This week we are talking about Mexican "coriddo" ballads. When I first came across the idea of corrido music I began to think about Selena and her hit music in the early 90's. Selena could sing her heart out but her music was more of a love ballad rather than a corrido ballad. The most famous ballad known as a corrido was "La Cucaracha," "an old song that was rephrased to celebrate the exploits of Pancho Villa's army and poke fun at his nemesis Venustiano Carranza" (Flores 198). The main ideas of the Mexican ballads were to express poetry-like lyrics accompanied with dancing like the waltz or polka inspired tracks. Originally the lyrics were written in the form of old legends (stories) and ballads about a famed criminal or hero in the rural frontier areas of Mexico. Some corridos may also be love stories, like the more common Selena songs that our generation today remember growing up to. The most popular singers of corrido ballads are; Los Tigres del Norte, Explosion Nortena, Los Morros Del Norte, El Potro De Sinaloa, Los Tucanes De Tijuana, El Tigrillo Palma, Los Cadetes de Linares, Edgardo Gamez, El Efectivo, and Grupo Exterminador. As the corrido music may follow the same tempo as a general waltz or polka, the music itself is very simple and light. Generally corrido music is sung by the singer or a group of singers and are accompanied with the guitar. Below is an example of a corrido ballad by Los Tigres del Norte entitled, "La Granja."
As for lyrics, here is another written example of a older and more original corrido called, "Valentina." The lyrics speak about a love story amongst a couple and their endless lust for one another.
Richard Flores. "The Corrido and the Emergence of Texas-Mexican Social Identity" (Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 105, Spring 1992)
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