Ranchera Music

Joan Sebastian, a Mexican singer, has been an influential figure in the music world with his passionate ranchera songs. His CD, Joan Sebastian con Mariachi, features various songs that deal with the theme of lost and unrequited love. In Peter Manuel’s Popular Music of the Non-Western World, he observes that a large number of Mexican music originates from other countries when he says, “the vast majority of the popular music produced in Mexico has been and continues to be based on imported styles” (Manuel 53). Mexico was influenced mainly by European and western styles of music, which William Gradante explains when he says that, “Under Porfirio Diaz, Mexico had become a nation that turned toward the United States and Europe for its patterns of
The word ranchera is closely associated with the word “rancho,” which in Spanish means ranch. The word “ranch” allows one to envision a rural area, with expanding grasslands, and farm animals. These rural and agricultural lands in Mexico are where the first ranchera songs appeared, which Manuel reveals when he says, “The early canciónes rancheras were peasant songs originating in the rural haciendas” (Manuel 55). The term “haciendas” is a Spanish word that describes large farmlands and estates. In his essay, “‘El Hijo Del Pueblo’: José Alfredo Jiménez and the Mexican ‘Canción Ranchera,’” William Gradante explains that the term “canción ranchera,” was used to describe the songs that were sung by the common folk such as peasants, farm workers, and ranch hands on ranches, and the estates where they worked (Gradante
Cinema featured artists who both sang and acted, such as Pedro Infante, and as such these artists were glamorized (Manuel 55). These films featured romance, gunfights, and action, which allowed for the lower class to become immersed in this fantasy (Manuel 55-56). In her book, The Migration of Musical Film: From Ethnic Margins to American Mainstream, Desirée J. Garcia explains that the appeal of the songs in these Mexican films is that they had qualities that reminded people of Mexican culture and nationalism when she says, “Evoking an ideal of manliness, integrity, and patriotism, the songs solidified a connection to the positive aspects of Mexico and Mexican culture” (Garcia 81). This reminder of Mexican tradition, culture, and values is what made ranchera music popular both in Mexico and in the United States (Garcia