The land of the corrido

I worked on a small spot commissioned by BASA Estudio (https://www.basaestudio.com/), with Spotify as the client. The theme was corridos tumbados.

I’m definitely not a fan of that kind of music mainly because of its macho, sexist, and violent content, and its ties to narco culture. Still, I did my exploration. I had to listen to the different waves or stages the genre has gone through, and through that process I was able to get a sense of what to represent.

I mainly listened to Peso Pluma and Chalino Sánchez. I’m not a fan of either, but it gave me a general understanding, and I started sketching based on a contrast/complement approach between the old and the contemporary.

For this, I leaned heavily on references. This is a stage I really enjoy, because I get to play different roles you can probably notice that in the photos. “El Jefe,” Nicanor, even makes an appearance.

In the end, the BASA team did a great job. I had a lot of fun, and the spot became popular, which made me wonder: did I contribute to the popularity of corridos tumbados and narco culture? Do I live in the land of the corrido? Did I somehow help grow Peso Pluma’s audience? These are the kinds of thoughts that give me a bit of a tic. I just want to do my job well, and I try to apply something like the Hippocratic oath, but to design.

That said, I don’t fully understand it, I don’t like it, I try to empathize and I know it’s complex but I don’t agree with narco culture or corridos tumbados. I observe them as a spectator and prefer to stay there, at a distance (or at least I think I do). Still, I have to admit I really enjoyed working with BASA’s creative direction and the way they think about design.

Here’s some of the process.