Corrido Contest to promote tradition.

The jury, composed of prominent cultural leaders from California’s Central Valley, is currently reviewing the corridos that are participating in the Corridos 2024 Contest, which aims to celebrate the tradition of corridos in the San Joaquin Valley.

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) and Radio Bilingüe organized this contest for the first time to continue the tradition of this musical genre and culture. In addition, the contest is part of the Sonidos de California project in the San Joaquin Valley, which aims to record, archive and present the sounds of migration.

Leticia Soto, assistant director of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, recalls that the contest was open to the public, professional and non-professional.

Did you know that the corrido is a narrative ballad, a kind of story, which originated as an oral tradition in the 19th century in Mexico, then became popular in California after the Mexican-American War.

Precisely this Corrido Contest in 2024 is to celebrate the tradition of corridos in the San Joaquin Valley.

It is important to remember that the Mexican corrido is a form of oral narration, generally in the form of a song. It reached its peak in the first decade of the 19th century during the Mexican Revolution. Corridos often focus on epic, political and historical events, but many of them also tell stories of the daily hardships of the working class.

Leticia Soto, deputy director of the California Alliance for Traditional Arts explains that she is analyzing the jury to determine the winners.

Remember that the submissions are being evaluated by prominent cultural leaders, who will be scoring the materials, let’s hear from Leticia Soto.

Leticia Soto, deputy director of the California Alliance for Traditional Arts, tells us about the prizes to be won by the Corridos contestants.

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts and Radio Bilingüe invite you to a family-friendly celebration on Sunday, December 8 at 3 p.m. The event will feature great local performers. Great local performers of Mexican music such as “Las Damas del Valle” and “La Familia Morales” will perform in the auditorium of Roosevelt High School in Fresno, in a concert that will culminate with the awarding of the winners of the corrido contest and a community raffle.

Finally, it is important to tell you that the winners of the 2024 corrido contest will be able to listen to their song on Radio Bilingüe’s frequencies.