The Daily Corrido
by Carla Corona
Historical Background
Several key moments in the history of Mexicans and Mexican-American/ Chicanos exist. the history and progression of the corrido has been a part of these key historical moments. These moments begin with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848(1) . The treaty ended the Mexican-American War, but caused conflicts of citizenship, property rights, and resistance between a newly altered Mexico. With the signing of the Treaty, the Mexicans were neither American citizens nor Mexican citizens. In essence, the corrido found its formations with the Treatyís signing; therefore, enhanced more news, more stories, and more interpretations. Another important moment of the corrido is the Mexican Revolutionary period lasting between the years of 1910-1940. The Revolution began with a plan proposed by Francisco I. Madero, it was the Plan of San Luis Potosi, dated for October 5, 1910 the last day which Porfirio Díaz would reside as president. This plan called for armed rebellion to begin against Díaz. This Revolution was both a time of resistance and acceptance of the Mexican imaginary. One of Maderoís men gathered one hundred men outside the city of Chihuahua and then the Revolution began. The revolution concluded thirty years later, but Mexico was in the forefront of a new regime. It was during this Revolutionary period that heroic themes of corridos took its course. By the time of the Mexican Revolution, the corridos had not yet been written down; therefore, the stories were passed from elder to younger, friend to friend, etc. Stories such as tales of Emilano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Gregorio Cortez were carried throughout Northern Mexico into the Southwest and back. Another key moment in the progression of corridos was the period between the 1950ís-1970ís. This period began with the Bracero Program into the labor movement into the Chicano movement. During these decades, the corrido challenged new themes of drug trafficking, border conflicts, and immigration.
Obviously, these three moments occurred in different places and therefore affected different geographical areas, however it might be relevant to mention the historical surroundings at the time because corridos essentially linked a community with each other no matter the distance. The corrido travels, conveys, and transmits the knowledge of events of el norte o a la frontera o en Mexico (The north, the border, or in Mexico).
Although, I have mentioned these moments in Mexican and Mexican-American history, I will focus on the Revolutionary period and how the corrido as a tool for social communication has been appropriated in many different ways. In this essay, I would like to explore how the corrido as a musical form has created an opportunity of social belonging for Mexicans and later Mexican-Americans. Music as the oral tradition has enhanced social memory and consciousness. Also, one can consider the representation in the lyrics of the corrido and how with these lyrics opened up for the difficult; yet real tales of heroes, love, and conflict.
What is the corrido?
The corrido is a narrative viewed through the eyes of the people---its subject almost always follows the truth. (2)
The corrido is an epic-lyric-narrative genre with quatrains of a variable rhyme, either assonant or consonant on the even lines. This literary form is based on musical phrases organized in four parts and tells of events that powerfully move the sensibilities of the masses.(3)
The corrido, rooted from the Spanish word correr =[to run] indicates what might be the character of the corrido. The corrido also derives from the Spanish musical ballad romance (4) . The corrido as stated by Américo Paredes dates no later than the middle of the nineteenth century. Such as the period from 1836 to the late 1930ís holds the life span of the corrido for the Lower Border. At first, corridos were not written, but they were passed on from generation to generation and as mentioned above they sensibly moved the masses. The corridos are sung accompanied with guitars and they usually are performed in cantinas as well as other social surroundings.
The corrido is motion, the corrido is a transit, and the corrido is the narrative. This notion alone gives an idea of the significance of how the corrido was used as a process of transmission. The corrido was the narrative of events; however, the corrido was influenced through the audience. When the corridos were sung in cantinas or elsewhere, the feedback received from the audience in regards to this oral form must have had an impact in its process of change. This non-authoritarian version of ìhistoryî was a unique way in creating history. Joseph Roach, scholar and theorist, extends an understanding of performance with memory and history. Essentially, these corridos were passed orally from one another through the process of singing. Because no evident written texts existed until the early 20th century, the corridos survived in oral memory alone and that served as historic evidence.
