A corrido is a type of song that tells a story in a rhythmic and poetic way. These songs often talk about topics like unfair treatment, history, the lives of criminals, the lifestyle of vaqueros, and other important social issues. Corridos became very popular during the Mexican Revolution and in the Southwestern American frontier. They also helped shape the development of Tejano and New Mexico music, which later influenced Western music.

The genre comes from a type of story called a romance. In its most common form, a corrido includes a greeting from the singer, an introduction to the story, the story itself, and a lesson or farewell from the singer. In Mexico, corridos are still a popular form of music today.

Outside of Mexico, corridos are also enjoyed during Chilean national celebrations called Fiestas Patrias.

Form

Corridos, like rancheras, begin with instrumental music and include decorative musical elements called adornos, which help introduce the verses of the lyrics. Similar to rancheras, corridos can be played in many different styles of Mexican music. Additionally, like rancheras, corridos are typically performed in march, waltz, or mazurka rhythms.

History

The word corrido comes from the Spanish word correr, which means "to run." A typical corrido has eight quatrains, which are groups of four lines. Each line usually has eight syllables.

The earliest corridos were based on Spanish romances or European stories. These stories often focused on love, religious themes, or people who were either respected or disgraced. Examples include "La Martina," which is based on a story called "La Esposa Infiel," and "La Delgadina." These early corridos shared similar features with later ones, such as a rhythm that was half or three-quarters of a beat and verses with eight or fewer syllables grouped into stanzas of six or fewer lines.

Between the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821) and the Mexican Revolution (1910–1921), corridos became more popular and took on an "epic" tone. They often followed a three-part story structure. During the Mexican Revolution, corridos were used to share news across Mexico, especially because the newspapers owned by the government of Porfirio Díaz spread biased information. Sheet music of popular corridos was sold or included in books. Some corridos were given for free to praise leaders, armies, or political groups, or to mock opponents. The most famous corrido from this time is "La Cucaracha," which was changed to celebrate the army of Pancho Villa and make fun of his enemy, Victoriano Huerta.

Examples from this time include:
– A song about the battle of Ciudad Juárez called Toma de Ciudad Juárez.
– Sheet music from 1915, during the height of the Mexican Revolution.
– A version of "La Cucaracha" from the Mexican Revolution, which includes original lyrics and references to cartoncitos, a type of paper money used as pay.

Before radio became common, corridos were shared orally, often to tell people about important events, heroes, or humor. Many people at the time could not read, so corridos helped spread information. Until the 1950s, when radio and television became popular, corridos were the main way people learned about news and education in Mexico. After radio and TV spread, the corrido genre changed and continues to develop today. However, some experts believe the corrido is no longer as important or is disappearing.

As the political system in Mexico after the revolution became more stable and electronic media grew in popularity, corridos lost their role as a main way to share news. They became part of traditional culture in some areas and a voice for new groups, such as workers, drug growers, activists, and Mexican immigrants in the United States. Scholars call this the "decaying" stage of the genre, where the old styles of corridos from the revolution or earlier are not clearly followed. This stage includes narcocorridos, which are songs about drug smugglers, often written by unknown composers or popular musicians.

In some rural areas where Spanish and Mexican traditions are strong, corridos have influenced other types of music. For example, in New Mexico, a song called Indita developed during the colonial period. It follows a corrido style but is chanted like a Native American song.

Some corridos are love stories. These include songs about women, such as "La Venganza de Maria," "Laurita Garza," "El Corrido de Rosita Alvirez," and "La Adelita," or couples, like "La Fama de la Pareja" by Los Tigres del Norte. Some corridos are based on made-up stories.

In the Mestizo-Mexican culture, three types of corridos—romantic, revolutionary, and modern—are still sung. Other related music styles, such as the valona from Michoacán and the son arribeño from the Sierra Gorda region, are also popular. Corridos can mix with other music styles, like blues or ska, or use non-Spanish lyrics, such as the song "El Paso" by Marty Robbins. Mexican indigenous communities and the "Chicano" people in the United States also create corridos in English or a mix of Spanish and English.

In the 2000s, corridos have become popular again. Modern corridos often talk about drug trafficking (narcocorridos), immigration, migrant workers, and even mythical creatures like the chupacabra.

Subcategories

Modern artists have created a new version of the historical corridos, which are traditional Mexican songs that tell stories. This new type is called narcocorridos, or "drug ballads." The earliest corridos appeared during the Mexican Revolution and described events and people from that time. Narcocorridos usually include real dates and places and focus on topics like drug smuggling, violence, murder, poverty, corruption, and crime.

