Chalino Sanchez
I would venture to say that as I cross the intersection of Figueroa and Exposition multiple times every day to go to and from school that I hear corridos being blasted in cars every other day at least. That accordion sound and then tuba and the horns, it’s unmistakeable. As someone who likes mellower music, it gets on my nerves after a while. I speak Spanish pretty well, but I have never really listened to the stories. Upon finding out what these stories are telling, although I’m not as captivated as someone who has a very clear connection to the Rancho, I can understand how they have become so popular. After reading “The Ballad of Chalino Sanchez,” I have new-found respect for the (what I previously thought was obnoxious) polkas that blare through the streets of downtown. I’m taking an arts and letters class on Greek Classics and ancient Greece, and I immediately spotted commonality in the roots of the popularity of the corrido. “Corridos were the newspaper for an illiterate people...” (12) says Quinones. In ancient Greece the epical verse and song were very literally the vehicle of ethical instruction, cultural pride, and entertainment in the very illiterate (there was no written form of language during the time of Homer) society of Ancient Greece. These songs transmit the news, they give the truth. And as we discussed in class, corridos explain the pure truth. Social injustice, prejudice, and conflicts were told in song, and that connected with people who shared those sentiments. Another idea that I saw as familiar was Chalino’s macho exterior (“valiente”) that he put on as a showman. Although he actually killed the man who raped his sister Juana, he claims that he really is a “normal person.” Having read “El Cid” in Spanish, I know how much Spanish culture prizes machismo and “el honor.” Being manly and tough is something that is very consistent with that culture. Another connection I made was to the phenomenon characteristic of the topics we have previously discussed in this class regarding the minority being untouchable. Like the black rappers that talk about how awesome they are and their exploits in being a gangster, (“Got Money” by Lil Wayne is a prime example); it’s as though they feel the need to talk themselves up and people of the same racial identity feel it speaks to them and gives them pride. The idea of people Mexican or black (or anyone for that matter) singing about them being above the law is something not new to our culture. It seems like part of the value of Chalino’s corridos and the way he brought folky rancho songs back (another theme of bringing “retro” things back and making them popular/reinventing trends) is having something written about you—putting your TRUE story into words. Although it makes people feel unique and special for having their story put into words, it’s also unifying in that all Mexicans take part its unique to their culture. Blood feuding was also very common in Ancient Greece, and the lawlessness is something that if promoted as in corridos almost transcends the bonds of white oppression and aesthetically others whites in a way. I almost think also, that people like Jenni Rivera, who sing about hard lives and drugs and stuff, are being kind of fake in that they are singing about things they no longer (and probably many famous artists never experienced) experience. They live in mansions, and I think it almost contradicts the thirst for truth and authenticity that sparks the love of corridos in the first place. Overall, it was a very compelling and interesting read. I’m sad he was murdered in Sinaloa because like many other artists who died young and in their prime, we will always wonder what he could have accomplished.