The corridos transmission through memory is apparent using the three classes of memory by Paul Connerton. Connerton categorizes memory as:personal memory- these memories refer to those acts of remembering, that take as their object oneís life history;
cognitive memory- uses of ërememberí where we may be said to remember the meaning of words, or lines or verse, or jokes, or stories, or the lay-out of a city, or mathematical equations, or truths of logic, or facts about the future
habit memory- a memory simply allows us to have the capacity to reproduce a certain performance.(5)One might consider the embodiment of the corridos with the cognitive and habit memory. The corrido embodies a cognitive memory in that the lyrics are passed on from generation to generation without any tangible assistance (i.e. writing). Secondly, the corridos portray habit memory because corridistas (corrido singers) perform the song over and over again. Arguably differences exist, but just as in reading, writing, and riding a bike, one may vary in style, but still have the same result. Connertonís categorizations of memory are crucial in the analysis of the corrido and its transmission of history and knowledge.
Interestingly enough, Connerton also distinguishes the difference between social memory and historical reconstruction. I believe that the corrido survives in the liminal space, in between the archival form and the repertoire of the corridos, because they are not only evident of social memory, but also a reconstruction of its history as well. Connerton states, ìHistorical reconstruction is not dependent on social memory.î(6) , but I would like to indicate that the corrido transmits which are an un-authoritarian display of history. Perhaps, they are more accurate than one may think because the repertoire continues and functions as a reminder of historical moments. Connerton states, ìoral histories seek to give voice to what would otherwise remain voiceless even if not traceless, by reconstituting the life histories of individuals.î(7) In this respect, can we consider corridistas as historians, or at least major figures who built ?if not constructóthe history from within the Mexican revolutionaries and beyond?
One reason I found corridos as accurate accounts of events is referential in the lyrics. For instance, a corrido in this time period almost always began with the date (month, day, and/or year). The date introduced the story; it grabbed the listenerís attention, and it became a cognitive memory. The following corridos offer three examples of introductions as cognitive:El día veinteochode enero
no me quisiera acordarÖ.(8)Año de mil ochocientos,
noventa y dos al contra
compuse you esta tragedia
que aquí les voy a cantar.(9)Era el 23 de junio (1914),
hablo con los más presentes
fue tomado Zacatecas
por las tropes de insurgents.(10)Many other corridos introduce dates in history as a beginning of an event, a beginning of that particular corrido. With most narratives, the corridos also display the ending of the tale. For the most part, the lyrics are blatant in stating that the corrido, the narrative, has ended. For instance, the following corridos bid farewell:
Ya con ésta ahi me despido
Con la flor de una violeta,
Por la División del Norte
Fue tomado Zacatecas.(11)Adiós Jesusito Leal,
amigo fiel verdadero,
estos versos te compuse
el día veinteocho de enero.(12)Adíos muchachas bonitas,
transiten por donde quieran,
ya murió Heraclio Bernal,
el mero león de la sierra.(13)These previous examples taken from the last stanzas within particular corridos defines an ending to the story or narrative. Whether through humbled death, taking over, or capture, the ending perpetuates a cognitive memory. I chose these examples because clearly these corridos from the late nineteenth century have transmitted history and an imaginary of the past. After all, these recordings werenít made until the early to mid- twentieth century, but they are still being performed and recorded.
An interesting element of the corridos as an oral history is regarding the significance of oral tradition. Connerton states, ìOral histories seek to give voice to what would otherwise remain voiceless even if not traceless, by reconstituting the life histories of individuals.î(14) This is seen with the corrido as a notion of social belonging. The corridos along with telling narratives, history, and hardships, the corridos linked the social community. For instance:Mexicans are so intimidated by the government officials, even by social workers, and so timid on account of the language difficulty that it is almost unheard of for a Mexican to express his opinion to an American. Here, however, he is speaking to his own group and an emotional outlet is offered in the writing of the corridos on the subject so well known to every Mexican.(15)
This emotion towards the corrido displays the feelings toward the corrido as a safe place. Whether one was literate or not, the corrido transmitted knowledge, whether past or present. Additionally, the restriction from authority may not allow the voice of speech, but the singing gave the people freedom. They exhausted in the freedom which corridos offer, and they utilized this form as an outlet to say, that which shouldnít be uttered!
