Prof. J. Nicolopulos

Topics Related to the Mexican Revolution:

1. Corridos of the so-called "Pre-Revolutionary Bandit" Cycle.

The corrido "Heraclio Bernal" is the natural center piece of this project option, but adequate pages already exist on the course site for "Heraclio Bernal." Nonetheless, in order to be complete the course site has to include other major ballads of this cycle from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries such as "Leandro Rivera," "Macario Romero," "Valentín Mancera," "Demetrio Jaureguí," "Jesús Leal," "Ignacio Parra," and/or "Benito Canales." Like "Heraclio Bernal," most of these corridos focus on "heroes" who can be loosely characterized as what E. J. Hobsbawm calls the "social bandit." Guillermo Hernández summarizes Hobsbawm's formulation as follows:

a) A man becomes a bandit because he does something which is not regarded as criminal by his local conventions, but is so regarded by the State or the local rulers.

b) The population hardly ever helps the authorities catch the "peasants'" bandit, but on the contrary protects him.

c) His standard end--for if he makes too much of a nuisance of himself almost every individual bandit will be defeated, though banditry may remain endemic--is by betrayal.

d) The peasants in turn add invulnerability to the bandit's many other legendary and heroic qualities.
(quoted from Guillermo E. Hernández, ed. The Mexican Revolution: Corridos about the Heroes and Events--1910-1920 and Beyond!, pamphlet accompanying Arhoolie/Folklyric CDs 7041-44 [El Cerrito, CA: Arhoolie/Folklyric, 1996]: 19.)

Corridos:

"Benito Canales." Pts. I & II. Desiderio García y Santos Guerrero. Rec. San Antonio. 2/23/36.

"Benito Canales." Pts. I & II. Luis Hernández y Leonardo Sifuentes. Rec. El Paso. 4/27/28. On Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7041.

"Corrido de Macario Romero." Abrego y Picazo. On Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7041.

"Valentín Mancera." Trío Los Aguilillas. On Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7041.

"Jesús Leal." Pts. I & II. Pedro Rocha y Lupe Martínez. On Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7041.

"Ignacio Parra." Los Alegres de Terán. On Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7041.

Other Corridos of this cycle in the Arhoolie Foundation Frontera Collection.

Basic Bibliography:

Avitia Hernández, Antonio. El corrido histórico mexicano: voy a cantarles la historia. 5 tomos. México: Porrúa, 1997.

Mendoza, Vicente T. El corrido mexicano. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1954.

Simmons, Merle. The Mexican Corrido as a Source of an Interpretative Study of Modern Mexico. Bloomington: U of Indiana P, 1957.

Return to MEXICAN REVOLUTION TOPICS INDEX PAGE

Return to WEB PROJECT INDEX PAGE

Return to Jaime's Home Page

[Spanish and Portuguese | UT Austin Web Central ]