Degree Year

2010

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Latin American Studies

Advisor(s)

Pablo Mitchell

Committee Member(s)

Steven Volk, Chair
Christopher Rivera

Keywords

Corrido, Narcocorrido, Gender, Borderlands, Technology, Identity, Drugs

Abstract

Through the lenses of technology and gender I offer a new perspective on the employment and utilization of corrido tropes throughout history and in modern culture. Technology has expanded the transnational gaze, not only increasing the sheer number of listeners but also incorporating a visual element to the (narco)corridos. The enlarged and geographically diversified community of listeners coupled with visual elements only strengthens the tropes evident since the earliest corridos.

Gender is markedly absent in the literature that discusses corridos, but its presence in the tradition has a strong influence on the Mexican mask. The ways in which gender is constructed vis-á-vis the archetypes of women in corridos has real world implications for the daily-lived experiences of Mexican women.

The advent of YouTube has changed the way corridos can be viewed. Through photographs taken from the real world or reenactments of the corridos by members of the listening community, the mask becomes nearly indistinguishable from the truth. In this way, it becomes clear that not only are masks being verbally employed, but also the community of listeners is actively engaging and reifying the tropes designated to the mask. The images of the Mexican man and Mexican woman become more than just imaginations, they are given faces.

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