The corridos, which are so fashionable today in several countries, have their origin in nothing less than the 19th century.
They derive from artistic manifestations that arose in Independence and became popular among the population during the Mexican Revolution. Since then they have faded, popularized and transformed. Today, with the fashion for the lying corrido, they are gaining a curious notoriety.
Camilo Lara, musician and record executive, agrees with Adelaido Solís II, better known as Payo, from Grupo Frontera, that the corrido lying down is part of the need for expression of a generation that is looking for its own identity and that does so by mixing it with something of rap, pop or even reggaeton.
“There are many exponents who are very good, and I like it because they expose it in their own way. The corrido is no longer for adults and is for young people. It expresses the needs of a new generation, it is even very rebellious, that’s why it crosses with rock , with cumbia”, explains Lara.
“Everything has to do with how we express ourselves and how we say it. There will be those who like it and those who don’t, but there is a point of union with the public that wants to hear our stories, that likes what we sing and expresses itself through us,” says Payo.
A few days ago, Featherweight became the first interpreter to sing in Spanish on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in the United States, while Frontera continues on the horns of the moon with his song “un X100to”, with Bad Bunny as collaborator.
Along with them, there are exponents of the stylized genre, which is characterized by integrating harder sounds, not so melodic, and who are idols of young people between the ages of 15 and 30 on average: Natanael Cano, Junior H, Santa Fe Klan, Eslabón Armado, Regulated Force, Danny Felix and Pattern Inheritance.
If in the last five decades Los Tigres del Norte imposed their hegemony with corridos, and for a time there was a boom in ramifications such as narcocorridos in the country, on social networks and platforms the aforementioned stars now predominate with their own expressive methodology: clearly and direct.
“You sing what is from the town and what people like: if it’s corrido lying down, if it’s hip hop, if it’s trap, if it’s rap, if it’s pop, if it’s ranchero and it gets to your liking. I think what’s cool is that it’s with our language; it’s not about pleasing, it’s about expressing, saying it as it is,” says the Santa Fe Klan, who has recorded corrido lying down with Gera MX.
Danny Félix, known as “The Architect of the Corrido Lying Down” and author of twenty hits in this genre, such as “Soy el Diablo”, sung by Natanael Cano with Bad Bunny, shares his opinion about the phenomenon that this music has become, including his own albums and colleagues for whom he has composed pieces, such as Tito Torbellino Jr. and Luis Coronel.
“They hit because the sound is very different from what it sounded like at the time. Nathanael was very young, he was about 16, 17 (years old), just like Junior H. You almost never see young people of that age and young people want to be in their same tune.
“The lyrics of the corrido songs were closer to the narcocorridos, the mafia, and they went to the streets, to what they live. The morros like it because it connects better, they are things that they are experiencing,” says Danny Félix, who collaborated with Karol G in “200 Cups”.
The corrido tumbado has had so much exposure recently in the United States and northern Mexico that it has become a phenomenon of concerts and fan meetings for young stars, such as Featherweight and Natanael Cano, who have been closer to their audience.
“Natanael, Featherweight, Junior H, they are doing very interesting things and they are different from those who do reggaeton, like Karol G and Bad Bunny.
“Reggaeton is popular today, but it took many years to establish itself, and I’m glad that it’s about time that the corrido, both nationally and internationally, is having a lot of visibility, that it sounds, that it is heard,” says Lara, head of the IMS (Mexican Institute of Sound).
One of the most basic characteristics of this genre in question, its lyrics are very clear and explicit and address drug addiction, crime, crimes of various kinds, sexuality and morality without metaphors or elaborateness.
In addition, some of the interviewees agree, platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have promoted the acceptance and spread of the genre because they are friendly to the young audience and connect directly with it, since they do not need intermediaries and their music is part of everyday life.
