Corridos Tumbados is Punk Rock for the Mexican-American youth
The first time I heard a Natanael Cano song, I was hooked. Intoxicated by the throaty guitar, the way the horns wailed and the mindset the music embodies, I had no choice but to indulge in the culture of Corridos Tumbados and how it has impacted the Mexican-American youth the way Rap and Punk Rock did for the Black and White American youth once before — a genre bred out of rebellion. I wondered how Corridos Tumbados honored its history despite its subject matter. However, similar to the genres that preceded it, Corridos Tumbados embodies the ideals of youth and rejection of traditions with sophistication.
Just like its predecessors, Corridos Tumbados has a rich history. The genre was not only an off-shoot of music from the Colonizer but a rebellion of such. Mexico was introduced to Polka and Folk by the Europeans in the 1830s. Since the instruments used in Polka, like the guitar and accordion, were accessible and used by rural farm workers, the music quickly drifted away from its European roots. Thus, the Boleros Mexicanos genre was born.
The people wrote lyrics of rebellion and implemented brass instruments to spread news during the revolution. As this music spread across Mexico, the rural inhabitants in the north began adapting the sound of Boleros, creating La Musica Ranchera: Canciones de la Tierra or, in English, Ranchera Music: Music of the Heartland. La Musica Ranchera held a dream-like quality while incorporating crying horns and robust guitar strums. The romantic sound swooned the people of Mexico, and the genre became the sound of the country and it’s people.
That is until Narcocorridos changed everything. The genre, born from La Musica Ranchera, took the romantic sound to tell stories of drug traffickers. Los Tigres del Norte honed in on this sound, telling elaborate stories of rogue traffickers on the run as if they were cowboys and adventurers. They released the song “La Camioneta Gris,” or “The Gray Truck,” which was highly criticized for glamorizing the lives of people who ruined so many others’. And eventually, Narcocorridos was banned in Mexico. Despite its disapproval, most of Mexico was completely enamored by the sound, intrigued by the stories being told. But since the music was banned, it forced the artists to the outskirts of Mexico and closer to the United States. With the new exposure to Hip Hop and Rap, Corridos Tumbados emerged. And rather than telling stories of the Narcos, the artists were the traffickers and gangsters singing directly about their lives.
With this shift in psychic distance within Corridos, the parents who grew up on the traditional music of Mexico held a disdain for what the genre had become. They witnessed first-hand how the government failed them, and the Narcos robbed them. They were the disappointed ones watching people in their lives turn to the drugs, sex and violence Corridos Tumbados speaks to. I was lucky enough to sit down with some Mexican parents and get their raw opinions on the genre and its subject matter.
I spoke to a group of Mexican parents that love to get together and break bread, pray together, listen to music from their home and talk about their adult children. I spoke to husband and wife Alvino and Veronica, Veronica’s sister, Carmen and their best friend, Don Alfredo. I played each of them a different song to get their reactions, and, of course, they all said the same thing: they loved the sound of the music but hated the lyrics.
All four said they hated how Corridos Tumbados are all about “drogas, sexo y violencia.” Veronica made a very profound comment about how these artists aren’t aware of the violence they may cause because of their music. She didn’t see why Corridos Tumbados glorified a life that was so destructive. Just as American parents despised that their children were listening to Rap and Punk Rock, the same goes for Corridos Tumbados. However, what drives the older generations’ hate for these genres is all the same: fear. But that’s just the nature of being a parent, right? Fearing that the world may taint your precious baby and there’s nothing you can do about it?
These parents sacrificed everything to give their children a life where they can afford to listen to music about sex, drugs and violence for fun without actually being affected by that lifestyle. But also, just as Rap was named the culprit behind gang violence and crime, the same accusation gets tacked onto Corridos Tumbados. When you do the research, there are no correlations between rising crime rates and Corridos Tumbados. Sure, maybe there are some criminals out there, nodding along to the lyrics, but so are second-generation Mexican-Americans who want to understand harsher aspects of their parents’ lives and culture.
I asked each of the parents if they thought music is obligated to speak to any specific ideals such as love, traditions or family. When I first wrote the interview question, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the responses. I feel like music is a fluid art form that can speak on any number of topics and shouldn’t be constrained by “ideals”. These parents thought differently.
Don Alfredo said music should be about love. Alvino and Veronica said family, religion and love should be values upheld in music. Carmen said that music should be there to teach the younger generations about traditions, religion and life lessons. And I think that shows the biggest disconnect between the younger generation and their parents. To second-generation kids, music has always been escapist, ever-changing and adaptable. And there’s nothing wrong with either ideology, but the contrast is stark. Regardless of what you believe, it’s important to understand the art form of Corridos Tumbados to truly appreciate it.
On the surface, this music seems like everything you’d want your children to denounce. But, if anything, it’s right at home with any other controversial genre — telling stories of progression, rebellion and revolution. It walks a delicate line between embracing and rejecting tradition. Corridos Tumbados embodies being youthful and free despite adversity and societal standards. Like Rap music, it allows people of color to spread their culture to the world.
When asked if he foresees Corridos Tumbados having a negative or positive impact on the younger generation, Don Alfredo said that he sees it as a positive thing despite his previous reservations. And he saw it as such because of how unfiltered, authentic Mexican culture was injected into the mainstream. As an entire country and people, Mexico is consistently boiled down to a stereotype in most of Western culture. But now, there is no denying the presence and impact this sound has and can continue to have for years to come.
