Songs that tell stories have long been a major component of folklore worldwide. And in the arid lands where the southwestern United States meets northern Mexico, a type of ballad called the corrido is still an important component of everyday life, keeping history as alive as current events, and preserving today’s news for history.
From the days of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th Century until today, mexicanos who live on both sides of the border have memorialized heroes and anti-heroes in song. Whether the “heroes” in question were wily revolutionaries like Francisco “Pancho” Villa, or banditos who outfoxed wealthy landowners, or modern smugglers of drugs and human contraband, their exploits continue to be the subject of songs. The hardships of working people, particularly farmers and miners, comprise another subset of corridos. And great horse races, two-horse matches that excite spectacular crowds of people from all walks of life, have also become popular ballad subjects.
Modern ensembles in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands continue to sing the old songs and to make up new ones. This CD from Smithsonian Folkways compiles corridos old and new from a series of modern recordings. There are of course other subjects about which these songs are sung, but this collection focuses on heroes of the working classes — rebels, miners, outlaws and railroad workers — and horse races.
The 16 tracks include recordings of five different acts, most just guitars and vocals, but some with bands made up of accordion, bass and guitar variants like bajo sexto and guitarron as well. There are three by Robert Benton, accompanied by Oscar Gonzales; three by Francisco Federico, accompanied by Antonia Gonzalez; four by Francisco’s cousin Antonio Federico, with accordion, guitar and guitarron accompaniment; four by Luis Mendez and Guadalupe Bracamonte; and two by the ensemble Los Ribereños del Golfo. These final two are the only ones about fishermen. Here’s an audio-only video of “El Corrido del Guasiado” by Los Ribereños.
The songs themselves are a capsule history of northern Mexico, from the exploits of the bandit Joaquin Murrieta to the 1994 Zapatista uprising, as well as tragic duels over women, mining disasters, train explosions and famous horse races. All were recorded between 1995 and 1999.
The tracks that include more instruments, rather than just guitar and vocals, are more interesting sonically. Long stretches of two voices and two guitars get monotonous after a while, so perhaps it would have been better to alternate among the five bands instead of giving each several tracks in a row.
But the corrido is just a vital and lively today as it was 100 years ago, and this collection is a good example of why that is. Folklore doesn’t get much more immediate or passionate, and nobody puts together collections of this kind quite as well as Smithsonian Folkways. Excellent liner notes, and lyrics on the enhanced portion of the CD or at the website.
(Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2002)
