Carlos Guzman is a student in the Honors College of the University of Missouri and a student in the Liminality and Current Issues class. Originally from a very rural part of Mexico, he reflects on the power of country music to speak in the liminal spaces where true feeling remains unexpressed.
Mexican music, especially Mexican country music, has evolved to be an outlet for all the repressed feelings that a strong macho culture creates. Art is a powerful tool that can be used to express the feelings that are felt when a person experiences a liminal event. In rural Mexico, it is very difficult for any person to express their feelings without fear of being judged or accused of being weak-minded. However, Mexican country music is known for the strong sentimental weight contained in their lyrics.
Many of the songs deal with the pain of love, death, and the struggles that come from not allowing people to be vulnerable. For example, in the song Aca entre nos/Just between Us by Vicente Fernandez, Vicente begins the song by singing about how he tells his friends that a betrayal by a loved one has not affected him at all and that he only needed a few shots of tequila to forget about her. However, towards the middle of the song, Vicente switches perspectives and begins singing like the only person listening to him is his past love. During this part, Vicente pours out all the desperation and sadness that this love has caused him, and in this vulnerable state, he expresses how he still loves this woman that has betrayed him. Towards the end of the song Vicente even tells his friend, Martin, “there’s no doubt that we also sing from pain, when you can’t cry.”
Mexican women also use music to talk about their struggles in an environment where they are often expected to be subservient to men. These songs defy the unjust norms that they are subject to. For example, in the song Si Yo Fuera Varon/If I was a Man, Mexican feminist icon and singer, Paquita La Del Barrio, sings about how she would treat women if she was a man. This song also covers many aspects of a woman’s life in Mexico. She sings about the struggles of pregnancy, raising kids, doing all the work that men don’t want to do in the house, and the lack of emotional support from men. She ends the song by singing, “if I was a man, I would give all women my total comprehension.” With these lyrics, Paquita is striking at the heart of the problems that come with a macho culture. If both parties cannot express their true feelings, then it is impossible for them to understand one another.
Mexican country music has also been able to cross sexual barriers. The feelings that liminal events produce are the same regardless of a person’s sexuality, especially if the liminal event is caused by love. For example, Mexican singer, Juan Gabriel, became extremely successful and famous in rural communities across Mexico because of his songs about love. Juan was able to achieve this level of success despite being an openly gay man in a country where it is very common to see discrimination against gay people. His songs are filled with pain and sorrow from having his heart broken many times. These are subjects that resonate very well with rural communities in Mexico. Through his music, Juan was able to provide a voice for both the gay and rural communities. By bridging these two communities, his music has been incredibly successful in advancing gay rights and acceptance in Mexico.
Mexican country music offers a means by which the repressed feelings of the Mexican people can be brought out in a way that is free of judgment. The communal aspect of music means that when artists sing about their liminal events and the feelings that accompany them, they are not only singing about their experiences but also the experiences of all the people that can relate to their songs. By transforming repressed feelings into beautiful works of art, Mexican country music has evolved into a tool that helps repressed rural people cross the second threshold of liminality by providing them a way to express their feelings without directly talking about them.
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