The Rio Grande border area is believed to be where narcocorridos first started. This happened in the 1960s as drug organizations grew quickly in border states of Mexico and the United States. As drug leaders gained power, people began to admire them and showed their respect through narcocorridos.

There are two main types of narcocorridos: commercial and private. Commercial narcocorridos are recorded by famous musicians who write songs about specific drug dealers, often at the dealer’s request. Private narcocorridos are not sold publicly but are played in nightclubs where drug dealers gather or sold on the street. Drug lords sometimes pay singers to create songs about them to send messages to competitors. These songs are popular on websites like YouTube, and some include a label that says "Approved by the cartel." Unlike traditional corridos, which use a third-person perspective, narcocorridos often use a first-person voice.

The Mexican government has tried to stop narcocorridos because of their clear and controversial lyrics. Many people in Mexico believe that crime and violence are the reasons these songs exist. However, even after government efforts, people in northern Mexican states can still hear these songs through U.S. radio stations that reach those areas. Narcocorridos are also widely available on websites like YouTube and iHeartRadio. Today, they are popular in many Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Honduras.

Narcocorridos have become popular in the United States, and some people in the U.S. have criticized them. Recent songs often target American audiences, and some are even written in English. Like other musicians, narcocorrido singers often perform in American cities because concert tickets there are more expensive than in Mexico.

A newer style of corridos, called "corridos tumbados" or "trap corridos," mixes traditional corridos with hip hop and Latin trap music. This style was first promoted by Natanael Cano, but the idea came from Dan Sanchez, who wrote Natanael’s first song, "Soy El Diablo." A later version of this song included a popular reggaeton and trap artist named Bad Bunny. Other important artists in this style include Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida, and Junior H. Many musicians in this genre say they are influenced by Ariel Camacho.

Since 2023, corridos tumbados have become very popular worldwide. Well-known artists like Eladio Carrión, Myke Towers, and Argentinian producer Bizarrap have worked with musicians in this genre. One popular song was a collaboration between Bizarrap and Peso Pluma. In the United States, hip-hop artists such as Drake, Travis Scott, and Lil Baby have performed with musicians from corridos tumbados. In Mexico, some people criticize this music for its lyrics about violent topics, such as drug-related crimes.

Gregorio Cortez

The corrido "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" tells the story of Gregorio Cortez, who fought against 33 Texas Rangers from June 12 to June 22, 1901, and became a beloved hero among people living along the Texas-Mexico border. Cortez was described as "a man who never raised his voice to a parent or elder brother and never disobeyed." Most of the story matches his real life, but the report calls him a sharpshooter, and his brother Romaldo is renamed Román in the corrido.

On June 12, 1901, sheriff W.T. Morris visited Cortez and Román to investigate a horse theft and asked if they had traded a horse. Gregorio said "no" and told Morris he owned a mare. Later, Morris believed the brothers were lying and tried to arrest them. When Morris attempted to arrest them, Cortez refused, saying in Spanish, "You can't arrest me for nothing." Because of poor Spanish translations from his fellow Texas Rangers, Morris misunderstood and thought Cortez said, "No white man can arrest me." Morris then shot Román, wounding him. Cortez shot Morris in return and fled toward the Austin-Gonzales area.

In the corrido, instead of Román being wounded, his character is shot dead while trying to protect Cortez and collapses on the ground. Cortez then shoots the sheriff to avenge his brother. He walks 100 miles and rides more than 400 miles. He walks until he reaches the Rio Grande. When he arrives in Goliad, Texas, he meets his friend Jesús González (called "El Teco" in the corrido), who betrays him and turns him in to the police. This leads to Cortez being arrested, tried, and sentenced to "ninety-nine years and a day" in federal prison for horse theft, even though he never stole a horse.

The corrido has been adapted into other forms of media. In 1958, Américo Paredes wrote the book With His Pistol in His Hand: A Border Ballad and Its Hero, which details the corrido and the story of Gregorio Cortez. The book is considered a classic in Mexican-American literature. In 1982, a film titled The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez was made, and Edward James Olmos played the role of Gregorio Cortez.

Films

• 2006 – A film called Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side) was directed by Natalia Almada.
• 2007 – A film called El Violin (The Violin) was directed by Francisco Vargas.
• 2008 – A film called El Chrysler 300: Chuy y Mauricio was directed by Enrique Murillo.
• 2009 – A film called El Katch (The Katch) was directed by Oscar Lopez.