Introduction Corridos are a genre of music known as ballads that talk about the triumphs and or struggles of people, these songs are more known to tell stories of their community and these sorts of songs are more positively oriented. These songs aim to tell stories of immigrants who come to the U.S. for a better life and the struggles they face (Aguilera, 2011). It has been around dating back to the 19th century and has evolved over time and because of that a new sub-genre of corridos was emerging which would be known as ‘narcocorridos’. Narcocorridos are a sub-genre of corridos but in this case, they don’t talk about the struggles or stories of the Mexican people, instead their focus is on the drug traffickers and cartel leaders (Simonett …show more content…
They aim to tell the stories of drug trafficking but as well as glorify the narco lifestyle, these types of songs have become more popular among the younger generations (Simonett, 2001). While these songs tell stories of cartels and the drug-trade world, their main purpose is to tell stories of the drug-trade world and cartel members even if the words are vulgar. It's about showing the real side of the drug-trafficking world. Ultimately, with narcocorridos, since it is music, it’s another form of entertainment for the public to enjoy whether it’s at a concert or listening to it on the radio, it has been gaining popularity throughout time. Before it started becoming mainstream and all about drugs and violence, narcocorridos were a way for artists to spread awareness of drug-related violence and corruption that would be going on in Mexico, (Aguilera, 2011). Even though it doesn’t seem that this type of subculture would have any sort of accomplishments because these songs can be vulgar or touch on sensitive topics, those who compose these songs have been very
The importance of these, is that it would bring the attention of the audience. The band performed about 13 songs in total. It was a mixture of Banda songs and Corridos. The band’s songs talked about a lover and the longing of a loved one. The audience reacted in a good way. They were dancing of the floor section and they were cheering on the band, others were singing along with the singers meanwhile, others were recording them on their cell phones.
Mexico’s drugs wars as well as bloody drug cartels are echoed in a controversial folk music genre commonly known as narco corridos or simply as drug ballads. They tell the stories allied to shootouts, drug lords, betrayals including daring criminal operations. Narco corridos are not a new style in Mexican music, in fact, they have been around for years, and they are popular among the old and the young. This genre has evolved to be modern fugitive music that fuses the emotional responses of antique ballads with the tense gravel of mobster rap. From global idols to rural artists documenting their neighborhood current events in the regions subjugated by guerilla war, narco corridos provides the songwriters in their homes with unique but artistic superiority, investigating the heartland of the infamous Mexican drug trafficking as well as publicizing municipal midpoints such as Los Angeles, in addition to Mexico City.
Ragland, Cathy. Música Norteña: Mexican Migrants Creating a Nation between Nations. Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP, 2009. Print.
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as; feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, it can mean success, whereas if it lacks, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide. The authors tentatively highlight human resilience, its limits and most importantly its strengths into the two novels.
“‘They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!’” Foster Hewitt wordlessly described” (Pelletier) when Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal. This allowed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series, a moment that no one would ever forget since it all happened during the climax of the Cold War. Prior to this, the Soviets had won the previous three Olympic gold metals since Canada could not use its NHL players. Thus, this provided Canada with the chance to play hockey against the USSR using its best players. This raised the question: if Canada were able to send its best players, would it still be enough to beat the Soviets? Everyone in Canada was certain that the Soviets would not win a single game, but little did they know they underestimated the extent of the Soviets abilities. Tied in the last few minutes of game eight, Canada had to score or they would lose the series. However, when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal, never before had a single sporting event meant so much to Canadians. Therefore, Paul Henderson’s goal is a defining moment for Canada in the twentieth century becauseit provided Canada with the opportunity to evolve hockey, proved that Canada and our democratic society were superior to the USSR and their communist society, and brought citizens together to unify Canada as a nation.
I grew up in a Mexican family listening to corridos, which are a type of song, since at every party, every celebration, and every occasion, that’s what the family would play. As I became more aware and conscious, I began to realize what these songs were actually saying. These corridos were telling a life story, ranging from life issues such as poverty, hard times, immigration, social and political problems, and/or life in general. A prominent and recurring theme that I saw developing throughout was immigration. Many of these songs, were expressing strong feelings that many Mexican immigrants, including my parents and other family members, were feeling regarding they’re citizenship status, how they were being discriminated against, and ultimately how they were feeling.
Released in 1997, Buena Vista Social Club immediately became an international success and won a Grammy Award in 1998. Around the world, especially in U.S. where the album was welcomed most heartily, Ry Cooder was considered the hero of Cuban music (Hernandez 65). Being the producer of the album, Cooder was assumed to discover a “lost treasure” in Cuban culture. However, Tanya Kateri Hernandez, in an article about Buena Vista Social Club, revealed that Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, not Cooder, was the person “who masterminded and facilitated the collaboration.” (Hernandez 62). Also in this article, it is noted that Juan de Marcos Gonzalez “implicitly acquiesced to Cooder’s propagation of the colonial myth for the purpose of ensuring the commercial success of the collaboration.” (Hernandez 64). Other musicians in the Buena Vista Social Club ensemble followed Gonzalez’s step, as there was hardly another choice for them.
