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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The charro cantor : a mediation between rural and urban culture Luna de Morris, Talia Magdalena The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 05. Oct. 2021 ACADEMIC REG1STRAFJ ROOM 261 OFLONDON 'AALETSTREET LONDONWC1 E71 THE CHARRO CANTOR: A MEDIATION BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN CULTURE Thesissubmitted for the degreeof Ph.D. in SpanishAmerican Studiesby Talia MagdalenaLuna de Morris King's College London University of London 2004 THESIS CONTAINS CD/DVD ABSTRACT This study is a cultural history of the charro cantor who appeared with the development of the mass media in Mexico: the "talkies" and the radio in the 1930s. The emergence of the films known as the comedias rancheras, the use of rural images such as the charro and of songs in these films renders them appropriate to study within the context of the relations between mass media and popular culture. Three main questions will be addressed: 1) To what extent was the charro cantor a creation of the media? 2) At the time when these films were first shown, what was the relationship between the media and the government? 3) How do we account for the popularity of these artists in their day? In this work the term mediations is used as a conceptual framework for the study of the media and popular culture in Mexico as forming part of a process of cultural evolution. Thus, the charro cantor and the canciones rancheras are examined within the concept that mass culture did not appear suddenly and in confrontation with old popular expressions, but was part of the process of the massification in society which had started in the nineteenth century. This work traces various elements of melodrama in the comedia ranchera, especially the image of the charro, back to previous popular forms. The Introduction sets out the framework of study and offers a brief discussion of the literature concerning the charro cantor and a descriptive account of the elements which constitute the charro cantor in his and his music, the canciön ranchera. Chapters 1 and 2 look at the charro role of 3 bandit in the nineteenth and early twentieth century serials and corridos. Chapter the studies the development of the charro in popular theatre and the entrance of Chapter 4 the mariachi band in the radio industry from 1930 to 1952. concentrates on development of the cinema from the time of the post-revolutionary governments of the the 1920s, to its expansion in the 1940s into a partnership between the state and private key films between 1930 1952, in order to sector. Chapters 5,6 and 7 analyse three and in the films look closely at the development of the charro cantor comedian rancheras 2 and the way songs were used in these films. These chapters permit the study of the ranchero repertoire within the context of the films. This sheds light on how in the Mexican cinema songs were used in specific realistic settings such as the palenques (cockfight rings), cantinas and pulquerias; the serenade and the family party. This facilitates the analysis of the song narratives within the context in which they were presented to the audience and examines the types of songs included in the ranchero repertoire: corridos and serenades both old and new, canciones mexicanas from popular theatre, and canciones rancheras, the songs specially written for these films. The Appendix includes the biographies of two of the main representatives of the Charro Cantor, the stars Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante. This dissertation contributes to the field of cultural studies by the application of the concept of mediations which allows for the study of popular culture and mass media as part of a process of development, avoiding the division between high and low culture. This also permits an examination of the changes in the relationships between the media, the audience and the government. This approach makes it possible to bring together the various pre-electronic elements of the charro cantor such as the characteristics of melodrama in the narratives of the nineteenth century folletines and novelas por entrega. These forms together with popular theatre and corridos are studied with reference to their influence upon the emergence of the charro cantor image in radio and cinema. This will explain how the charro cantor was for the audience, many of them rural immigrants, a mediation, a vehicle for their transition from their rural culture to life in the city. