Introduction Español/English

Frida Kahlo "Roots"

To attempt to define the corrido itself would give rise to a world of controversy over its nature, origin and content. The corrido is arguably a derivative of the ballad genre, of primarily narrative content and represents an essential part of the Mexican folk tradition.

The presence of the female in corrido tradition has been virtually nonexistent. Female roles have been relatively insignificant as both character and corridista. Women's participation in the corrido is typically limited to one of several archetypal roles, including the cruel mother, the soldadera and the lover. Maria Herrera-Sobeck is one of the few scholars to analyze these roles which she does in her book The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis. José Limon also recognizes that "(W)omen are almost wholly excluded or repressed in the male world of the corrido, in the ballad's predominant imagery and subject and equally so in its principally male-defined performative context." However, Limon suggests a reinterpretation of the maternal role as one of strength rather than submission, though this assertion is one subject to controversy.

Perhaps the historical struggle of women to gain equality in a patriachal society can extend to the corrido tradition. Whereas women in the past only heard an edited version of a corrido in a familial setting, today women are themselves not only singers, but creators and protagonists of this genre. For example, the popular narcocorrido "Macario Leyva" tells of a woman who is willing to kill some police officers for the sake of her love. Popular female singers that have sung corridos include Lola Beltrán and Irma Serrano from Mexico, Lydia Mendoza from Texas, and Linda Ronstadt from Arizona.

Eva Ybarra and Gloria Garcia are two women artists that embody this experience of women struggling and achieving success despite their hardships of breaking into a male dominated genre. Our position is that women artists have not received the recognition they deserve. This page is dedicated to recognizing these two very talented women artists.