Corrido Music: Art imitating life, death in Mexico's drug war

McALLEN — A style of music that has long roots in Mexican culture has recently come under fire by critics who accuse it of spreading lawlessness.

Performers and fans maintain it’s simply another form of expression that has begun to reflect the recent realities of the drug war, which are felt throughout Mexico and have brought border cities like Reynosa and Matamoros to the forefront.

In the latter group is a former assassin who claims to have killed more than 30 people. He says the music helped him fight his demons as he sought to leave his criminal past.

The genre is called corrido, and its songs depict stories of an individual who faces a struggle — either ultimately triumphing, or meeting a glorious end. The songs, known for their accordion-laced rhythms, are very popular in the Rio Grande Valley, where high-profile performers appear regularly.

Corrido traces its roots in the national culture to the Mexican War of Independence in the early 19^th century, when songs were used to tell the public about battles and well-known figures of the struggle, said Jesus “Chuy” Quintanilla, a leading corrido performer who has recorded more than 40 albums.

During the 1970s some of the corridos dealt with law enforcement officials, fringe drug dealers and other topics related to rural Mexico.

But critics say that in recent years, the music has taken on a more violent and glamorous flavor and has become mainstream.

Some critics — chief among them, Mexico’s Public Safety spokesman Alejandro Poire — claim narco-corridos make light of a criminal lifestyle and give false ideas.

The words of one narco-corrido portray the use of violence by criminal organizations as a desirable avenue, Poire said.

“They talk about weapons, the way they use them against others and their crimes; the words and mannerism emulates a sicario (hit man).

“The rhythm of the music is contagious and those who appear on the videos are well-dressed, look to have fun, be successful and are role models.”

In mid-May, Sinaloa state Gov. Mario Lopes Valdez called for the songs to be banned in local clubs and concerts.

Quintanilla, who before becoming a corrido singer served for more than 20 years as a state and then federal police officer in Mexico, says he respects the views of the politicians — though they might be misplaced.

“They are not narco-corridos,” Quintanilla said. “Corridos have always painted an image of the lives that people live.

“What they call narco-corridos are simply corridos that have been modernized to our current era.”

Ultimately, recording studios request corridos that the public will like and purchase, the singer said.

“I personally enjoy writing corridos about race horses,” Quintanilla said.

“Not all corridos deal with drugs. One of my favorite ones is ‘El Campeón,’ which is the story of a race horse out of Weslaco.”

The song talks about a horse named “El Papa de Los Pollitos” who came out of the El Gallo stocks and was reared by his owner to be a champion.

According to the singer, his songs are nothing out of the ordinary but simply ripped from the headlines, as well as from information that flows through the grape vine.

“This is something that is very real: It’s happening right now, and everyone can relate to it or has somehow heard of it or been affected by it,” Quintanilla said. “One of my most popular corridos was ‘La Captura del Hummer.’ That was something that everyone in the area knew about.”

“El Hummer,” whose real name is Jaime Gonzalez Duran, was the regional boss for the Gulf Cartel in Reynosa until his capture in 2008, court records show. He was detained after an hourslong firefight between Mexican authorities and his henchmen, who tried to rescue him.

“In the album cover I show a newspaper because that is where the information came from,” Quintanilla said. “These songs are not a big secret: They talk about events and people that everyone knows about.

“The people depicted in them are all over the newspapers, and much like the media, this is another way of informing the public.”  

The prevalence drug war-related corridos is closely tied to the demand, Quintanilla said. There is a young generation of fans that has grown up in a media environment that focuses more on alleged drug traffickers than historical figures.

“We could sing corridos about Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata but most listeners wouldn’t be able to relate to them and (would) not buy them,” Quintanilla said.

Relating to corridos is something that a former assassin who spoke with Valley Freedom Newspapers in February knows all too well. The man, who can’t be named for security reasons, was a member of the Zetas in the early 2000s and claimed to have carried out numerous executions and hits for the organization. He left the organization after several overdoses, and his lifestyle drove his family away, leaving him as an empty shell.

“The corrido of ‘Dios Contra El Diablo,’ that one really hits me,” the former Zeta said.

The song was written by Quintanilla and performed by his late brother Norberto “Beto” Quintanilla, who was also a legend in the genre. The lyrics detail the lament of a man who has lost everything to drugs and alcohol and curses the vices that drove his family away.

The former Zeta can sympathize.

“Every time I hear it, tears come out because I lived it.”