The Tune of Resistance: the role of narcocorridos in the Mexico-USA borderlands

Narcocorridos are ballads characterized by themes of drug use and trafficking, illegal activities, and violence. They are widely popular in the borderland regions of Mexico and the United States and are most often sung in upbeat and lively tones while depicting disturbing images of violence and illegal activities such as drug use. In her book When I Wear my Alligator Boots: Narco-Culture in the U.S. Mexico Borderlands, Shaylih Muehlmann explores their role in the borderlands regions of Mexico and the United States, arguing that they can be understood as expressions of resistance. In this essay I explore what narcocorridos can be understood to be resisting, as well as the ways in which this resistance is manifested.

Narcocorridos, also known as drug ballads, are popular folk songs that convey stories of Mexican drug business workers, and are very common in the Mexico-USA borderlands. They are sung in very upbeat and cheerful ways, which strikingly contrasts their content, which is typically that of brutal violence that is prevalent in the borderlands. Often their purpose is to intimidate their audience through the violence shown and discussed in them, which spreads fear and intimidation throughout the region. As well, they are intended to address the majority, since they “register ... events and subjects that state-controlled accounts do not” (87). Corridos are widely popular, with children as young as four years old singing along to them and acting out their contents and their influence on the region is vast – many locals adopt them into their daily routines. In her book When I Wear My Alligator Boots: Narco-Culture in the U.S. Mexico Borderlands, Shaylih Muehlmann recounts various moments of adults singing along to corridos, recounting on one occasion listening to corridos alone “for the past hour” (90), as well as locals stating that “[t]hey get [them] excited” (90), “[t]hey make them want to drink” (90), and “[they] make [them] feel powerful” (90). There are many perspectives on what accounts for the popularity of corridos, such as that “they are a symbolic resource for healing the suffering on the border” (89), and that they “are merely propaganda for the cartels” (89). Muehlmann, however, argues that they are to be understood as expressions of resistance. This is a correct interpretation, since, as this essay will argue, corridos resist the influence of the U.S. on Mexico through empowering locals and narcotraffickers, like this contrasting them with Americans who are presented as powerless, as well as through highlighting the ineptitude of the war on drugs through their portrayal of the borderlands' violence. Narcocorridos empower locals of the Mexico-USA borderlands as well as Mexican narcotraffickers in several ways. They present the smugglers and outlaws as heroes that have come out of oppression by America on top. The borderland region, as Muehlmann writes, is heavily dominated by the United States, which is manifested through “increased immigration restrictions, the growing and primarily U.S.-owned manufacturing industry, and the visible presence of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency” (93) in the region. Many Mexicans in this region despise this domination and want to end it. Since corridos, by their nature, show narcotraffickers as powerful and dominant, they convey that the narcotraffickers overcome this domination and are empowered by overcoming it. The Americans, in turn, are presented by corridos as weak and powerless, intimidated by the strong figures of narcotraffickers. Like this, narcocorridos resist the United States' influence on narcotraffickers, and promote their influence in the borderlands regions. As well, narcocorridos empower locals because they are interpreted by them as quite harmless even with the comprehension that they are real. Muehlmann recalls an incident of four young kids watching a corrido and singing along to it. When the kids noticed that Muehlmann was recording them on camera, they brought a gun and posed with it for a picture. Their parents were entirely fine with this behaviour, because they perceived the songs to be “harmless and unremarkable” (92). They did not think to comment on the children's behaviour, since the corridos have integrated so deeply into their lives, and are considered completely normal. This is a unique form of resistance, in that it is not entirely conscious. By adopting violent corridos as the norm, even allowing children to sing along and indulge in the songs from a very young age, the locals of the borderlands have adopted the corridos into their culture, subsequently dismantling their intimidation. Muehlmann recalls an incident of being shown a particularly brutal video, in which a man gets his throat sliced “slowly and meticulously” (101). The locals watched the video intently, not particularly alarmed by its explicit violence. This shows that this kind of violence is accepted by locals as the norm, which means that they think of any of the U.S.' interference into this regime is unnecessary. They resist the potential of America changing their lives, which they've accepted as normal. Muehlmann also identifies corridos as channels of speaking “the pure truth” (88) and acting as “the voice of the people” (88). Some of them depict stories of a character that is acted toward in an unjust way, but perseveres and rises to power. They also convey certain events that are either not addressed