Throughout the years Latin music has slowly made an impact in the music industry in the United States, from the traditional mariachi to the vibrant Rock en Español. But it is the controversial folk-music genre called narcocorridos that has made a major impact in the last few years in the United States, mainly the southwestern states that border with Mexico. Also called drug ballads, this subgenre of the traditional corrido has emerged since the 1990’s as the principal instrument to chronicle the odyssey of Mexicans across the Rio Grande in a drug-infested universe (Stavans). Played by the tuba, an accordion, drums and a guitar, narcocorridos are about violent confrontations between cartels and the luxury lives of powerful drug lords. With the violent drug wars in the last ten years in Mexico, narcocorridos have been the music trend to many, mainly the young generation. People get influence by this music and want to live the expensive and exotic life these drug lords live by. In this research paper I am going to explain how the emergence of narcocorridos has influenced the young generation and societies in the United States and Mexico.
The narcocorrido is a subgenre of a corrido. The corrido first started in the late nineteenth century, but reach its peak in the Mexican Revolution 1910 when political leaders like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were in action in Mexico (Stavans). Throughout the years corridos have covered other major events that have involved important figures like labor activist Cesar Chavez, tejana singer Selena and the revolutionary Subcomandante Marcos. Figures like these are praised in corridos in a way so that the audience can spill out their emotion and always remember them. The corrido consists of four m...
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...any innocent people. The narcocorrido has only made the narcoculture more popular. The young generation that listen to this music gets influence easily and make them want to be like these drug lords. They want to live the exotic and luxury lives these drug lords live. They identify themselves more by changing their clothing and cruising the streets with expensive cars. This is affecting the social lives of many people. People do not want to travel the beautiful country of Mexico anymore because of this danger. Mexican citizens fear easy things like going grocery shopping because they do not want to be involve in a confrontation between cartels. The young generation gets manipulated by the narcocorrido lyrics. All they see are the riches, but what they do not see is the violence. They can be living in paradise or can simply be the ones suffering from decapitations.
Another reason why narco corridos are an influence to society is their disrespect towards women, since the genre of music is about glorifying drugs and illegal money, artists tend to sing about luxuries cars parties and they also make women seem like an object that can be bought by their illegal activities. In narco corrido videos there is always more than one women half naked dancing around a man that thinks he deserves it all. It has always been around that women back then would do whatever their husband would tell them to do even if men would go around with other women, well narco corridos try to bring the message back of men having more than one women and just showing off the money they have living a criminal life. This attitude going on
For centuries, music has been defined by history, time, and place. To address this statement, Tom Zè, an influential songwriter during the Tropicália Movement, produced the revolutionary “Fabrication Defect” to challenge oppression as a result from the poor political and social conditions. On the other hand, David Ramsey discusses, in mixtape vignettes, the role of music to survive in New Orleans’ violent setting. Furthermore, “The Land where the Blues Began”, by Alan Lomax, is a film and perfect example to understand under what musical conditions profound ways of communication are made to stand the hard work of cotton plantations. As a result, music plays a crucial role in the sources’ cultures and its creation relies on particular conditions such as the social
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
The importance of these, is that it would bring the attention of the audience. The band performed about 13 songs in total. It was a mixture of Banda songs and Corridos. The band’s songs talked about a lover and the longing of a loved one. The audience reacted in a good way. They were dancing of the floor section and they were cheering on the band, others were singing along with the singers meanwhile, others were recording them on their cell phones.
For many Americans, country isn’t just a type of music. It’s a lifestyle. From sippin’ sweet tea on the porch, drinking beer at a tailgate or driving a pick up down the backroads, country music has made its way into the hearts and minds of many Americans. It is one of the only truly home grown American art forms. Its relatability and wide appeal has made country music one of the most commercially successful and popular genres in the United States. Using the work of scholars Tichi, Pecknold, and Ellison, I will show how country music grew from its rural southern roots into an integral part of American culture.
The Anglos in the corrido, meanwhile, are not one-dimensional villains but “complex figures who contain positive as well as negative qualities” (Mendoza 146). These distinctive traits of a corrido – setting, conflict, and characterization, among others – ... ... middle of paper ... ... l. “Ge-or-ge,’ she called in an exaggerated Gringo accent. He looked back.
