I’m really enjoying With a Pistol in his Hand. It reminds me of the dusty westerns that used to be on TV Sunday afternoons, the ones my grandfathers used to watch. They had this strange appeal to them, the thrill of the chase, good vs. bad, being wrongfully accused. They were all the same, lots of men riding on horses, walking around wearing frilly, suede chaps and boots that made clinking noises when they walked bow-legged into the saloon. And guns, lots of guns.
Who knew that some of this stuff was based on reality. I’ve been through the west. In Buffalo Wyoming, we saw the ‘genuine’ bullet holes in some pub that were put there by Billy The Kid. That seems to be the whole allure of western folklore…the legend based on a shred of truth. Some romantic spin on an otherwise mundane event.
I can’t imagine the things described by Paredes in the first section of the book. The list on page 16 of the half dozen points which summarize the Anglo Texan legend made my blood boil: the Mexican is cruel by nature…cowardly and treacherous, thievering and degenerate. As I read on and some of the variations of the legend of Gregorio Cortez were told, I couldn’t help but think that these are a more accurate way of describing the Rangers. It also makes me think of the extreme racism that exists in today’s society…like the viral videos of some white person screaming their head off at someone speaking Spanish…or the senseless killing of black people by ‘innocent’ white cops.
It makes me think about the legends that exist in the media…the legends that are told by outlets such as Fox news, or that Orange Turd that calls himself the president. It never matters what the truth actually is, as long as the story attracts attention. Someone always gets hurt, loses out, or worse—gets killed.
The reading also made me think of one of my all-time favourite songs, “Seven Spanish Angels” by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson. It’s a blend of Ray Charles’ soulful, rumbling piano, along with Willie Nelson’s storytelling and smattering of trumpets playing the mordent motif that has become a cliché of anything Mexican. So I listened to it (for the nine-hundredth time…), paying attention to the words. The gun fight, the riders, the feeling of being cornered and accused for some unfounded offence. The story of Gregorio Cortez may not be unique, but it seems to be a trope that fills books, tv screens and music. And despite predictable, it still captures interest.
“That seems to be the whole allure of western folklore…the legend based on a shred of truth. Some romantic spin on an otherwise mundane event.”
Indeed. But isn’t this also the same with the legend of Gregorio Cortez? One of the things that’s interesting to me here is that Paredes is not simply or even particularly interested in counterposing the “true” story to the legend. He’s interested in the multiple “truths” that the legend reveals, even as legend. He interested, in other words, in the ways in which the malleability of the legend (there are so many different versions) is part of the attraction to the singers (and listeners) of Border corridos.
Hi Craig,
Super interesting point about the legends that exist in the media; your’e right, it doesn’t matter what actually happened, as long as it’s a story that attracts attention. I also agree with Jon, I think Paredes focuses on the fact that despite the multiple “truths”, or versions of the story, Gregorio Cortez’s legend lives on. As we saw today in class, there seem to be various different versions of the corrido, even in terms of the way the corrido is sung/performed.
Hi Craig,
Your take on this type of legend’s recurring presence in the media is quite true. I grew up reading “Lucky Luke” a Belgian/French comic book series. Reading this book took me back to those stories. The stories of a cowboy that fought injustice and that could shoot “faster than his shadow” (http://www.lucky-luke.com/en/). I think maybe the author gives us different accounts of Gregorio Cortez to explain why characters like this take such an important place in the memories held by a people. These heroes are somewhat “ambassadors” of our nationhood. This is my view of it, I am sure as I get through the book I’ll be able to understand this better.
– Maria