Land Loss in Trying Times
Under the treaty that ended the Mexican War,
most of the Mexicans who lived in the new United States territories
became U.S. citizens. The treaty also guaranteed their safety
and property rights, "as if the [property] belonged to citizens
of the U.S. according to the principles of the Constitution." In
practice, however, the new territories were far from the centers
of U.S. government, and these guarantees were not reliably enforced.
By the end of the 19th century, many Mexican Americans had been
deprived of their land, and found themselves living unprotected
in an often hostile region.
At the turn of the 20th century, the borderlands
between Mexico and the U.S. were torn by political and social
instability. As more immigrants crossed the border, some were
preyed upon by bandits and rustlers. Once in the U.S., they had
to face harsh weather, an uncertain economy, and the possibility
of attacks by both longtime citizens and Native American raiders.
Law enforcement was scarce, and justice was often rough and quickly
executed. To make things worse, some lawmen were said to be as
much of a threat to Mexican Americans as the criminals they were
sent to arrest. The Texas Rangers came in for especially fierce
criticism. In the " Corrido
de los rangers," a singer describes a gunfight between
city officials and Texas Rangers in the streets of Brownsville,
Texas.
The Mexican Americans overcame their situation
in part through a new type of popular music--the corrido,
or border ballad. Shaped by hard times and long distances, these
storytelling songs were much like musical newspapers and carried
news of current events and popular legends around the border
region. Passed from one singer to another, many of these songs
survive to the present day. "Corrido
villista de la toma de Matamoros" tells of the rebel leader
Pancho Villa's troubles in the town of Matamoros, while "Versos
del mojado" describes the troubles faced by a new immigrant
in Texas.
We can learn much about the lives and cultural
values of a people through their music. What types of music today
tell stories about difficult times and colorful characters, like
the corridos did? Why does music make such a wonderful vehicle
for telling the stories of a people? |