by official coverage, or are extremely censored. The corridos take it upon themselves to deliver facts to the people in the borderlands, making sure the locals get the correct information about current events, thereby making sure they are not falsely influenced by the United States. This is a form of resistance against the States’ influence because it shields the locals against potential propaganda. Corridos further empower locals because, as Muehlmann writes, “[t]he figure of the narcotraficante, the protagonist that emerges from the corrido genre, absorbs all the positive and celebratory associations of the drug trade” (106). The corridos do not address the utterly destructive nature of drug addiction, which they may be perpetuating, but rather aim to attribute all of the drug trade's positive factors to the narcotraffickers that the corridos celebrate. By choosing which parts of the drug trade to address, and deciding on the most positive and empowering, like that presenting the narcotraffickers and their actions as powerful and noble, the corridos send a message of empowerment to the viewers. Corridos also empower the cartels themselves, since the songs and videos act as means of intimidating the locals. As the locals get more intimidated, the cartels, who are responsible for the intimidation, gain more power over the region, which inevitably displaces the United States' power. The cartels gain and hold on to power, subsequently resisting the United States' control and influence over the region. Through the many ways that corridos empower the narcotraffickers and locals, they help them to resist the influence of the United States. Corridos further resist the United States' influence on Mexico by expressing that the war on drugs that was put into effect by president Nixon is not working. They do this through “highlighting political and social conditions that create the opportunity for narcotrafficking” (88), drawing attention to “the poverty from which many narcotraffickers emerge” (88), vividly portraying violence associated with narcotrafficking, and “underscor[ing] inequalities on the border” (88). By depicting the horrible living conditions of the borderlands, as well as the systemic issues that perpetuate these conditions, corridos draw attention to the ineptitude of the war on drugs, further stating that it has not only failed at ending drug trafficking, but has actually perpetuated it, worsening the borderlands’ living conditions. The corridos resist the U.S.' influence on the region through these blatant statements of the war's inefficiency. Corridos often show the severe reality of living in extreme poverty and comment on the locals' needs to turn to drug trafficking in order to survive. By highlighting this aspect of Mexicans' lives, corridos show that the States' attempts at ending drug usage is ineffective, and perpetuates horrible living conditions further. All locals, writes Muehlmann, know that what promotes violence most of all are “the widespread conditions of poverty, the prohibition of trafficking, and the huge demand for drugs originating in the United States (100)”. Corridos point out that it is largely the United States' attitude toward drugs that results in horrible living conditions for Mexicans of the region. By expressing the war on drugs' failure through corridos, the locals resist the U.S.' influence on them. Muehlmann points out the widely recognized ineptitude of the war on drugs by depicting a popular game of tag among the local children “narcos y federales” (94). In the game, the federales chase narcotraffickers, with the latter presented as the “good guys” (94), and the former nearly always failing to catch them. The war's ineptitude is set so deeply into the borderlands' culture, that even young children, who have little to no understanding of the current events, can comprehend it and are influenced by it. Muehlmann writes that everybody in the region knows that “the war on drugs not only failed to defeat the cartels but has also empowered them” (95), and that the “militarization of the conflict” (95) has actually increased the violence that is related to narco-trafficking. This is another subconscious form of resistance against the U.S., since its war on drugs' incapability to improve living conditions let alone actually get rid of drugs, has been integrated so deeply into the Mexicans' lives. In conclusion, Muehlmann's interpretation of narcocorridos popular in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands is correct in that they are expressions of resistance. They resist the United States' influence on Mexico through their empowerment of locals and drug traffickers, as well as through constant highlights of the ineptitude of the U.S.' war on drugs. Specifically, corridos portray cartel members in empowering ways, appeal to locals of all ages, tell the truth about current events regarding the drug trade business, avert from addressing drug addiction in order to avoid highlighting the negative aspects of drugs, and intimidate and excite locals. Corridos comment on the ineffectiveness of the war on drugs through highlighting poverty and violence characteristic of the borderland region, showing that the war on drugs has actually made living conditions for Mexicans worse, and has been unable to reduce drug usage. All of this is done by narcocorridos to resist against the U.S.’ influence on the borderlands. Works cited:

Muehlmann, S. (2013). When I Wear My Alligator Boots. University of California Press.