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11 INTRODUCTION 13 CHAPTER 1. THE CHARRO IN NARRATIVE: FOLLETINES AND NO VELAS POR ENTREGA 30 1.1 The Relationshipbetween the Writer and the Reader:the Oral Quality of the Folletines and Novelaspor Entrega 31 1.2 Characteristicsof Melodrama:Time, Recognition and Morality in the Folletines and Novelas por Entrega 41 1.2.1 Time in Astucia: El Jefe de los Hermanos de la Hoja 41 o los Charros Contrabandistas de la Rama 1.2.2 Recognition and Morality in Los Bandidos de Rio Frio 45 CHAPTER 2. THE CHARRO AS PERSONA AND PERSONAJE 51 2.1 The Charro as Bandit in the Folletines and Novelaspor Entrega 51 2.2 The Charro in the Corridos 59 2.2.1 Bandits 62 2.2.2 Bullfighters 65 2.2.3 El valiente 66 4 CHAPTER 3. THE CHARRO BECOMES AN ENTERTAINER 68 3.1 The Charro in Popular Theatre 68 3.2 The Charro and the Mariachi Band Unite in the Entertainment Industry 84 3.2.1 The Charro and La Orquesta Tipica 84 3.2.2 The Mariachi Band and the Radio Industry (1930-52) 85 CHAPTER 4. THE CHARRO AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CINEMA (1920-1952) 94 4.1 The Silent Cinema in the 1920s 94 4.2 The 1930s and the Birth of the Charro Cantor in the "Talkies" 97 4.3 The Decades of the Development and Decline of the Charro Cantor 104 (1940-1952) CHAPTER 5. THE TWO FILM VERSIONS OF ALLÄ EN EL RANCHO GRANDE, AND THE CINEMATIC CREATION OF THE CHARRO CANTOR 110 5.1 Allä en el Rancho Grande (1936) and the Critics 112 5.2 The Settings of Songs in the Two Versions ofAllä en el Rancho Grande (1936/1948) 116 5.2.1 La Fiesta Familiar 116 5.2.2 The Serenade III 5.2.3 El Palenque 122 5.2.4 Las Cantinas and Las Pulquerias and the Singing Duel 125 5.3 Singing Cowboy and the Song Allä en el Rancho Grande 130 5 CHAPTER 6. THE FILM IAYJALISCO NOTE RAJESI AND JORGE NEGRETE, EL CHARRO CANTOR 135 6.1 The Plot in the Film and in the Novel 138 6.2 The Setting of the Songs 142 6.2.1 El Palenque: Lucha Reyes and her Influence on the Charro Cantor 142 6.2.2 El Restaurante /La Cantina (El Pariän) 149 6.2.3 The Serenade and the Singing Duel 157 CHAPTER 7. THE FILM DOS TIPOS DE CUIDADO: JORGE NEGRETE AND PEDRO INFANTE THE TWO "RIVAL" CHARROS MEET ON SCREEN 165 7.1 The Plot 168 7.2 The Setting of the Songs 170 7.2.1 El Restaurantel La Cantina/ La Fonda 170 7.2.2 La Fiesta Familiar and the SingingDuel 173 7.2.3 The Serenade (Medley) 177 7.2.4 La Fiesta de Cumplean"os 179 CONCLUSIONS 183 APPENDIX 187 6 I. LIST OF INTERVIEWS 197 II. LIST OF RADIO PROGRAMMES AND RECORDS 198 III LIST OF FILMS 200 IV. PRIMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY 201 V. SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY 212 7 LIST OF THE SONGS IN THE CD ACCOMPANYING THIS THESIS A selection of the songs examined has been included in a CD which accompanies this thesis. This is only for research and should not be detached from this thesis and played or reproduced for any other purpose. CHAPTER 5. ALLA EN EL RANCHO GRANDE 1. Ojos Tapatios (F. Veläzquez/Mendez / S. Elizondo), singer Jorge Negrete from the 1948 film. 2. El gallero (Manuel Esperön/Ernesto Cortäzar), singer Jorge Negrete and the Trio from the 1948 film. 3. A116 en el Rancho Grande (Silvano Ramos), singer Tito Guizar and Los Chinacos, from the 1936 film. 4. Alld en el Rancho Grande (Silvano Ramos), singer Jorge Negrete from the 1948 film. CHAPTER 6. IA Y JALISCO NO TE RAJES! 5. ZAy Jalisco no to rajes! (M. Esperön/E. Cortäzar), singer Lucha Reyes, 1941 recording. 6. iAy Jalisco no to rajes! (M. Esperön/E.