Clearly stated, ì The corridos sung what those could not say.î(16)Distinction of Archive and Repertoire
The distinction between the ìarchiveî and ìrepertoireî in relation to the corridos is important in the analysis of oral transmission. First, it is imperative to distinguish the terms ìarchiveî and ìrepertoire.î
The ëarchiveí includes enduring materials (i.e. texts, documents, buildings, bones) and the more ephemeral ërepertoireí is of embodied practice/ knowledge (i.e. spoken language, dance, ritual). Essentially archival are all items resistant to change.(17)
On the other hand, according to Taylor,
The repertoire enacts ëembodiedí memory performances, gestures, orature, movement, dance, singing- in short all those acts usually thought of as ephemeral, non-reproducible knowledge.(18)
Within the corrido, it enforces the notion of repertoire because these narratives had a main role of transmission through singing and orature. Since the corridos hadnít been written into textual form until the early twentieth century, I would like to propose that the corridos, for decades, provided the archive within the repertoire as well as this is a representation of the corrido placed in a liminal space, between an intangible archive and intangible repertoire. Tangible simply means the ability to touch and intangible is the contrary. The corridos are not fully included in the archive because they are a ìthere and thenî AND ìhere and nowî phenomenon. Furthermore, corridos in the archival werenít represented until after transmission of narratives, tales, and stories began. I would have to propose that the corrido is repertoire form by nature. The corrido does embody the memory performance through singing and orature. Also, the corrido is not a purely archival form either because corridos did not initiate the form as an ìenduring materialî nor did the corrido establish itself as that type of tradition.
Transmission of the Corrido
Inevitably the corrido is performance. Taylor suggests, ìPerformances function as vital acts of transfer, transmitting social knowledge, memory, and a sense of identity through [the] reiterated.î (19) The corrido functions as a medium of performance hence this is one of the keys to understand itsí uniqueness. I find the uniqueness within the corrido because of its transmission. Deriving from an oral tradition, it fascinates me how for decades a corrido survived by only oral transmission. Of course, different variants of corridos exist, but nonetheless, the corrido unwritten survived and survives. Self-referentially, situating myself in a very ìarchivalî society, I adapted to the archive, however in my exploration of the corrido, I have found that the archive is not essential in transmitting knowledge or history. In fact, I appreciate the fact that many corridos hadnít been written for decades. Whether the corrido is fact or fiction, the corrido has told me tales that one probably does not read about in history books.
Other elements aided in the oral transmission of the corrido at the time of the Revolutionary period. The high illiteracy rate among the Mexican population was a factor. Because of this illiteracy rate, the corridos were more popular to gain a glimpse of events, gossip, and/or community struggles. In Benedict Andersonís book Imagined Communities, he claims, ìIn Spanish America, albeit more slowly and intermittently, similar processes produced in the second half of the eighteenth century the first local presses.î(20) In his observation, he points out, the commodity aspect in regard to how the printed material spread more rapidly through out the North American and Europea. The spread of print is furthermore an element of how the corridos evaluated an oral transmission hence they became very popular and essential to the Mexicans. I find value in that possibly the composers of the corridos resisted writing for two reasons an overwhelming rate of illiteracy, but also the fear that, according to Taylor, ìHistories were burned and re-written to suit the memorializing needs of those in power. The space of written culture then, as now, seemed easier to control than embodied culture.î(21) With this resistance, for a while, the history within the corridos emulated a unique form of authenticity- the unwritten history.
