By: Sandra Salinas and Crystal Nava

What is a Corrido ?  A corrido is a Mexican ballad that was developed in the mid 1800’s, which was during the time of the Mexican- American war.  Most corridos are 36 lines long, 6 stanzas of 6 lines or 9 stanzas of 4 lines. There are 7 to 10 syllables per line.  Corridos topics vary. Some can share true stories that people have dealt with while others can be fictional.

 Starting from the 1840s the popular music known as “corridos” would tell the Mexican experience. Especially the lives of the migrants coming from Mexico to the U.S.  The Corridos from before would mostly tell a story of the struggles that a Mexican person would go through at that time.  For Ex: The song La Jaula de Oro by Los Tigres del Norte talks about how a man and his family came to the U.S. through the river;10 yrs. have passed and he hasn’t fixed his papers yet. He also mentions how he misses his country, Mexico, and how he can’t go back. The songs says how money doesn’t matter because although he has riches he can’t go back to Mexico and he is scared to go outside his home because he could get deported back to Mexico.

-Larry Hernandez “ Ten years ago you couldn't sing, 'I'm going to cut your head off,' but now decapitations are in the news all the time, so that's what you hear in the corridos. Everything is more violent, so our music is more violent.” Source: Barnes and Noble Source: 26media.tumblr.com

Corrido Themes – Now  Themes from recent corridos mostly emphasize drugs, violence, or keeping up with trends.  “ Con cuerno de chivo y bazuka en la nuca volando cabezas al que se atravieza somos sanguinarios locos bien ondeados nos gusta matar” – Sanguinarios Del M1  By the language Movimiento Alterado uses in this song we can tell how violence is a big topic. In this piece of the song they talk about weapons such as cuernos de chivo (ak-47) and bazukas, they also say that they like to kill. By saying that they’re “ondeados” it means that they’re using drugs, often cocaine.  Sanguinarios Del M1 is one of many corridos that talk about violence and drugs, which is way different from what corridos would talk about before. Source: Fishbazar.com Source: reporteropoliciacodesonora.blogspot.com Source: holamun2.com

What has caused changes in Corridos?  The changes in Society reflect the changes in Corridos.  As we watch the news, we will most likely see how violence has struck all parts of Mexico. Also drug trafficking has become a huge dilemma.  Corridos from today are reflecting many of the events in society today, such as: Drug trade, Violence, and following popular trends. Source: 4bp.blogspot.com Source: prisonplanet.com

How do Corridos influence people today? (Part 1)  In the music video A La Moda by Gerardo Ortiz, Gerardo Ortiz is wearing Prada glasses, a gold rosary as well as a “Rebel Spirit” t-shirt.  Francisco Zapien, a 23 year old man is being influenced by the corridos today. Because of the corrido A La Moda Francisco now wears a gold rosary, Prada glasses and “Rebel Spirit” t- shirts. Source: Facebook

How Do Corridos Influence People Today? (Part 2)  Citlali Salinas attends many parties where she can see how corridos influence people’s style and actions.  For example, she has seen guys wear “pecheras”, or chest protecting vests, just like you hear in corridos. They also have a bottle of Buchanan’s in the front pockets.  She has seen people use drugs and violence by using bats, guns, or glass bottles to physically hurt others. Source: Ramirezliquor.com Source: radarcan.eu

Alternate Perspectives  Efren Nava, a 54 year old man that listens to old corridos mentioned how he does not like the new corridos because of the message they send to their audience.  He also mentioned how the lyrics might be catchy and the beat might catch your attention but overall they are not good to listen to because of the explicit lyrics.  Jessica Solis, a 15 year old that listens to recent corridos mentioned how she loves to dance to corridos. She likes the rhythm of the new corridos but does not like the lyrics of them.  Jessica said, “The corridos have drastically changed from stories of migration from Mexico to the U.S. to drug trafficking and violence.”