After class on Tuesday, I got to thinking about some of the music that we listened to and that Hugh passed around, and I was having trouble understanding just why a lot of Mexican music glorifies the drug trade. I mean, I understand it is a large part of the Mexican underground and even the larger Mexican culture, but it also seems like a bad stereotype that you would think Mexicans would be eager to shed. Besides, they have to see the real danger and destruction of the trade. Yes, there's always the "badass" quality to these drug traffickers who defy the law and don't get caught and who get rich off of doing so, but what about the awful lives that those who get addicted lead, the troubles these druggies face in prison and with border authorities, the hard life of the gangs who basically organize around the trade, etc? Yet their lifestyle is idolozed in many popular songs, which you would think would perpetuate the truly rough and even scary lives that these people really lead. So why does the Mexican music industry do this?
Posted by palazzolocm at March 24, 2005 12:52 PMNot that this is an answer, but these stories may provide a bit more perspective on the questions you've raised.
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:TBQk5w-_9CwJ:www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/02/21/mexico.songs.ap/+drugs+culture+mexico&hl=en
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/sports/65388.php
Posted by: chris at March 24, 2005 02:17 PMSemi-wild largely unsupported conjecturing on this issue... I'm wondering if there is a fundamental complicity between drugs and music such that they mutually support one another, or can potentially "come to the rescue" and take up the slack if their “partner” fails. Socio-economically stressful situations, such as those that give rise to the drug trade, highlight this relationship. Another way of looking at this is to ask if there are formal similarities not just between the uses of drugs and music, but between the use of drugs and the end(s) of music and vice versa. Remember all the stories about music entrapment as something that should be avoided? I think this traces back to a use of music as a sort of mental exercise/relaxation that leads to new perspective. Obviously the process could spiral out of control if someone had serious criminal intent, but in general, because this seems to be a biologically ingrained behavior, it's most likely homeostatic. Perhaps in the case of narcocorridos, what the government should be doing is not discouraging the ballads, but holding competitions for the best one. Maybe addicts would find some peace then by listening.
Posted by: Chris at March 24, 2005 03:06 PM