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| Mexican corrido | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mexican corrido |
| Cultural origin | Mexico |
| Typical instruments | Guitarra, Trompeta, Acordeón, Bajo sexto, Violin |
| Derivatives | Narcocorrido, Canción ranchera, Mariachi, Norteño, Ranchera |
| Notable artists | Antonio Aguilar, Vicente Fernández, Los Tigres del Norte, Chalino Sánchez, Silvestre Vargas, Tin Tan, Lola Beltrán |
Mexican corrido is a narrative song form rooted in the folk traditions of Mexico that recounts historical events, personal sagas, crime stories, and social struggles. Originating in the 19th century, corridos have chronicled wars, revolutions, border encounters, migrations, and celebrity lives, becoming both an oral archive and a popular entertainment form. Corridos circulate through recordings, radio, print broadsides, and digital platforms, intersecting with actors, politicians, and cultural institutions across the Americas.
Corrido origins trace to transatlantic exchanges connecting Spain, France, Portugal, Cuba, and Philippines and intersect with the Mexican War of Independence, the Reform War, and the Mexican Revolution. Early corridos adapted Iberian romance ballads found in Seville, Jerez de la Frontera, and Valencia and absorbed rhythms from African diaspora musics in Havana and Veracruz. During the Porfiriato and revolutionary decade involving figures such as Porfirio Díaz, Francisco I. Madero, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and Venustiano Carranza, corridos functioned as reportage tied to battles like the Battle of Ciudad Juárez and the Battle of Zacatecas. Post-revolutionary state-building under leaders linked to Plutarco Elías Calles and institutions like the Secretaría de Educación Pública influenced dissemination through printed pamphlets, while radio networks in Mexico City and recording companies such as Fonógrafo, Victor Talking Machine Company, and later Peerless Records expanded reach. Cross-border flows with United States migration, Bracero Program, and events like the Zoot Suit Riots shaped corrido topics and audiences.
Corridos narrate episodes involving revolutionary heroes such as Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata alongside outlaws like Jefe de Jefes-era figures and border bandits. They address migration stories referencing destinations like Los Angeles, El Paso, Tijuana, Nogales, and San Antonio, and institutions including U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and events like the Mexican Repatriation. Corridos probe labor struggles involving United Farm Workers, leaders like César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, and incidents such as the Delano grape strike. They memorialize disasters like the Ixtoc I oil spill and Santo Domingo mining disasters, and celebrate cultural icons including Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, María Félix, Cantinflas, and Juan Gabriel. Narcocorridos foreground drug traffickers linked to cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, Juárez Cartel, and incidents like the Battle of Ciudad Juárez (2010). Corridos also recount legal and political events involving Plan de Ayala, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexican Constitution of 1917, and assassinations like those of Álvaro Obregón and Luis Donaldo Colosio.
Musically corridos employ strophic narrative forms with octosyllabic lines and rhyme schemes inherited from Iberian romances and adapt to ensembles ranging from solo guitarra to mariachi groups and norteño conjuntos featuring bajo sexto and accordion. Performance settings include cantinas, plazas, radio studios, recording studios like EMI, and festivals such as Guelaguetza and Festival Internacional Cervantino. Prominent arrangers and composers—linked to labels like Discos Musart and venues such as the Palacio de Bellas Artes—shape instrumentation, while performers like Javier Solís, Lucha Reyes, Pedro Infante, Antonio Aguilar, and José Alfredo Jiménez influence vocal delivery and phrasing. Harmony borrows from popular song traditions represented by bolero and huapango, and rhythmic patterns intersect with son jarocho and corridos fronterizos practices.
Regional corrido varieties appear across states: Sinaloa and Chihuahua produce narcocorridos tied to border towns like Culiacán and Ciudad Juárez; Veracruz and Oaxaca yield coastal and indigenous-inflected narrative songs; Jalisco, Michoacán, and Guanajuato cultivate ranchera and mariachi intersections. Related genres include Norteño from Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, Banda from Sinaloa and Durango, Huasteca son traditions, Trova linked to urban troubadour scenes in Guadalajara and Monterrey, and hybrid forms like Corridos tumbados emerging from collaborations with artists associated with Spotify playlists and producers tied to labels such as Rancho Humilde.
Corridos serve as vernacular chronicles, connecting rural communities in Durango, Chiapas, Puebla, and Zacatecas to urban diasporas in Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, New York City, and Los Angeles. They operate in commemorative rituals, funerary events, and political rallies involving parties like the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, Partido Acción Nacional, and Movimiento Regeneración Nacional. Cultural institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Antropología and universities like the National Autonomous University of Mexico document corrido heritage, while filmmakers and directors—Luis Buñuel, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro—and authors including Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Juan Rulfo, and Laura Esquivel reference corrido motifs.
Narcocorridos prompted censorship efforts by municipal administrations in Tijuana, Culiacán, Ciudad Juárez, and states like Sinaloa and Nayarit, invoking media regulations and police interventions. Lawmakers in Mexico City and legislatures in Baja California debated bans referencing public security concerns tied to cartels like Los Zetas and CJNG. Legal cases involve recording labels such as Fonovisa and Disa facing scrutiny, while U.S. jurisdictions including California and Texas have addressed performance restrictions amid controversies related to freedom of expression and statutes enforced by agencies like the Federal Communications Commission. Human rights organizations including Amnesty International and academic bodies have critiqued punitive approaches.
Recent revivals link traditional corrido repertoires to collaborations with mainstream acts like Bad Bunny, Cardi B, and producers associated with Universal Music Group, expanding reach through platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. Artists like Los Tigres del Norte, Calibre 50, Intocable, Christian Nodal, and crossover projects with Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar illustrate hybridization. Festivals in Madrid, Berlin, Tokyo, Toronto, and Paris program corrido-influenced acts, while ethnomusicologists at institutions like Smithsonian Institution, University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University, and University of Texas at Austin study transmission. Corridos adapt to digital remix culture, connecting to migrant networks across San Diego, Sacramento, Denver, and Miami and fostering new narrators among independents tied to collectives like Chicano Park Steering Committee and labels such as Rancho Humilde.
Category:Mexican music Category:Folk music genres