Narcocorrido by Elijah Wald

Author:Elijah Wald [Wald, Elijah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-06-201859-5
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2001-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

(Raúl became a millionaire, they say because he was the magician,

The money disappeared from the hands of his brother,

And they say that it is in the banks in Switzerland and everywhere.)

The song goes on to say that Carlos has disappeared and Raúl is in jail, so now the people can relax “until another circus comes along, and once again the same tranza [hustle, or corruption].”

To anyone familiar with Mexican politics, the song’s meaning was obvious. The brothers were ex-president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who had fled the country amid allegations of theft and corruption after leaving office in 1994, and his brother Raúl, who was in jail awaiting trial on an array of charges ranging from money laundering to murder. The implication was that they had corralled much of Mexico’s drug business and stashed their profits abroad. As Enrique says, this was not exactly news, but it was a shock to hear it sung about on the radio. Salinas, whatever his faults, had loosened many limitations on press freedom, a policy continued by his successor, Ernesto Zedillo, but no one in popular entertainment had taken this much advantage of the new liberties. Of course, everyone knew about the Salinas brothers’ alleged misdeeds, and it was no secret that their administration had left Mexico in a state of economic crisis. Still, Carlos Salinas was the ex-president, and hence regarded as off-limits for this sort of treatment. Mexico has had its share of corrupt or dictatorial leaders, but from 1929 to 2000 (when Vicente Fox, of the PAN, or National Action Party, was elected president) all were members of the PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party, and, whatever their sins, they tended to be treated with respect by their successors and the media. Leadership was passed from one president to the next through a process known as el dedazo, or “fingering,” leaving each president indebted to his predecessor for his job. While criticism of ex-presidents was not unheard-of, neither was it the common currency of popular entertainment.

Even after he had written the song, Jesse did not know if anyone would record it. Then he happened to run into Pepe Cabrera, who was paying a brief visit to Phoenix: “It had been at least ten, fifteen years since I had seen him, and it gave us such pleasure to see each other, we embraced and he said to me:

“‘Jesse, how have you been?’

“‘Fine, Pepito, fine.’

“‘Have you been working?’

“‘I just started up again.’

“‘So what do you have that’s new?’

” ‘Well, I have a few new things,’ I told him.

“And Pepe said, ‘Let’s hear, sing me one of your corridos.’

“‘Okay’ [Jesse begins to sing, his voice gently carrying the tune]:

Entre Carlos y Raúl, eran los dueños de un circo,

Carlos era el domador …

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