© 2024 South Carolina Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Traditional Mexican Folk Ballad Helps El Paso Mourn

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

After the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that claimed 22 lives and injured another 26, many residents mourned through music. Singer-songwriter Josue Rodriguez helped his community cope by performing his own original corrido at vigils. Corridos are traditional Mexican folk ballads.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL LLANTO DE EL PASO, TEXAS")

JOSUE RODRIGUEZ: (Singing in Spanish).

MARTIN: You can hear Josue Rodriguez and Alejandro Ramos singing and playing "El Llanto De El Paso, Texas," which means "The Cry Of El Paso, Texas." They sing, in the United States in El Paso, several people are crying over what has happened. Rodriguez told the El Paso Times he started seeing how people were really affected by the tragedy, so he went home later that night and wrote the song in a matter of two hours. Since then, the video taken by USA Today has gone viral.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL LLANTO DE EL PASO, TEXAS")

RODRIGUEZ: (Singing in Spanish).

MARTIN: The lyrics say, he wanted to break my people, but he did not succeed. Now we are more united, thanks to God.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL LLANTO DE EL PASO, TEXAS")

RODRIGUEZ: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.