This University Is Offering a Course on Corridos

Like ballads of yore, corridos are primarily narrative art forms. They preserve stories that reflect the struggles and challenges communities have faced for generations. Studying corridos can shed light on what Mexicans and Mexican Americans have endured for decades. Now, a higher education institution is making that study official by offering a course devoted to the genre.

The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley is giving high school and college students the chance to study Mexican and Mexican-American culture through one of its most enduring musical traditions.

As part of its Mexican American Studies curriculum, the course “MAS 260, Corridos: Music, Identity, Cultural Expressions, and Social Narratives in the Borderlands” is a three-credit class that examines the roots and evolution of corridos in Mexico and among Mexican-American communities. According to UNC’s current course catalog, students explore how these songs document lived experiences, serve as historical records, and reflect social, political, and cultural issues.

“The purpose of this class, yes, is to use corridos to understand issues that are impacting our community,” Dr. Jonathan Alcantar said to 9news.com. Alcantar teaches the course, which analyzes the lives of real people and the conflicts surrounding migration, politics, violence, and everyday life. At UNC, students are encouraged to consider how these stories shape identity, cultural resistance, and collective memory. Above all, the class offers a perspective that challenges official and widely accepted versions of history.

This is not the first time UNC and Dr. Alcantar have offered a corridos course. Previously, UNC offered a course on narcocorridos and Mexican folk culture. This time, however, they aim to connect college-level Mexican American Studies with local high school students, allowing younger students to engage with the university and its curriculum.

Because corridos have become one of the most popular musical forms globally, this course offers an opportunity to highlight not only the genre’s rich history but also its importance to the local community—and to preserve memories of marginalized communities that are too often misremembered.