Tejano singer-turned-Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido is warning supporters about scammers impersonating him online and charging people for quinceañera appearances.
Pulido — a South Texas musician known for hits including “Desvelado,” “Le Pediré” and “Se Murió De Amor” — grabbed headlines earlier this year when he began performing at quinceañera as part of his campaign strategy. He’s running to represent Texas’s 15th Congressional District, which includes a narrow slice of the state that runs from McAllen to just east of San Antonio.
“We don’t charge for this,” Pulido said in an Instagram message posted over the weekend.
“Just be careful out there, please,” he added. “There’s a lot of fake accounts out there.”
Pulido started hitting the quinceañera circuit after his Republican opponent — former insurance broker Monica De La Cruz — posted a video online in March accusing the two-time Latin Grammy winner of being better suited for singing at birthday parties than holding office.
“This election isn’t about who you want performing at your niece’s quinceañera,” De La Cruz said.
Pulido responded by performing at quinceañera parties to build grassroots support for his campaign — a move that’s brought him national media attention.
However, with that attention came swindlers and charlatans, apparently.
In his weekend Instagram video, Pulido clarified that his performances are always free and warned that scammers are sliding into fans’ DMs and asking for money to perform.
“We’ve never been charged for any of these quinceañeras that we’ve been doing,” Pulido said.
The candidate added that people wanting him to perform at their daughter’s quinceañera can put in a request on his campaign’s official website.
Polling for Texas’s 15th District is scarce, so it’s unclear whether the quinceañera performances are swaying voters or just building publicity.
A survey conducted in September by a Democratic-sponsored House Majority PAC had De La Cruz leading the race by 3%. Meanwhile, different poll published last month showed Pulido leading among the district’s Latino voters by 2%.
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