The Music of the Border

By: Roxane Ramos

This year’s first place winner of the UA Poetry Center’s Bilingual Corrido Contest recounts a moving migration story of aspiration, struggle, and love.

Daniela Ibarra first heard the story in 2009 when she was living in Sonora, Mexico for a year. An abuela (grandmother) in a dentist’s waiting room shared the trials of her grandson, left behind in Mexico, and his mother, seeking better fortunes in the United States with the expectation of reuniting soon. This is so often where poetic inspiration can be found—in everyday stories and struggles—and when Daniela’s AP Spanish teacher Alma Mejía challenged the students to write corridos (Mexican folk ballads) for submission to the University of Arizona Poetry Center’s annual contest, her mind turned to that 5-year-old memory, still fresh and, sadly, still relevant.

Since the early 1800s, corridos have captured the celebrations and sorrows of both grand historical events and intimate everyday life in poetry and song. In 36 short lines (7–10 syllables), these ballads have traditionally been written in Spanish about actual events, but today can be found in English as well and subjects are often fictional. Over the last two centuries, corridos have documented revolutions, personal tragedies, humorous anecdotes, social upheavals, miracles and regional pride. Today, the form is widely regarded as música de la frontera (border music), and remains a popular oral tradition.

When Daniela submitted her corrido, Margarita y Alfredo, this past spring, she was a high school senior at Amphitheater High School in Tucson, active in the Photography Club and MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement), and a member of the National Honors Society; this fall, she is a UA freshman planning to major in engineering while continuing to write poetry and short stories, a long-time passion. Her interest in the border is the result of living so close to it, and that compassionate perspective comes through in her corrido. “I’ve known many people who struggled to cross the border, leaving family behind,” she explains. “I am fortunate to not have gone through that, but I understand the pain and sacrifice of people trying to give their families a better life, and how separation takes its toll.”

Margarita y Alfredo
Por Daniela Ibarra

Esta es la última historia
Que cuenta la gente del pueblo
La historia de Margarita
Y de su hijito Alfredo
Gente de buen corazón
Pero muy poco de dinero

Se fue Margarita muy triste
Llorando sin consuelo
Pues dejaba a su hijito
Para irse al extranjero
Brindar un mejor futuro
Para él, sangre y cuero

Cuida muy bien a mi hijo
Madre mía, te lo ruego
Vendré pronto, muy pronto
Eso sí te lo prometo
Fue el adiós de una madre
En un sincero tormento

Los días se hicieron meses
Y los meses se hicieron años
Margarita no volvió
Como había acordado
A cambio Alfredo graduó
Y se convirtió en licenciado

La vida siguió adelante
Se encontraron nuevamente
Felices en la distancia
Madre e hijo festejaron
Felices, muy felices
Pero son perfectos extraños

Margarita and Alfredo
By Daniela Ibarra

This is the latest story
That they’re talking about in town
The story of Margarita
And Alfredo, her little son
People with good hearts
But little money to call their own

Margarita left so sadly
Crying without consolation
Because she was leaving her baby
To live in a foreign nation
To give him a brighter future
Was her strong determination

Take good care of my little boy
Dear mother, I implore you
I’ll come back soon, so soon
That is my promise for you
This was a mother’s goodbye
In true torment, I assure you

The days turned into months
And the months turned into years
Margarita never returned
As she had promised in tears
Alfredo graduated from college
Missing his mother’s cheers

Life continued onward
At last they reunited
Rejoicing in the distance
Mother and son celebrated
But now they are perfect strangers
In this moment long awaited

Translation by Wendy Burk

To Learn More: Now in its fifteenth year, the Bilingual Corrido Contest, sponsored by the UA’s world-renowned Poetry Center, is open to high school students throughout Arizona. This year’s contest was judged by author and UA Creative Writing alumni Matt Mendez. For information about Poetry Center events and programs, see: http://poetry.arizona.edu/