BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Thousands of fans and admirers of deceased Argentine pop singer Walter Olmos gathered Monday to pay their last respects to the beloved performer who died over the weekend from a gunshot wound to the head.
Mourners flocked to Olmos' home in the northwest province of Catamarca for an open casket viewing. On hand was province Gov. Oscar Castillo, who called the departed singer "an ambassador of Argentine music."
Olmos died Saturday night in a Buenos Aires hotel. Argentine newspaper InfoBAE reported that investigators and close friends are considering two possible theories regarding his death.
One possible cause was that Olmos and two band members were playing Russian roulette when the singer shot himself. A theory floated by friends of the fallen star is that he killed himself due to pressures placed on him by the so-called Argentine "musical mafia."
According to InfoBAE, the music mafia is a shadowy group of managers who control the booking schedules for many entertainers, placing rigorous demands on them to perform at as many venues as possible.
Witnesses said the young singer, who was scheduled for several performances in Buenos Aires over the weekend, committed suicide, Clarin newspaper reported.
The 20-year-old Olmos was dubbed "the chosen one" by the Argentine media, as he was considered the successor of widely popular singer Rodrigo Bueno, who died in a car accident in June 2000.
Both Olmos and Bueno had the same manager, Jose Gozalo.
Olmos grew up in a poor neighborhood in Catamarca city some 700 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. As a child, he was often in trouble with the law and said he would sometimes steal to feed his family.
"Music saved me from being a lowlife," he once said.
The "Catamarcan Locomotive" as he was known, sold hundred of thousands of albums during his short career. Among his most popular were, "From Catamarca to the World" and "With the Strength of the Soul."
