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The Roots of the Narcocorrido

Sat. 01/28  3p:  Narcocorridos are Mexican songs that narrate the story of a drug trafficking event or a drug trafficker,mostly in a rhythmic “Norteňo” style or with “Banda”. They have become part of the popular musical culture around the U.S./Mexican Border during the last 40 years. Currently banned in Mexican commercial media, they have been highly commercialized and performing groups quite busy.

Narcocorridos have their own history since early 1930s, always walking together with the history of drug trafficking between the United States and Mexico. These songs are in Spanish language and reflect the socioeconomic desperation and violence Mexican people are living due to this social powerful phenomenon. It’s easy to judge the Narcocorrido human stories, although funnily, there is an important element: its relationship with the United States illicit drug market, the highest in the world.

Why have Narcocorridos become so popular? Tune in Saturday January 28 @ 3 pm during the Raices Show and get a good taste of the “Roots of the Narcocorrido”, a documentary hosted by Guille Quiroz, featuring “Las Flores del Valle” from Albuquerque; with Elijah Wald, author of “Narcocorrido, a Journey Into the Music of Drugs, Guns and Guerrillas”, and San Diego State University Professor Juan Carlos Ramirez Pimienta, author of “De un Periquillo a un Pericazo” (“From the Parakeet to the to the Sniff”).

Global Music and Raices Collective DJing are where she got her start in 1996. KUNM covers her musical passion for Latin American & Chicano music. The wonderful culture reflects in alternative music and she loves to share its instruments and most representative composers and singers from all eras.