Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas

Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas

No existe tradiciÓn mÁs mexicana que la de los corridos, las herÓicas baladas que celebran a los de abajo -- a los fugitivos y pistoleros. Al igual que las baladas de Robin Hood o de Jesse James, los corridos han sido para los pobres una manera de enaltecer a sus hÉroes. Los corridos siguen, pero sus hÉroes han cambiado: ahora son cÉlebres los narcotraficantes. Elijah Wald cuenta la fascinante historia de esta nueva versiÓn de una vieja tradiciÓn: la de los narcocorridos. Traza el desarrollo de los corridos desde sus orÍgenes en el indÓmito Oeste hasta su mÁs reciente encarnaciÓn en la costa del mar PacÍfico, la cuna del trÁfico de drogas mexicano. Sigue su expansiÓn hasta Los Angeles, donde los corridos son la voz de la juventud actual de los barrios latinos, y hasta los estados de MichoacÁn y Guerrero, donde canciones sobre narcopistoleros coinciden con baladas sobre los guerrilleros en las montaÑas. Wald viaja a la Ciudad de MÉxico para encontrarse con el juglar viajero de la rebeliÓn zapatista, y continÚa hasta Cuernavaca para encontrarse con Teodoro Bello, el genio iletrado que se ha convertido en el compositor de mayor Éxito en la historia de MÉxico. Discursivo, vÍvido y perspicaz, Narcocorridos descubre una tradiciÓn musical llena de vitalidad mostrando de manera fascinante el lugar que ocupa el narcotrÁfico en la cultura mexicana. “Wald is an engaging writer, and Narcocorrido a must-have for those wanting an introduction to the genre.” — Austin Chronicle “a unique book about a unique subject...a fascinating reading.” — Dave Ferman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram In the first full-length exploration of the contemporary and controversial Mexican corrido, award-winning author Elijah Wald blends a travel narrative with his search for the roots of this genre -- a modern outlaw music that fuses the sensibilities of medieval ballads with the edgy grit of gangsta rap. From international superstars to rural singers documenting their local current events in the regions dominated by guerilla war, Wald visited these songwriters in their homes, exploring the heartland of the Mexican drug traffic and traveling to urban centers such as Los Angeles and Mexico City. The corrido genre is famous for its hard-bitten songs of drug traffickers and gunfights, and also functions as a sort of musical newspaper, singing of government corruption, the lives of immigrants in the United States, and the battles of the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas. Though largely unknown to English speakers, corridos top the Latin charts and dominate radio playlists both in the United States and points south. Wald provides in-depth looks at the songwriters who have transformed groups like the popular Tigres del Norte into enduring superstars, as well as the younger artists who are carrying the corrido into the twenty-first century. In searching for the poetry and social protest behind the gaudy lyrics of powerful drug lords, Wald shows how popular music can remain the voice of a people, even in this modern world of globalization, electronic media, and gangsters who ship cocaine in 747s. Elijah Waldis a writer and musician whose books include Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues and How the Beatles Destroyed Rock ’n’ Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music . A respected expert on the folk revival, he collaborated with Dave Van Ronk on The Mayor of MacDougal Street , the inspiration for the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis . His awards include a 2002 Grammy, and he has taught blues history at UCLA and lectured widely on American, Mexican, and world music. He currently lives in Medford, Massachusetts.