Overview:
 

The corrido is a Mexican folk ballad that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century as a musical and story telling narrative.  The corridos have been a transmission of both fiction and real from the adoption of the form.  More recently corridos have switched from border conflict, immigration, and heroic themes to narco-corridos and as current themes of terrorism. 
Corridos were not put into written text until the early twenieth century. People like Vicente T. Mendoza and Americo Paredes were the leading scholars in this folklore. 

The form that we know as the corrido was first seen after the Mexican Independence War in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 
Corridos played an important role in telling a history through oral tradition and song. 
In this project, I will explore three key moments in the development and maturity of the corrido. Also, I have included an essay titled "The Daily Corrido" which explores the idea of the corrido becoming a symbolic space of belonging essentially a foundation for the Mexican people, as well as the key element to news and event for the Mesxican community. 
This belonging is especially important from the moment in 1848 where Mexicans were neither citizens of Mexico nor the United States.  In this current transmission of events, the corridos explore the notion of the archive and repertoire. 

In collaboration with Jaime Shepard of Ohio State University, she will further explore a more recent phenomenon of the corridos.

LYRICS

STAGES OF THE CORRIDO

1848- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1910-1930 Mexican Revolution and Post-War

1950's into the Chicano Movement

1970-present 
(link to Jaime Shepard's page)

Pictured above:
Lydia Mendoza
 

for more information on
Lydia Mendoza

Bibliography/Resources