Furthermore, with the help of Spanish language radio in the 1920ís, the corrido became more popular. The working class, the majority of the Mexican population in the States, especially became appealed to the Spanish language radio because they could hear the familiar sounds of the corridos via radio signal.(22) Although some Mexicans were disturbed that the ìfolk traditionî of the corrido was made commercial, they began to like the new adaptations to urban living.(23) This more popular form of transmission does detour the initial medium of the corrido; however, the corridos still remained a connection to society and their narratives.The Corrido as National Symbol
A symbol is something that represents and recalls something. The corridos, especially in the nineteenth century and mid-twentieth century recall stories, events, and represent tales of persons and event. The corridos also recalled moments in the peopleís history and struggles or conflicts. ìNational symbols objectify each nationís identity making tangible that which might otherwise be impossible to meaningfully apprehensive and bringing a sense of concreteness to the highly abstract.î(24) This idea indicates tangibility versus intangibility or perhaps a visible versus invisible. The first documented corrido lyrics didnít occur until the early twentieth century. Thus, for several decades the corrido was transmitted purely through oral transmission. As in all oral transmission, there are different versions of corridos existing. Although, the main idea is similar, the texts vary in different ways and forms.
The corrido is peculiar in establishing the national identity for the Mexicans. ìCorridos appealed to a Mexicanís nationalist fervor at a time when the pride of Mexican people, places, and events was flourishing,î(25) and it will continue to shape the national identity of Mex-American/Chicanas in America formed and continues to form a national identity for the Mexicans in America. Unlike the tangible national symbols like a flag or a legal document, the corridos functions like the intangible national symbols such as, the fervor in the nationalistic sense that the corrido may evoke. The corrido was form relating to the Mexican population; therefore, this corrido created an intangible allegiance to the plights and struggles of the population. The corrido united, expressed, and reminded the population of each other. Since at the time of the Revolution most corridos were based on tales of heroes, bandits, outlaws, etcÖthese corridos shared the rebellions against authority. The corrido is a national symbol and I believe continually will be to some degree. As times change the corridos themes change. The corrido is telling a different story of the related nation.In conclusion, the title of this essay The Daily Corrido has been a narrative in its own right. The corrido in its definition alone displays the concept of motion, transmission, and continuity; therefore adding a depth to a repertoire as a transmission of knowledge. In the lyrics chosen the clear beginning and sustained ending allows the corrido to perform as a sort of narrative. The idea that the corrido may survive in the in-between the archival and repertoire is complicated; yet arguable. The corrido nonetheless has been successful in its survival, the communication of social memories, and its transmission of history and knowledge through performance. Just as the moments in history have occurred, the corrido has also had its moments with transition and progress. As they say, history always repeats itself and here with the corridos it is through this repetition of transmitted memories that history has been preserved.
ENDNOTES
1 Griswold del Casillo, Richard. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict. University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
2 Sanchez, George. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles 1900-1945. Oxford University Press, 1993. P 178
3Mendoza, Vicente T. El Corrido Mexicano. Gráfica pan-Americana, 1954.
See Parades, Americo. With A Pistol In His Han: A Border Ballad and Its Hero. University of Texas Press 1958. P1294 Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge University Press, 1989. P 18
5 Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge University Press, 1989. P 23
6 Ibid. P 7
7 from Corrido de Jesús Real. (first recorded in 1904)
8 from Corrido de Heraclio Bernal (recorded in 1921)
9 from La Toma De Zacatecas (recorded in 1960)
10 from La Toma De Zacatecas (recorded c. 1960)
11 from Corrido de Jesús Real. (first recorded in 1904)
12 from Corrido de Heraclio Bernal (recorded in 1921)
13 Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge University Press, 1989. P 18
Sanchez, George. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. Oxford University Press, 1993. P 180
14 Ibid
15 Taylor, Diana. ìPerFORWhat Studies?î from Acts of Transfer. Work in Progress. P 7
16Ibid. P 7
17Ibid. P 1
18 Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. London, 1983 P 60
19 Taylor, Diana. ìPerForWhat Studies?î. from Acts of Transfer. Work in Progress
20Sanchez, George. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. Oxford University Press, 1993. P 182.
21 Ibid. P 184
22 Cerulo, Karen A.. Identity Designs: The Sights and Sounds of a Nation. Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 1995. P. 3
23 Sanchez, George. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. Oxford University Press, 1993. P 182.