Throughout the years Latin music has slowly made an impact in the music industry in the United States, from the traditional mariachi to the vibrant Rock en Espaol. But it is the controversial folk-music genre called narcocorridos that has made a major impact in the last few years in the United States, mainly the southwestern states that border Mexico. Also called drug ballads, this subgenre of the traditional corrido has emerged since the 1990’s as the principal instrument to chronicle the odyssey of Mexicans across the Rio Grande in a drug-infested universe (Stavans). Played by the tuba, accordion, drums and guitar, narcocorridos is about violent confrontations between cartels and the luxury lives of powerful drug lords. With the violent drug wars in the last ten years in Mexico, narcocorridos have been the music trend for many, mainly the young generation.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a form of Mexican folk music called the corrido gained popularity along the Mexico-Texan border (Saldívar). Growing from the Spanish romance tradition, the corrido is a border ballad “that arose chronicling the history of border conflicts and its effects on Mexican-Mexican culture” (Saldívar). A sort of “oral folk history,” the corrido was studied intensely by Américo Paredes, who then constructed his masterpiece, George Washington Gomez, around the “context and theme” of the corrido (Mendoza 146). But the novel is not a traditional corrido, in which the legendary hero defends his people and dies for his honor. Instead, through its plot, characterization, and rhetorical devices, George Washington Gomez is an anti-corrido.
There is one universal language: the language of music. Music has a special quality and ability to bridge both social and cultural divides. A proposed theory by Dr. Gray, Founder and Director of National Musical Arts’ BioMusic Program; describes music has been around longer than human-beings have. Music is the one thing human beings from various backgrounds can relate to. Every living creature would agree. Music is heard everywhere not just among humans, but in nature as well, through the twitting of birds, winds blowing, the soft sound of raindrops against a windowpane, the ocean waves moving back and forth and the hum of the ocean rushing in a sea shell. There is no escaping it; music lives in and surrounds us steadily. While there are countless songs which confer social or cultural consciousness, this paper will analyze and address the dynamics of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”, video. Stylistically, the paper will examine the artist point of view, the unique use of lyrical analysis and sound description in relation to its historical, social, political and/or cultural context. This essay will also trace the lyrical analysis and sound description of song and discuss how the elements (visually, sonically, and lyrically) interplay with the theme of immigration and/or violence.
Chicanos study 50 made me want to discover more into what music helped motivate people in their everyday life or just brought their spirits up. Chicano Rock will always be a part of history and will continue to evolve even though some people will not have political views in their songs anymore. Mana is part of modern day rock in Spanish, but his songs are more about love. Music will continue to follow what society is asking for and since modern society is not as heavily opened to discrimination anymore rock and other genre will not focus in that. Just like Chicano movements’ leaders, Chicano Rock was there to push individuals to keep fighting for peace and acquire their rights. Chicano Rock was like Caesar Chavez and Rodolfo Gonzales; it brought hope to people when hearing their favorite artist speaking about incorrect politics and how it should be put to an end. Los Lobos, Zapatistas, and Los Curdos were small popular bands in the Chicano Rock that inspired Chicanos during the movements. Chicano Rock will probably will not be as big as other Latin genre and other modern genres, but like me and other people, there will always be followers who will continue to hear Chicano Rock and will be forever a part of history that will never be
Scott Hightower’s poem “Father” could be very confusing to interpret. Throughout almost the entirety of the poem the speaker tries to define who his father is by comparing him to various things. As the poem begins the reader is provided with the information that the father “was” all of these things this things that he is being compared to. The constant use of the word “was” gets the reader to think ‘how come the speaker’s father is no longer comparable to these things?’ After the speaker reveals that his father is no longer around, he describes how his father impacted him. Details about the father as well as descriptions of the impacts the father has distraught on the speaker are all presented in metaphors. The repetitive pattern concerning the speaker’s father and the constant use of metaphors gives the reader a sense that the speaker possesses an obsessive trait. As the reader tries to interpret the seemingly endless amount of metaphors, sets of connotative image banks begin to develop in the reader’s mind. Major concepts that are expressed throughout the poem are ideas about what the speaker’s father was like, what he meant to the speaker, and how he influenced the speaker.
This song from the time of Mexican Revolution puts into perspective to me about how things were back then and how the citizens realized why people wanted to be president.
As one moves past the initial onslaught of rhythmic beats that calypso has to offer, it is difficult to miss the way in which it reverberates with negative and demoralizing images of women to their male counterparts. Whether it is within the lyrics of Sparrow’s “Drunk and Disorderly” or Square One’s “My Ding-a Ling”, an ample number of verses are often dedicated to making lewd comments about the female body and the suggestive body language described through thinly veiled rhymes and puns, can be offensive depending on the listener. The half naked models being displayed on the various album covers of calypso, soca and rap mix tapes further reinforces these negative connotations. This bandwagon has been jumped upon by many, including the rap genre in the last two decades, wanting to capitalize on a marketing strategy that generally purports to flag consumer attention, playing on their sense of eroticism. The sections titled “Music, Sex, Sexism” and “Woman Rising” within Peter Manuel’s text: Caribbean Currents, dive into the many issues surrounding gender within music as well as female portrayal specifically in calypso. Observations can be made simply by reading through the textual comparisons. Many aspects of this subject area allude to the fact that the issue of gender portrayal in music can be construed differently depending on who the critical listener happens to be. With the increased awareness and heightened sensitivity to the way in which females are portrayed in popular media, it is important to reflect on the impact these lyrics have on male-female relationships within the communities who most often enjoy this music genre.
Pounding in my head. Ba bum ba bum. “You can’t leave me!” It’s still years later and the memory of that day still burns at the back of my mind like it happened yesterday. My mom; someone who is an essential person in a young girls life, was leaving me behind to spend 24 months in a federal correction center in Northern California. Surely there must be a mistake, my kind-hearted mom could never commit acts of fraud. Could she?