Trina Silva

The Evolution of Corridos and the Preservation of the Corridista Tradition

In my previous Research Post, “Corridos: Passing and Learning Mexican-American History through Song,” I discussed oral tradition, the definition of a traditional corrido and the elements of a corrido. This research post will be dedicated to the evolution of the corrido and how the tradition of corridos is being kept alive. Keeping cultural traditions alive is very important to many people for personal and cultural reasons. The tradition of passing along history through corridos has been a viable path in which history about the Mexican-American people was kept alive. In a time where technology is easily available and is the main mean of preserving history, corridos seem insignificant; however, this assumption is not true.

While many traditional corridos tell the story of Mexican heroes of the past, such as the corrido analyzed in the previous post about Pancho Villa, more recent corridos do not necessarily have to be about a hero of Mexican descent. The “Kennedy Corridos” which are about John F. Kennedy are several different songs written in the weeks surrounding his death and released as early as a couple of weeks after his assassination (Dickey, 23). The “Kennedy Corridos” are a perfect example of the evolution of corridos. These corridos had similarities to the traditional ones, such as having an epic-type hero, and giving the setting and timeframe. Traditionally an important element of corridos is the timeframe in which they are reached by the masses: the sooner it reaches people, the better. The longer it takes a story (in this case a corrido) to reach the masses, the more likely there is newer and more interesting news to tell. It seems surprising that corridos in tribute to the life and death of a man not of Mexican descent would exist; however; it is not the culture that is being celebrated in many corridos but rather the contribution to helping a culture. John F. Kennedy was well-respected by many Mexican-Americans because he was seen as a barrier breaker himself as the first Irish-Catholic president.  Mexican-Americans felt as if they could relate more to this president because of his religious views, his views on equal rights and because he actively pursued the Mexican-American’s vote in his campaign. Kennedy tried relating to the Mexican-American culture instead of having an “Us versus Them” mentality; one of the ways he did this was by talking to the Mexican community in their native language (Dickey, 51), which was not something that was commonly done by American leaders at the time. The “Kennedy Corridos” talked about JFK, the first lady and their relationship with the Mexican government and Mexican-American people. There was a mutual respect that was shown among the president and the Mexican-American people that can be heard in the corridos:

“When they arrived in Texas they spoke to us in Spanish, How could we disdain the honor they bestowed upon us (Dickey, 51)?”

“The two went to the villa [The Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe] as a sign of devotion, To give tribute to the Queen of the nation (Dickey, 50).”

Another more recent evolution of the traditional corrido is the narcocorrido; narcocorridos are ballads written about the drug trade and drug lords of today. Like traditional corridos these are written in story form with an introduction of a setting and end with a moral or lesson; however, narcocorridos do not follow set rules. These ballads have been compared to the 90s gangster rap, similar to that of Tupac Shakur or The Notorious B.I.G. The ballads portray the dangerous drug world and have themes similar to that of traditional corridos: danger, bravery and standing up to the enemy. Narcocorridos tell the story of the men fighting for drug cartels and of the leaders in a very violent way. To a non-Spanish speaker the songs may sound very upbeat, similar to polka music, but upon translation the songs are full of details of torture, death and how cartels operate. Many of the songs portray the cartels as heroic figures because Mexican drug dealers are seen as providing a service to Americans which is why they are celebrated (see this video for an example of a translation). Oftentimes narcocorridos use code only understood by cartels. Narcocorridos are very popular among young Mexican-Americans and were even featured on the AMC show Breaking Bad, breaking the barrier into American pop culture. Not only was a narcocorrido written specifically for the show Breaking Bad, but it was written about a white drug dealer, which seems to further mix the lines between American and Mexican culture (hear the narcocorrido from Breaking Bad here). The world of narcocorridos is a dangerous one, where the corridistas (corrido performers) must be careful not to offend the wrong people in the cartel world by portraying cartel leaders in a way the cartel leaders approve. Many corridistas have been known to be paid large sums of money to write special songs and perform them at private parties for cartel leaders. It is argued that narcocorridos tell a true story; however one must question whether that is true when one is getting paid to make a special song for violent cartel leaders. In these cases corridistas would feel pressured to write a song portraying these leaders as heroes to the Mexican people for fear of their life.

There are organizations dedicated to keeping the tradition of corridistas alive such as a project started by the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. This center documents the influences of Mexican folklore in the ranching West by interviewing Mexican-American corridistas and recording their stories and songs. Events such as the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko feature performances and workshops on corridos where people can share and learn more about the Mexican-American tradition (see video of a performance here).  Another way to keep the corridista tradition alive is the Corrido Contest put on by The University of Arizona Poetry Center. This competition encourages high school students to take pride in their culture and provides an outlet for them to write their stories and have them performed by professional bands. The stories being told by modern day corridistas are relatable to the common Mexican-American as one of everyday occurrences and current events, difficulty of going home, longing for the homeland, and poor kids becoming leaders. Modern corridos tell the story of today so that future generations can understand our history and the importance of the corridista tradition of passing along true stories orally. It is hard to forget a story when it is told in a song (hear a modern day corrido with translation here).

Bibliography

1.       Dickey, Dan William. The Kennedy Corridos : A Study of the Ballads of a Mexican American Hero. Austin: Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1978. Print

2.       Elijah Wald website, author of Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas

http://www.elijahwald.com/corrido.html#Corrarc 

3.       Latin Music Fansite: Corridos

www.brownplanet.com/corridos/

4.       “Narcocorridos: The Balladeers of Mexico's Drug Wars”

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2026902-1,00.html

5.       'Breaking Bad' crosses into narcocorrido territory

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/20/entertainment/et-narco-corrido20

6.       Ballads Nuevo: Corridos get updated with drugs and guns
http://www.houstonpress.com/2001-11-01/racket/ballads-nuevo/

7.       NPR Segment on Narcocorridos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zjyDGnDUXs