I had a lot of thoughts as I read through the reading for this week, but especially going through Muehlmann’s “A Narco without a Corrido Doesn’t Exist.” I found myself trying to explain the behavior of those who produce and partake in this specific genre of music. I looked at it through all of my different lenses, as a behavioral neuroscientist, as a Canadian, as someone who grew up poor, as someone who grew up near the most dangerous parts of Canada, as someone who grew up around a lot of drug and violence culture. I tried to find an explanation, a rationale, even as I read that there is no general consensus among scholars as to why narco-corridos are so popular.
I thought maybe it was a “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” situation. Like the people had seen the government and officials try to snuff out drug trafficking and it wasn’t working, so they figured they might as well get something enjoyable out of the situation. I can definitely understand how powerful it feels to be able to relate to someone who started out with nothing and (in one way or another) made a name for themselves in the world. To be able to imagine yourself conquering your enemies, being in control, is a very alluring concept, especially when you’re in a position of poverty (as Muehlmann mentioned many of the listeners are).
I also think that there is something very attractive about un-censorship. These narco-corridos are supposed to represent “la pura verdad”, nothing but the truth. In a time and place where you don’t get that a lot, I can imagine you’ll take all the truth that you can get, even if it’s violent and ugly. Even if it hurts. As shown by the black-market videos that Muehlmann discusses, the people want to know what’s going on. It’s a form of protest, in a way, against all the censorship, corruption, and violence. It may even be a way to make the narco-trafficking tangible to the people in a (relatively) harmless way, so that they can understand what’s going on.
However, as I sat and thought of all of these different possibilities, I reminded myself that I may never fully know or understand the reason. With all of my experiences, I don’t know exactly what it’s like to grow up around narco-trafficking culture, and I never fully will. The fact of the matter is, things don’t work the same in Canada as they do in Mexico, or Peru, or any other Latin American country. I think that’s a big common problem with the US government interfering in foreign affairs, as seen in all three of the readings this week. We can’t use our solutions to fix their problems.
We can all sing narco-corridos all day long, but we still won’t ever understand what its really like to be a drug lord.
My question for the class is this: why do you think people like narco-corridos? Can you identify which lens you have that makes you see it that way?
Jon
February 10, 2021 — 12:56 AM
“We can all sing narco-corridos all day long, but we still won’t ever understand what its really like to be a drug lord.”
True, and yet isn’t that the (mistaken?) promise of the corridos? In fact, isn’t that the promise of much popular culture, perhaps even of drugs above all: that it (they) can make you feel like you were someone else, if only for a little while?
emilia heilakka
February 10, 2021 — 2:32 AM
Hey!
I thought that these corridos were popular because they had such deep roots in the Mexican culture, for example from the time of the revolution. They often told stories about the revolutionaries, the violence & oppression, and so I thought this was like a smooth continuum for these songs. Since there isn’t a revolution anymore, these narcos took the place of the revolutionaries. I think there could be some parallels drawn, since the narcos are in some sense against the government or at least take the power into their own hands, and live lives that aren’t “ordinary”, which could be attractive.
Isabel
February 10, 2021 — 7:05 PM
Why Coral!
That is a really interesting question. I see it as a little bit of what both Jon and Emilia said. You can see a corrido as a window to a particular subculture, allowing you to FEEL like you are living or in possession of that life for a few minutes, but I do think part of that is feeling like you are going against the status quo, breaking the rules, etc. In particular, I think it is related more to feeling like you’re in opposition to the United States, which has historically infiltrated Mexico’s government through puppet-rule, inhibiting its self-determination, and routinely affects Mexico through much of its policy, as well as the drug wars. I could be wrong, but that is always something I’ve felt is a possibility. With that said, even being Mexican I couldn’t give you a theory I’m very confident on; I’d be interested to hear what people who love that music would say, or those making genuine or copycat narcocorridos.
Isabel
February 10, 2021 — 7:06 PM
Haha, I meant hi, not Why! Thanks for the interesting question, Coral.
Clara
February 11, 2021 — 7:22 PM
Nice question! So far I agree with what other people answered; the narcos corridos represent a way of feeling empowered amidst so many reasons to feel impotent, it represents resistance to oppression, and resembles heroic ideals of the revolution. I think my main leans that makes me see and try to understand this songs, is my feminist and anti-racist leans because they help me to see different forms of oppression.
Also, I agree with you we couldn’t truly understand what is like to be a drug lord and probably only people who grow up in that location in Mexico could truly understand and feel the meaning of corridos.
Beck Laake
February 11, 2021 — 11:10 PM
Hey Coral!
I really enjoyed reading your opinion on this week’s reading. Although it was one of the lengthier ones, I tore through it because it was so interesting. Any artist hopes to one day create a piece that inspires conversation. Perhaps just like drug lords demand attention from the government in retaliation to the social morays of Mexico’s government, the narco-corridos encapsulate the common listener with a romanticized hero’s journey. It could be considered that by including engine revving and bullets blazing, narco-corridos are re-associating daily, dangerous noises with valor and victory. It is the glorification of a lifestyle that one will most likely not obtain, like the glamorization of pop stars, just a bit more illegal. The music might just be really good. It may be a variety of possibilities.