If you’re unfamiliar with what a corrido is, then you’re probably under the assumption that you’ve never heard one. But let me assure you, if you’re heard of La Cucaracha then you’ve definitely listened to at least one.
Contrary to popular belief, “La Cucaracha,” is not the Mexican National Anthem, but you know what? In a way, it could be. Besides being played at every Mexican-themed event EVER, this corrido has a rich history that dates back to the Spanish conquistadors. It’s lyrics supposedly tell the story of the fight between the troops of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata against their political rival, D-bag Carranza.
Depending on who you ask, the definition of a corrido can change, but what I’ve pinned it down is this: A corrido is a popular narrative song which usually centers around socially relevant topics. Poverty, crime, love, friendship, you name it. In its most known form, the corrido consists of a greeting from the singer, the prologue of the story, the actual story, the moral, and then a final farewell from the singer(s). The basic rule of thumb is, “not all ballads are corridos, but all corridos are ballads.” The corridos have roots in European narrative poetry (say it with me everyone: BARDS), but, over time, the Mexican people have made the narrative-ballad uniquely their own.
Why did these epic ballads become so popular anyway? The answer lies primarily with the Mexican people they became so popular with. Corridos began their rise to fame at the start of the Mexican War of Independence and hit a massive popular streak during the early 1900s. At the time, many of the Mexican people were of peasant class and could not read or write, so the corrido was their main mode of receiving and telling news. Some of the most popular corridos followed the victories of Mexican revolutionaries like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, and there are even stories of bands following these revolutionaries from place to place and immediately working on a song to document the battle that literally just happened.
(“El Corrido de Pancho Villa”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JH-z0nwF04)
In truth, the real fun of the corrido comes, not in discussing what the corrido is, but what the corrido tells. The thing about corridos is that they’re all a version of real life events, often gone unverified with many details lost to time or bias. The most notable ones (read: the best ones) take place along the Mexican border and depict Robin-Hood like protagonists in a fight against US oppression. Back then, when Americans depicted Mexicans as bandits and outlaws, the Mexican people would fight back by writing a corrido where those same people were heroes instead. It’s even debated that one of the first Tejano corridos was about a group of Mexican cowboys and how they were (uh), “better cowboys than the incompetent gringos.”
(“El Corrido de Kiansis”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHMUwspeHfo).
(But don’t be fooled. Sometimes these corridos told straight up lies and slander. Before records were a thing people could just change the lyrics if they didn’t like what the story was telling which made for some interesting twists sometimes).
With the rise of modern technology their came an inevitable change of the corrido as everyone knew them. The real downside to changing traditions is that many of our original corridos have lost their original form to time as well. Many have been cut down in order to fit the transition from the 78-rpm record to the 45-rpm record (about 3 minutes a side, I believe). It’s a real shame because many corridos used to tell their stories in two parts, Side A and Side B, often leaving the first side in a cliffhanger and continuing the story in the second. Original corridos have since been condensed to the bare minimum of their original versions. Even today, researchers will find that a story sung in a corrido was originally more complicated, more complex, and more thrilling than the recorded song made it out to be.
Alongside recorded corridos came the rise of the widely known and beloved “narcocorridos” (and yes, it’s alright if you only know about narcocorridos because of Netflix’s Narcos, because, honestly, same). These so-called “drug-ballads” center around a popular drug dealer and are usually composed by famous artists. The real chuckle is that, sometimes, those drug ballads are commissioned by the drug dealer himself.
(“El Corrido del Chapo”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5kiUs2u08U)
(Let’s not focus on the badly photoshopped album cover haha…)
The problem with playing corridos in Mexico is that the Mexican government has never been a huge fan of the corrido, especially the narcocorrido (outright banned in some places). The recording industry to this day is primarily owned and dictated by the Mexican elite, so, naturally, when corridos were labeled “treacherous,” the genre was largely excluded from recording studios and Mexican radio (songs giving a voice to the oppressed? Ballads condoning violence against rich corrupt leaders? Can’t have that I guess).
Question is, what is the corrido like today?
Many scholars believe that the corrido is dead. They believe that the new shorter corridos are imitations of the original corridos made between 1810-1910. However, while it is true that these newer corridos look different from the corridos of old, many Mexican people and modern day corridistas will tell you that modern corridos are just as important as the ones from before.
(and a huge shoutout to my dad for being one such Mexican bard who let me pester him all day about corridos. Take a listen y’all >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd31VzcaGB8)
Sources:
Gurza, Agustín. “Strachwitz Frontera Collection.” The Mexican Corrido: Ballads of Adversity and Rebellion, Part 1: Defining the Genre | Strachwitz Frontera Collection, 2 Nov. 2017, frontera.library.ucla.edu/blog/2017/11/mexican-corrido-ballads-adversity-and-rebellion-part-1-defining-genre.
Gurza, Agustín. “Strachwitz Frontera Collection.” The Mexican Corrido: Ballads of Adversity and Rebellion, Part 2: Border Bandits or Folk Heroes | Strachwitz Frontera Collection, 9 Nov. 2017, frontera.library.ucla.edu/blog/2017/11/mexican-corrido-ballads-adversity-and-rebellion-part-2-border-bandits-or-folk-heroes.
Gurza, Agustín. “Strachwitz Frontera Collection.” The Mexican Corrido: Ballads of Adversity and Rebellion, Part 3: Two-Part Corridos | Strachwitz Frontera Collection, 30 Nov. 2017, frontera.library.ucla.edu/blog/2017/11/mexican-corrido-ballads-adversity-and-rebellion-part-3-two-part-corridos.
Gurza, Agustín. “Strachwitz Frontera Collection.” The Mexican Corrido: Ballads of Adversity and Rebellion, Part 4: Corridos of the Mexican Revolution | Strachwitz Frontera Collection, 13 Dec. 2017, frontera.library.ucla.edu/blog/2017/12/mexican-corrido-ballads-adversity-and-rebellion-part-4-corridos-mexican-revolution.