Abstract:
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, the makers of Mexican ballads known as corridos created a rich
body of narrative songs commemorating and commenting on these
events. In this essay, I examine these “9/11 corridos” and the dynamics
of their cultural production in a zone of what I term “commemorative
practice,” taking note of stylistic and functional features that link this
specific corpus
to the larger corrido tradition, and ascertaining the range
of attitudes
they express toward the events of 9/11 themselves. I propose
that we regard the 9/11 corridos as mediated ballads of mass communication,
performed on a global stage and addressing issues of international
consequence, a far journey from their point of origin as local
ballads responding to matters of primarily local and regional interest.