The author is using personal experience to convey a problem to his or her audience. The audience of this piece is quite broad. First and foremost, Mexican-Americans just like the author. People who can relate to what the author has to say, maybe someone who has experienced something similar. The author also seems to be seeking out an audience of white Americans who find themselves unaware of the problem at our borders. The author even offers up a warning to white America when she notes, “White people traveling with brown people, however, can expect to be stopped on suspicion they work with the sanctuary movement”(125). The purpose of this writing is to pull out a problem that is hidden within or society, and let people see it for what it is and isn’t.
Chicanos study 50 made me want to discover more into what music helped motivate people in their everyday life or just brought their spirits up. Chicano Rock will always be a part of history and will continue to evolve even though some people will not have political views in their songs anymore. Mana is part of modern day rock in Spanish, but his songs are more about love. Music will continue to follow what society is asking for and since modern society is not as heavily opened to discrimination anymore rock and other genre will not focus in that. Just like Chicano movements’ leaders, Chicano Rock was there to push individuals to keep fighting for peace and acquire their rights. Chicano Rock was like Caesar Chavez and Rodolfo Gonzales; it brought hope to people when hearing their favorite artist speaking about incorrect politics and how it should be put to an end. Los Lobos, Zapatistas, and Los Curdos were small popular bands in the Chicano Rock that inspired Chicanos during the movements. Chicano Rock will probably will not be as big as other Latin genre and other modern genres, but like me and other people, there will always be followers who will continue to hear Chicano Rock and will be forever a part of history that will never be
"El Corrido Mexicano." El Corrido Mexicano La Cucaracha Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013
Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and countless other tremendously talented artists had their lives cut short due to drug use. Drugs were most often good for the music, but deadly for the music makers.
Specifically, one of those was the insecurity felt by the children as they traveled through Mexico. At one point in the film, the boys talked about how they were robbed and abused by Mexican authorities. One of them spoke briefly about how it took several Mexican officials to take his watch off his arm, because he refused to hand it over. This issue leads back to one that was described earlier in this paper, the influence organized crime has on the Mexican government. The major issue that was cited in this documentary however, is the growing number of unaccompanied children traveling to the United States. This issue has two sides to it, the social side and the political side. The first side of this issue starts at the home country of each of these children. Their government is not able or not willing to help them, and as a result they live in poverty and without access the basic human needs; water, food, shelter. This leads the children to want better for themselves and ultimately to take the decision to travel to the U.S. On the political side, the unaccompanied children are causing Mexico and the United States to spend more money on Immigration. This because they have to create more detention centers for minors, they have to house and feed them until they are deported to their country of origin. Throughout the film these issues are put into the perspective of the children. The reason the directors did this, was to show the challenges the children face as they made their journey. The reason they used that perspective is because it is a unique one. It is not every day that you hear about a 12 year old who traveled across Mexico and into the United States
Ragland, Cathy. Música Norteña: Mexican Migrants Creating a Nation between Nations. Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP, 2009. Print.
My favorite story from Canicula was the one titled “On the Bridge”. In this story she tells us how her and her brother will go run errands and will cross the border often. I find this interesting since they are experiencing two different countries as they live so close to the border. She tells us the adventures that Tino and her would have, even the time where she had to pay to use the restroom in Mexico, which to me seemed different. She tells us how she misses the adventures she had with Tino as those are the memories she cherishes of her brother. She describes her father as someone who is always working and only getting to see him once a month. I can relate to her as back in the day my father would go to Galveston and work as I would not
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...
As one moves past the initial onslaught of rhythmic beats that calypso has to offer, it is difficult to miss the way in which it reverberates with negative and demoralizing images of women to their male counterparts. Whether it is within the lyrics of Sparrow’s “Drunk and Disorderly” or Square One’s “My Ding-a Ling”, an ample number of verses are often dedicated to making lewd comments about the female body and the suggestive body language described through thinly veiled rhymes and puns, can be offensive depending on the listener. The half naked models being displayed on the various album covers of calypso, soca and rap mix tapes further reinforces these negative connotations. This bandwagon has been jumped upon by many, including the rap genre in the last two decades, wanting to capitalize on a marketing strategy that generally purports to flag consumer attention, playing on their sense of eroticism. The sections titled “Music, Sex, Sexism” and “Woman Rising” within Peter Manuel’s text: Caribbean Currents, dive into the many issues surrounding gender within music as well as female portrayal specifically in calypso. Observations can be made simply by reading through the textual comparisons. Many aspects of this subject area allude to the fact that the issue of gender portrayal in music can be construed differently depending on who the critical listener happens to be. With the increased awareness and heightened sensitivity to the way in which females are portrayed in popular media, it is important to reflect on the impact these lyrics have on male-female relationships within the communities who most often enjoy this music genre.