Narcocorridos
Uploaded by Sandra on Jun 05, 2002
The Truth about Narcocorridos and their Interpreters
When you turn on the radio, you listen to a song and you immediately have the choice on whether you like or dislike it. It may be because of the rhythm, artist/singer, lyrics or any other reason. In the Spanish-speaking community today, there is a controversy on a specific type of songs played on predominantly Mexican radio stations. Narcocorridos are becoming more and more popular every day (Narcocorridos are often referred to as Regional-Mexican). As the popularity of Narcocorridos increases, authors, interpreters, and fans are being labeled as traffickers of drugs, alcoholics and being corrupters.
The problem is that the lyrics of Narcocorridos are strong, dealing with drugs, alcohol, and guns. Interpreters and authors of this type of music find these songs to be normal, just as any other song, because they have to do with real life, day to day, issues, even though they may not relate to them personally. Just as any other genre of music, Narcocorridos have an audience that is for and an audience that is against. The audience that is for Narcocorridos says that they are culture driven songs of their native “pueblo”. But the audience that is against it, claim that these songs praise drugs, alcohol and weapons that they are degenerating and are a bad influence to anyone who listens to them.
A Narcocorrido is a type of song or music that often tells a story usually about drugs, alcohol and violence. . During the Mexican Revolution, the Narcocorrido served as a form of oral history for those campesinos that were illiterate and couldn’t attend school or read a book.
It all started more than a century ago when German immigrants invaded Culiacan Sinaloa, Mexico to work in breweries. With them, came the polka-like music they were accustomed to in their own land.
Narcocorridos have their origin in the time of the Mexican Revolution. They tell the adventures and deeds of leaders back in the day. In the beginning of the decade of 1970, there was a new flowing current of music derived with the song Contrabando y Traición. This song, with which Los Tigres Del Norte rose to the top, talks about a couple of smugglers that go on a long trip with the tires of their car full of marihuana.
The lyrics in a narcocorrido are strong. As mentioned before, they tell the story about...