Prof. J. Nicolopulos

Topics Related to the Mexican Revolution:

3. Corridos de las grandes batallas de la División del Norte.

The initial phase of the Mexican Revolution, referred to in Spanish as la Revolución Maderista (1910-1913), was followed by the various stages of what is called the Revolución Constitucionalista (1913-1920). Most corrido scholars consider this one of the most productive periods of the revolution in terms of the ballads produced, particularly those that epitomize the so-called "epic" qualities of what are thought to be the apogee of the corrido as a genre. First among these "epic" corridos are those that deal with the major battles of the period, especially those that involved the "taking" ("toma" in Spanish) of major cities along the various routes to the Capital. The most well-known of these also tend to deal with the exploits of the legendary División del Norte under the command of General Francisco "Pancho" Villa. Various battles and the sources for their corridos are listed below:

Corridos:

3.a)Corridos de las victorias de la División del Norte

"Corrido de la decena de Torreón" (1914). Manuel Valdez (voz y guitarra). Disco INAH 16. Ed. Irene Vázquez Valle y José de Santiago Silva. México: SEP, 1983.

"La toma de Torreón". Los Alegres de Terán. On Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7042.

"Corrido de la toma de Zacatecas," Performed by Angel Morales (age 72) and Juan Manuel Morales (age 43), Corridos de la Revolución mexicana, ed. Irene Vázquez Valle and José de Santiago Silva, Field recordings by Irene Vázquez Valle, Zacatecas and Jerez, Zacatecas c. 1980. Discos INAH 16 [MC 0552], (México: SEP, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1983): Side B, track 1. Este corrido se tendría que integrar con las páginas ya existentes sobre la misma batalla. Ver: "La toma de Zacatecas -- Los Errantes and two additional, linked pages.

"La toma de Guadalajara", Performance de Las Jilgüerillas, en Hernández, ed., The Mexican Revolution (pamphlet accompanying Arhoolie/Folklyric CDs 7041-44), 66-67. Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7042, track #4.

3.b)Corridos de las derrotas villistas

"La toma de Matamoros" Pts. I & II. Performance de Agustín Lara y A. Novelo. Rec. Brunswick 41281, San Antonio, TX, 12/05/1930. Comp. A. Novelo, en Hernández, ed., The Mexican Revolution (pamphlet accompanying Arhoolie/Folklyric CDs 7041-44), 100-102. Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7043, track #5.

Other Corridos of these cycles 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.

Esparza Sánchez, Cuauhtémoc. El corrido zacatecano. México: INAH/SEP, 1976.

Katz, Friederich. The Life and Times of Pancho Villa. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1998.

Knight, Alan. The Mexican Revolution. 2 vols. London: U of Cambridge P, 1986.

Macazaga Ordoño, César, ed. Corridos de la revolución mexicana (1910-1930): Colección de 100 corridos publicados por Eduardo Guerrero en 1931. México: Editorial Innovación, 1985. UT: Benson PQ7261.H5.C67.

María y Campos, Armando de. La revolución mexicana a través de los corridos populares. Biblioteca del Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de la Revolución Mexicana. México: Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, 1962. UT: Benson G868.7108.M337r v.1 & 2.

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

Moreno, Daniel. Batallas de la Revolución y sus corridos. México: Porrúa, 1978.

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

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