El Deportado-Part II
 
 

Pictured here are captured immigrants who tried to enter the U.S.

"El Deportado"-Part II:
Los Hermanos Ba–uelos

Llegamos por fin a Ju‡rez, (2X)
y all’ fue mi apuraci—n.
--ÀQue d—nde vas que de d—nde vienes?
ÀQue cu‡nto dinero tienes
para entrar a esta naci—n?--

--Se–ores traigo dinero, (2X)
para poder emigrar.--
--Tu dinero nada vale, (2X)
te tenemos que ba–ar.--

Ay, mis paisanos queridos, (2X)
yo les platico nom‡s.
Que me estaban dando ganas, (2X)
de volverme para atr‡s.

CrucŽ por fin la frontera, (2X)
y en un renganche sal’.
Ay, mis queridos paisanos, (2X)
fue mucho lo que sufr’.

Los gŸeros son muy maloras, (2X)
se valen de la ocasi—n.
Y a todos los mexicanos, (2X)
nos tratan sin compasi—n.

Hoy traen la gran polvadera, (2X)
y sin consideraci—n.
Mujeres, ni–os y ancianos
los llevan a la frontera.
Nos echan de esta naci—n.

Adi—s paisanos queridos, (2X)
ya nos van a deportar.
Pero no somos bandidos, (2X)
venimos a camellar.

Los espero all‡ en mi tierra, (2X)
ya no hay m‡s revoluci—n.
V‡monos cuates queridos,
seremos bien recibidos
de nuestra bella naci—n.

The second half of the corrido focuses on the encounter with American prejudices. The emotional core of this half is best described by the following speech events made by an American:

--Se–ores traigo dinero, (2x)
Para poder emigrar.--
--Tu dinero nada vale (2X)
Te tenemos que ba–ar.--

Here the protagonist tells the American official that he has money to immigrate. The official tells him that his money is not worth anything and that they must bathe the immigrants as though they were trying to cleanse any trace of Mexico from the immigrants' bodies. This stanza demonstrates the low self worth that Mexican immigrants sensed from Americans.

This second half meets the rest of Duvalier's formulaic motifs. The second half gives a different message as the protagonist has to deal with the prejudice of the Americans. The corridista and personaje say farewell in the final stanza. Although the title, "El Deportado", suggests that this corrido is about deportation, this song seems that it is more about leaving home and cultural conflicts.

Throughout the semester, we referred to Armando Duvalier and his six formulaic motifs to establish the characteristics that define a corrido. These motifs include: 1) llamada inicial del corridista, 2) lugar, fecha y nombre del protagonista, 3) formula que perecede los argumentos del personaje, 4) mensaje, 5) la despedida del personaje, and 6) la despedida del corridista. Many of the traditional corridos, including "El Deportado," follow at least three of these motifs. However, if we look at the four corridos sung by Los Tigres Del Norte, we will see that they don't follow these formulaic motifs identified by Armando Duvalier. Why then do we consider these corridos true corridos? In an essay titled "Folksong and Social Changes: Two Corridos as Interpretive Sources," Manuel H. Pena compares traditional corridos with what he calls "victim" corridos to demonstrate how corridos have evolved. He argues that responses such as outrage and group mobilization will only be accomplished with themes of "a helpless victim rather than a potent, larger-than-life hero." Although these types of corridos are different, we believe that some corridos do serve to "rally support for active political causes." At the very least, these immigration corridos function as "a collective diary, expressing symbolically the people's reactions to events vital to their self interests." In these cases, Los Tigres Del Norte use the corrido to "offer one important avenue for interrogating current national and international relationships." Many recent corridos have emerged out of social and political issues rather than actual events that would lead to a narrative corrido. This is the case with corridos like La Jaula de Oro, La Tumba del Mojado, Mis dos Patrias, and El Mojado Acaudalado that don't narrate a specific event with a date and place but instead speak in broad terms about issues that may effect a broad group of people. Ramon Saldivar put it best, "these songs traverse imaginary border lines and immigration checkpoints to document the imaginative styles and lived realities that make up immigrants' struggles for social justice."

A cultural production such as a traditional corrido serves as an educational tool on the subject of immigration. We consider these corridos very important and we hope this web page will serve to entertain and instruct us on themes very real in our society today.

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