bar Mitzvah singer Eddie Ganz in Spanish, the song features a Caribbean beat produced by the Guatemalan instrument marimba.

“Migrants from everywhere, entrenched along the rail ties. Far away from where they come, further away from where they go. They call her the Beast from the South, this wretched train of death. With the devil in the boiler, whistles, roars, twists and turns.”

The "La Bestia' song was just one part of the 'Dangers Awareness Campaign,' which features billboards, public service announcements and television advertisements. The idea to compose a song is being credited to Rodolfo Hernandez, the creative director of Washington D.C. advertising agency Elevation. And while one can argue there's no harm in creating a catchy song, the fact that it was played on the radio without a disclaimer technically makes it propaganda.