First off, I apologize for the layout of the links. Blogger didn’t seem to like the HTML for whatever reason. This arrangement of links was but one of many attempts to appease the Internet.
To begin, please watch the following video [See ‘Video Link #1’]
After watching the video, you are probably asking “Was that a joke?! Seriously, what was that?” The song they were singing is a narcocorrido: a ballad that glorifies the exploits of nacro- traffickers. Just incase you didn’t catch the lyrics, I’ve decided to post four stanzas of another narcocorrido in spanish to get a better idea of the subject matter:
Dicen que venían del Sur en un carro colorado
traían cien kilos de coca iban con rumbo a Chicago
así lo dijo el soplón que los había denunciado;
Ya habían pasado la aduana, la que está en El Paso, Texas
pero en mero San Antonio los estaban esperando
eran los rinches de Texas que comandan el condado.
Una sirena lloraba, un inmigrante gritaba
que detuvieran el carro para que los registraran
y que no se resistieran, porque si no los mataban.
Surgió un M-16 cuando iba rugiendo el aire
el faro de una patrulla se vio volar por el aire
así empezó aquel combate, donde fue aquella masacre.
The next question is: “What does this have to do with Guatemala?” I first came across narcocorridos as I was doing researching for paper on the drug war in Mexico. Although irrelevant to my paper, the emergence of this ‘narco-culture’ was fascinating to say the least. Although Mexican artists are responsible for the majority of narcocorridos, the influence of this type of music has begun to spread through the Americas. I became curious to see what type of ‘narco-culture’ I could find emerging in Guatemala.
After searching Google, wading through a lot of results for Mexico, I was rewarded with a direct hit. The following link shows an old (2008) editorial in El Periodico dealing with this exact issue [See ‘News Link A’]. This editorial bemoans the emergence and popularization of the narcocorrido in Guatemala. The ‘art’ of the narcocorrido has been spilling across the border into Guatemala, just like the violent drug trade that inspires them. The following two articles reaffirm this common thread between Mexico and Guatemala. The following link provides a report about Zeta activity in Guatemala from a Mexican source: [See ‘News Link B’]. The following link provides a very recent report on the Guatemalan drug war from ‘La Prense Libre’: [See ‘News Link C’]
Back to the editorial, she mentions that many artists of the genre are being butchered in Mexico, while being treated like stars in Guatemala. She reminds the reader of the grizzly deaths that have come to the singers of narcocorrido’s throughout Mexico. The editorial serves as a warning about the future of narco-culture in Guatemala. She suspects that the music has already begun to find its way onto the play lists of young Guatemalans. Considering the prevalence of narco-trafficking in Guatemala, how long until the narcocorrido takes on a life of its own in Guatemala proper? It is interesting to note that in the first video, although the group performing was a Mexican, the video was allegedly shot in Guatemala. Perhaps this connection is coincidental, but it will be interesting to see how narco-culture continues to develop in Guatemala.
Video Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqohlaoFHmU&feature=player_embedded
News Link A: http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20080405/opinion/51852
News Link B: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/562209.html
News Link C: http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/Narcos-mexicanos-ganan-terreno-Guatemala_0_368363296.html
The links are dead on purpose...
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Interesting post Mark! That video is ridiculous. I like the creativity.
ReplyDeleteI, however, do not like the violence. This is scary! We'd better be on our toes and aware of the dangers around us when we're down there!
But research regarding such subjects are important to consider prior to departure. Thanks for the exposure.
This editorial reminded me of the widespread concern in North America about rap culture glorifying guns, violence against women and often drug dealing (although not trafficking). I think this concern about similar themes in Latin American pop culture is arguably much more concerning. From the sources we've been looking at it seem like youth in urban Guatemala are in direct risk of being exposed to this culture and the violence associate with it. I’m surprised (but probably shouldn’t be) that people who have experienced drug or gang violence in their own lives would buy into this glorification. I wonder if this does become popular if it will be among youth with direct exposure.
ReplyDeleteOn a slightly different note, I was also wondering while I was watching this video how much Mexican and American youth oriented music influence each other? The style seems very different but the themes are familiar..