Discursive Mechanisms in Mexican “Corridos”

Abstract

This article is a first approach to the forms of linguistic and audiovisualrepresentation of lyrics of the commonly known “movimiento alterado†(alteredmovement) or “corrido alterado†which shows a new modality of the Mexican“narco-corrido.†For this purpose, a revision of the concept narco-culture inMexico has been made; the article includes a summary of the presence of the“corridor†in popular culture and its double mutation, first into “narco-corridoâ€and then the well known “corridor alterado.â€Second part of the article is a description and an analysis of two of the mainvideo clips of this “altered movement†of the “corrido.†Finally, the articleexhibits an analysis of a video performed by “Komander†(“Mafia Nuevaâ€) wherea characterization of the new “Mafioso†is made. The analysis is supported byseveral semiotic and pragmatic aspects applied to the lyrics, the music, andthe narrative translation of the video clip.