Mexican corridos are a narrative genre of music rooted in the 19th century that served as a “newspaper” for the oppressed. Beginning with the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) and later becoming immensely popular during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), corridos recounted tales of heroes and the struggles of everyday life.
A number of Mexican songwriters are now turning to this tradition to honor Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, both murdered this month in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Like the songs recently released by Bruce Springsteen and Billy Bragg, these ballads are a way to get the truth out and counter the false narrative pushed by the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump that these defenders of their immigrant neighbors were “domestic terrorists.” Springsteen dedicated Streets of Minneapolis to “the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.” City of Heroes is “a tribute to the bravery of the people of Minneapolis,” said Bragg, the renowned English singer-song writer, guitarist, and working-class activist.
We publish below the lyrics of El Corrido de Alex Pretti by R. Castillo, one of several such songs that appeared days after Pretti’s murder by federal thugs. Castillo also produced a corrido dedicated to Renee Good.
These corridos are a contribution to the growing movement by working people and other defenders of free speech and democratic rights across the United States demanding an end to the illegal, vigilante-style terror unleashed by the Trump administration through its ICE and Border Patrol goons. They can become rallying cries of a movement led by the working class and its allies, and their organizations, to demand amnesty and legalization for all undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States.
When working- and middle-class people, and other defenders of democratic rights, raise the banner of such demands, and fight to resist the drive to autocracy, music and other art can play a pivotal role in the struggle.
We invite our readers to stay on the lookout for other cultural contributions that counter the misinformation spread by the Trump administration, and to share them as widely as possible.
The lyrics to Castillo’s corrido appear below along with a link to the videotaped song; additional links follow for two other corridos released in the last few days. The translation to English of the lyrics that follow is by World-Outlook.
As the producers of Stained Snow, one of the corridos highlighted below, put it, “Music also bears witness.”
— World-Outlook editors
*
El Corrido de Alex Pretti
Song in his memory
A note with the song declared: “The people are in mourning, and the heavens welcomed a warrior. This corrido is to respectfully honor the memory of Alex Pretti, who lost his life unjustly. A courageous nurse who gave his life to defend immigrants and to protect the innocent.”
“El Corrido de Alex Pretti”
Canción en su Memoria
Por R. Castillo
Letra
Veinticuatro de enero, la fecha está marcada.
En Minneapolis corre una brisa helada.
No eran criminales ni gente malvada.
Era Alex Pretti accionó de volada.
Era enfermero, cuidaba a la gente,
Pero vio una injusticia y se puso al frente.
Defender migrantes contra el sistema
Y por una dama se metió al problema.
Llegaron los verdes con todo el poder,
Tumbando a la gente sin nada que ver.
Alex vio el abuso contra esa mujer
Y su sangre de hombre le hizo responder.
Traía su permiso y su arma fajada,
Pero nunca la usó.
La tuvo guardada.
Primero hubo gas y después lo tumbaron.
Entre cinco agentes, ahí se le aventaron.
Coro:
Qué falta de huevos, qué forma de actuar.
Ya estaba en el suelo, sin poderse parar.
Primero lo desarman, le quitan la escuadra
Y ya sin defensa
Le sueltan las balas.
Tronó el pavimento,
Se manchó la nieve por una injusticia que a todos nos duele.
Le arrancan la vida de forma cobarde.
Esa gran traición al pueblo le arde.
Dizque amenaza, son puras mentiras.
Era un ciudadano que cuidaba vidas.
La migra llegó solo a sembrar terror,
Matando inocentes, dejando dolor.
Su perro y su gente lo van a extrañar
Y su valentía se va a respetar.
Su último aliento se perdió en el invierno.
Víctima del odio y de un mal gobierno.
Coro:
Qué falta de huevos, qué forma de actuar.
Ya estaba en el suelo sin poder pelear.
Le quitan el fierro siendo legal
Y a quemarropa descarga letal.
La nieve de enero guardó su final.
Pero su legado se vuelve inmortal.
Mataron al hombre, mas no su memoria.
Y hoy Alex Pretti se queda en la historia.
“Alex Pretti’s Corrido”
Song in His Memory
By R. Castillo
Lyrics (English Translation)
January twenty-fourth, that date is burned in memory.
In Minneapolis a frigid breeze
was blowing.
They were not criminals nor wicked people.
It was Alex Pretti he moved swiftly.
He was a nurse caring for people,
But he saw an injustice and
stepped forward.
Defending immigrants from the system
And to help a woman, he walked into trouble.
The “green shirts” came with all their power,
Knocking people down for no reason at all.
Alex saw the abuse of that woman
And his blood as a man made him respond.
He had his permit, gun holstered,
But he never used it.
He never took it out.
First they fired gas, then they knocked him down.
Five agents then ganged up
on him.
Chorus:
What a lack of courage, what a way to act.
He was already on the ground,
unable to rise.
First, they disarm him, take away his pistol
And now defenseless
They pump him with bullets.
The pavement crackled,
The snow was stained by an injustice that pains us all.
They ripped his life away in a cowardly way.
This great betrayal pains the people.
They claimed he was a threat, nothing but lies.
He was a citizen who took care of lives.
The migra came only to sow terror,
Killing innocents, spreading pain.
His dog and his people will miss him. And his bravery will be respected.
His last breath vanished in the
winter.
Victim of hatred and of an evil government.
Chorus:
What a lack of courage, what a way to act.
He was already on the ground unable to fight.
They took his legal gun
And point-blank fatally shot him.
He perished in the January snow. But his legacy is now immortal.
They killed the man, but not his memory.
And now Alex Pretti is part of
history.
Two additional corridos about Alex Pretti were released by djguerrastudios and LaRazaProductions.
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Categories: Art & Culture, Immigration / Refugees, World Politics
Thank you for sharing this.
Very good.