ePub A Culture of Stone: Inka Perspectives on Rock by Carolyn J Dean in Arts-Photography

Description

Since the late 1970s; a new folk hero has risen to prominence in the U.S.-Mexico border region and beyondmdash;the narcotrafficker. Celebrated in the narcocorrido; a current form of the traditional border song known as the corrido; narcotraffickers are often portrayed as larger-than-life "social bandits" who rise from poor or marginalized backgrounds to positions of power and wealth by operating outside the law and by living a life of excess; challenging authority (whether U.S. or Mexican); and flouting all risks; including death. This image; rooted in Mexican history; has been transformed and commodified by the music industry and by the drug trafficking industry itself into a potent and highly marketable product that has a broad appeal; particularly among those experiencing poverty and power disparities. At the same time; the transformation from folk hero to marketable product raises serious questions about characterizations of narcocorridos as "narratives of resistance."This multilayered ethnography takes a wide-ranging look at the persona of the narcotrafficker and how it has been shaped by Mexican border culture; socioeconomic and power disparities; and the transnational music industry. Mark Edberg begins by analyzing how the narcocorrido emerged from and relates to the traditional corrido and its folk hero. Then; drawing upon interviews and participant-observation with corrido listening audiences in the border zone; as well as musicians and industry producers of narcocorridos; he elucidates how the persona of the narcotrafficker has been created; commodified; and enacted; and why this character resonates so strongly with people who are excluded from traditional power structures. Finally; he takes a look at the concept of the cultural persona itself and its role as both cultural representation and model for practice.