Response to Christie’s posting..
Drugs glorified? Interesting question...
Let's remember that corridos are not only about drug trade and dealers, and they're not meant to praise drug dealing just for the sake of being "bad-ass". In many ways, corridos portray realities in Mexican society that we don't necessary learn about, such as chaos in the cities, extreme poverty vs excessive wealth, corruption, injustice, brutal violence from the police, etc. What about the necessity to be involved in drug dealing due to social marginalization? I'm not trying to defend drug dealers or claiming that drug dealing is ok, but sometimes we have to keep in mind that things are not always black and white. Great quote from Philippe Bourgois (an anthropologist who carried out an ethnographic study on crack selling in one of the poorest and most marginalized neighborhoods in New York City): "Cultural relativism: cultures are never good or bad, they simply have an internal logic".
Corridos and rap...
Think about rap. Nowadays, rap and hip hop has become more and more popular. Rap was not born from the elite class, but rather from the street culture of the inner cities in the US. Rap started as a way for people to release their frustrations and their anger… a way for them to tell their stories and to give their voice. Rap messages do not praise the government, but praises life on the streets… a way to gain respect in their own ways.
Posted by luc at March 30, 2005 09:50 AM