The Corrido: An Invited Lecture at the "Music in Culture" Public Lecture Series

This public lecture on the Mexican/Chicano corrido delivered by Professor Américo Paredes at UCLA May 13, 1981, was recorded during the event by María Herrera-Sobek. She recently transcribed and edited the public lecture specifically for its publication in this volume. The lecture presents an overall view of the Mexican/Chicano corrido. It expounds and offers original insights regarding its formal structure, theories about its origins, development, and evolution, as well as the different influences from Spain, Mexico, and indigenous cultures. Paredes not only enlightened those present with his scholarly exposition but entertained them as well with his performance of corridos and Spanish ballads (romances) accompanied by his guitar, which served to illustrate the theoretical and structural points he was making.