Popcultural education of young Mexicans.Values promoted by narcocorridos

Abstract

The objective of the research. Discovering and presenting the values propagated
in Mexican narcocorridos. Analysis of the influence exerted by these songs on Mexican
youth, and their role in creating Mexican narcoculture.
Methods. The subject of the study were nine lyrics of Mexican songs, reproducing
the reality of criminal environment called 'narcocorridos'. They were analysed according
to their educational aspect. The archetypes which they refer to were identified.
Formal tools and means of artistic expression used for the manipulation of audiences
were also discovered.
Results. Based on the investigation, a general catalogue of values frequently appearing
in narcocorridos lyrics was created. Both those presented as positive and
those considerate as negative by their authors are indicated.
Limitations. The principal limitation of this article is its number of pages, too small
to analyse more than just few lyrics of narcocorridos. In the context of the genre which
produces hundreds or thousands of songs each month an analysis of just few of them
is inefficient and can be considered not representative enough.

Applications. The results presented in the article could be used by researchers
interested in the subject of popcultural education or Mexican culture to carry out
deeper investigation of narcocorrido and its influence on shaping the attitudes of
young Mexicans.
Conclusions. The values found in the lyrics of narcocorridos seem to be positive
material in the process of building society. However, as the analysis of messages of
these songs and the context of their creation indicates, they are manipulated and used
for the glorification of criminal activity and the propaganda of violence.