INTRODUCTION
 
Map of Saltillo, Mexico. Site of death of Rosita Alvirez.
 

 
One of the things that the Latin American culture is notorious for is machismo. Machismo is frequently defined as an exaggerated sense of masculinity often focusing on sexual aggressiveness, courage and in a sense, a type of masculine vanity. Machismo plays an important role in the corridos discussed on this page; Rosita Alvirez, El Güero Candelario, and "El Piporro" mocked the machismo in many of his songs.
 
This boastful nature associated with the Latin male culture is multifaceted. On one side of machismo there is an intense loyalty towards family and friends. This is not the side we are dealing with on this web page. Here we discuss the side of machismo concerned with protecting one's ego. The ultimate male chauvenist that will go to great lengths in order to "save face". In the case of the following corridos these macho men have stopped at nothing in order to over come some sense of sexual rejection. Inherent to the actions taken by the men in all of these corridos is the tendency of Latino men to veiw women in a subordinate fashion.
 
Possibly the best example is Rosita Alvirez. In this infamous corrido Rosita is slain by Hipoacutelito because she, a younger woman, refuses to dance with me. This is quite possibly the ultimate example of machismo. The vanity of Hipoacutelito led him to murder. As extreme a case as this may be, it shows that at the time of its arrival in the corrido world, around 1835, that it was not unthinkable. The story of the prettiest girl at the dance refusing the elder man and then meeting her untimely end has become one of the most famous corridos around. Murder at the Dance has become on of the most notorious examples of machismo available in the corrido world.
 
Some psycologists say that machismo is the "struggle by man to overcome the humiliation of being an ineffectual little boy." Whether or not this is true machismo is something that has been around as long as one can remember. Machismo is part one part of a very proud culture that leads men to stay close to their friends, be protective of their families and vain about their egos. In some cases too proud a man can ruin the life of a woman. In many cases machismo has been the thing that is responsible for the suppression of women and almost complete lack of women's rights in some countries. Whatever the root of machismo it is a thing with good and bad effects on the lives of those it effects.
 
This is not to say that machismo is still as prevalent today as it was one and two hundred years ago, only that the residual effects of it remain to be seen today. Nothing about machismo is all good or all bad. Today we examine the negative and neglect the positive as you will see throughout the three following corridos and the explication thereof.
 
by Martha Pincoffs
 
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