Week 12: La Cárcel de Cananea

La Huelga de Cananea (linocut, Patrick O'Higgins)

One of the famous historical corridos--El Corrido de Cananea--the strike at Cananea in 1906 was the beginning of popular resistance that lead to the Mexican Revolución. Cananea is the site of one of the largest copper mines in North America--then controlled by American interests (the Green Consolidated Mining Company, above), with workers from both sides. The low pay and harsh working conditions led to the strike. Read up on this so that you understand the background here.

However, the corrido (as so often the case) is presented in the voice of the singer-- Voy a dar un pormenor de lo que a mí ha pasado--and the story unfolds. There are many versions, with many incidents from the historical story, but the important point is how all of them relate back to the Cárcel de Cananea--a building still standing today, made into a kind of museum. The mining continues as well--this is a huge industrial mining operation--as does labor unrest over the miner's working conditions.

The song (the voice of the singer) is filled with sly ironies--who's in it, what happens and why--all presented with an edge. But at the same time, the historical settings (la Mesa de Cananea, the border towns, Agua Prieta, los sherifes) make it very real. Everyone who sings it picks there own emphasis. As you should too!

By the way, I first came across the song in Mexican Folklore (the Frances Toor book I've shared with you), which was published in 1945.  Letra in your Suplementos I, p. 5. 

Here are some versions, each with a particular character. Pay attention to how they differ:

Chavela Vargas (Antonio Bribiesca)   
Chavela Vargas: La Carcel de Cananea - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8l4B25U6CM

Los Alegres de Terán
Los Alegres De Teran - La Carcel De Cananea - YouTube
 

Los Hermanos Zaízar    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Yaad9eeIE

Benito Martínez y su Conjunto.  (Arpa de Oro con Benito Martínez--from the 1940s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFMmlnL06XQ

Lorenzo de Monteclaro (live performance with the audience)
Lorenzo de Monteclaro - La Carcel De Cananea (En Vivo) - YouTube
  

Linda Ronstadt (Canciones de mi Padre)     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGyKSxFr7qY

Gloria y Ricardo.  Watch this one for a very down-home version of the song--the couple here are remembering the way they sang it when the were young: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=370xKmz5W48

There are many many other versiones on YouTube (norteño, banda et al...)

David Alfaro Siqueiros,  La Huelga de Cananea (detail)

Look into the geography of the song--it can be mapped on google earth. Take a look at all the places mentioned. Also, read about la hulega de Cananea in relation to the hiostory of the revolución.
Cananea--articulo, historia.jpg 

Here's a school video that was done along these lines: 
Huelga de Cananea - YouTube

And here, from the mining company perspective:  https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/cananaeacoppermine/

Or this news feature:  Dompe aplasta a trabajadores en el área de El Tajo de la mina de Cananea - YouTube
_____

Corrido de Cananea     

Versión de Chavela Vargas   

Voy a dar un pormenor
de lo que a mí­ me ha pasado,
que me han agarrado preso
siendo un gallo tan jugado.

Yo me fui para agua prieta
a ver si me conocí­a
y a las once de la noche
me agarró la policia.

Me agarraron los cherrifes
al estilo americano,
por ser hombre de delito,
todos con pistola en mano.

La cárcel de cananea
está situada en una mesa
y en ella fui procesado        (donde yo fui procesado)
a causa de mi torpeza.

Despedida no les doy
porque no la traigo aqui
se la deje al santo niño
y al señor de mapimí.

_____

There are many good connections between the song itself and the place the song comes from--right down to the color of the earth in that part of Sonora (recall that Cananea is the site of the largest open-pit copper mine in North America. The mine was started in 1899 (under Porfirio Diáz). The strikes in 1906 were precursors to the Revolución. Working conditions (and protests on the part of the miners) continue to be a very big issue...

Cananea + cobre = Google images

Try these search terms to get a handle on the locale of the song (place-wise and

Samuel M. Lozano - El Trovador de la Revolución
Sonora (state)
mineros  (miners)
cobre (copper)   (see Cananea + cobre on google images)
tierra
mina
Aqua Prieta (pueblo)
Cananea mine
Cananea mesa
cárcel
Porfirio Díaz
Santo Niño de Atocha
El Señor de Mapimí

and Cananea- biblical  (mujer arrepentida—the Canaanite woman)





As a parallel, listen to El Preso de San Juan de Ulua. A beautiful song. I particularly like the version nby Daviud Zaizar, but there are many others.