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The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.[edit]

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez[1] is a corrido that is well known by Mexican Americans who live near the Rio Grande border between the United States and Mexico. It tells the story of a Mexican Man named Gregorio Cortez who takes up a pistol to defend his individual rights against 33 Texas Rangers from June 12 to June 22nd, 1901[2].

The Truth About Gregorio Cortez.[edit]

In Reality, Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican man was born on a ranch near Matamoros, Mexico. Gregorio was born in 1875, as the "seventh child to a family of eight." ("With a Pistol in his hand, page 55). However, Gregorio, his parents, and his eight siblings moved to Manor, Texas in 1887.[3] In 1889, Gregorio joined is older brother, Ronaldo to Karnes county, near Gonzales, Texas. They were both working for the famers, ranch hands, and farmhands. They even worked as vaqueros. in 1900, Gregorio and Romaldo went to settle down and married. They were "insurable".[4]

Then, on June 12, 1901, The Sherriff of El Carmen, W.T. Morris, came to Gregorio and Román in order to investigate a horse theft. Even though Gregorio and Román were innocent, they spoke Spanish. and the sheriff didn't. Sheriff Morris had relied on poor Spanish translations from his fellow Texas Rangers. Cortez and Romaldo got confused, and played along. The Sheriff was looking for a horse thief, and asked if the traded a horse. Gregorio said "no", and told the sherrif that he had a mare.[5] After a while, Sheriff Morris assumed Gregorio and Romaldo were lying, and decided to place them both under arrest, all for a crime they didn't commit.

However, when the sheriff tried to arrest the brothers, Gregorio stood up to him, saying "You can't arrest me for nothing". The Sheriff didn't understand his Spanish, and thought he said "No white man can arrest me" [6] Then, the Sherriff got out his pistol and open fired. and ended up shooting Romaldo, who ended up wounded. [7] Gregorio shot the Sheriff in retaliation.[8] However, Gregorio left the scene, and headed straight towards the Austin-Gonzales vicinity. Cortez did a powerful walk to save his life. He walked for "about forty hours, an average 2 miles an a hour for forty straight hours."[9] Gregorio walked eighty miles a day through difficult terrain just to get to the border. All the while the Texas rangers were following him. Gregorio even killed the Gonzales sheriff Robert M. Glover [10], who was leading the charge. Gregorio walked 100 miles to meet a friend named Ceferino Flores, who gave him a saddle. Gregorio eventually got a horse to ride 400 miles to the border. Eventually, Texas Governor Joseph D Sayers and Karnes citizens offered a reward of one-thousand dollars for Gregorio's capture.[11] Gregorio eventually landed at the Abran de la Garza sheep camp on June 22nd, 1901. He started to say with a man named Jesús González. González., however led the rangers to find Cortez, and the rangers arrested him. [12] Many Tejanos would brand Jesús González as a traitor, and he would eventually be known as "EL Teco".

Gregorio Cortez was put on trial. A formal letter written and signed by Mexicans of Mexico city, and the president of Mexico. Which in turn gave him the money to help fund his claim. Sadly, Gregorio was sentenced of life imprisonment for the killings of two sheriffs, and the supposed theft of a horse. However, he got an early release after a year. This verdict was a "victory" for Mexican Americans, and the unfair treatment of Mexican Americans. His name became immortalized, and his story became a corrido, where Cortez was portrayed as a hero.

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez and the Impact.[edit]

The story of Gregorio Cortez ended up being made into a Corrido, and he would become a folk hero among people in the Texas-Mexico Border.

In the story Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican man with a kind heart and a diligent work ethic. He was described as "a man who never raised his voice to parent or elder brother, and never disobeyed." [13]Most of the story if no different from his real life, but the story tells of hom as a sharpshooter, and his brother Romaldo was renamed Román. [14]

Sherrif Morris still had Román and Gregorio question about the horses. But instead of Romaldo being wounded, his counterpart Román, was shot dead trying to protect this brother, and collapsed on the ground. However, Gregorio got a gun, and shot the sheriff in order to avenge his brother. The story fantasizes about Gregorio being an able bodied man who ran across the country with the Texas Rangers on his tail. The story tells that Gregorio walked 100 miles, and rode more than 400 miles.[15] Gregorio walked and walked until he reached the Rio Grande. However, as Gregorio arrived in Goliad, Texas, he met with his friend named "El Teco". However, El Teco betrayed him and turned him to the police. The Police arrested Gregorio, put him on trial, and Gregorio was sentenced to prison for horse theft, despite never stealing a horse. Gregorio was sentenced for "ninety-nine years and a day" in federal prison. [16]

The story of Gregorio Cortez is a testament to the culture of Mexican Americans who live in the Southwest united states, and of Mexican American Culture in general. Gregorio's tale was later made into a corrido, and was passed on from person to person. Gregorio Cortez ended up becoming a folk hero. It helped inspire tales of heroism, and told the "spirit of the border strife." Many people called Gregorio Cortez a hero because both stories of his real life an the corrido involve him ronning away from the "rinches", or Texas rangers, and he kept evading him until his capture. This gave Mexican Americans the idea of a Hispanic hero who defended his rights from the American "outsiders". [17]

Both the story and the corrido tell of how Gregorio Cortez was strong because he ended up standing up against a legal system that didn't favor Mexican-Americans, and he became a hearo to various people of Mexican decent in Texas. [18]

The Impact.[edit]

The Corrido has been adapted to other media as well. In 1958, Américo Paredes wrote the book "With his pistol in his hand: a border ballad and its hero". This book details the corrido and the story of Gregorio Cortes and expressive detail, and has become a "classic of Mexican American prose."[19] In 1982, A film titled "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" was created, and had Edward James Olmos star as Gregorio Cortez. [20] Overall, the story of Gregorio Cortez, and the corridos that were inspired by it, are a timeless tradition for Mexican Americans everywhere.

Sources.[edit]

  1. ^ Rodriguez., Juan Carlos. (December 15, 2006.). "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez,". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Orozco, Cynthia (August 1, 1995.). "Cortez Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 11/14/2022. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help); Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Orozco, Cynthia E. (August 1, 1995). "Cortez, Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With his Pistol in His Hand. University of Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780292701281.
  5. ^ Orozco, Cynthia (August 1, 1995.). "Cortez Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Check date values in: |date= and |archive-date= (help)
  6. ^ Orozco, Cynthia (August 1st, 1995). "Cortez Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Orozco, Cynthia (August 1, 1995). "Cortez Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Orozco, Cynthia (August 1, 1995). "Cortez Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th. 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With His Pistol in His Hand. University of Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 66. ISBN 9780292701281.
  10. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With His Pistol in His Hand. University of Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 67.
  11. ^ Orozco, Cynthia (August 1, 1995). "Cortez Lira, Gregorio". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With His Pistol in His Hand. University of Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780292701281.
  13. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With His Pistol in His Hand. University of Texas, Austin, Texas.: University of Texas Press. pp. Page 36.
  14. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With His Pistol in His Head. University of Texas, Austin, Texas.: University of Texas Press. pp. 34–36.
  15. ^ Rodriguez, Juan Carlos (December 15, 2006.). "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Paredes, Américo (1958). With His Pistol in His Hand. University of Texas, Austin, Texas.: University of Texas Press. pp. 47–49.
  17. ^ Dickey, Dan (December 1, 1994). "Corridos". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Rodriguez, Juan Carlos (December 15th, 2006). "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez". Texas state Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)
  19. ^ Rodriguez, Juan Carlos (December 15, 2006). "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  20. ^ Rodriquez, Juan Carlos (December 15, 2006.). "El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 10th, 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)
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