Teaching with the News
Dangerous Music
a supplement to Caught Between Two Worlds: Mexico at the Crossroads
In April 2009, President Obama met with Mexican President Calderón to discuss, among other things, the major challenges of drug violence and the drug trade in Mexico (NPR's report of the meeting). The following video from Foreign Exchange and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting explores the effects of drug violence on Culiacán, a city in northwestern Mexico, and on popular songs known as narcocorridos.
Before watching the video, you might want to have your students read "Part III: Mexico Today" in Caught Between Two Worlds: Mexico at the Crossroads. Alternatively, you might wish to use this activity as an introduction to the topic.
Ask students what they know about the drug trade and drug violence in Mexico. Why are these problems major challenges for the Mexican government? In what ways is the United States connected to the drug trade and drug violence in Mexico?
From Foreign Exchange, produced in association with Pulizter Center on Crisis Reporting.
As students watch the video, have them answer the following questions:
How many people died from drug-related violence in Mexico in 2008?
Why are Culiacán and many border cities "key" to the drug trade?
What are corridos or narcocorridos?
Why can the type of music you play be a fatal choice?
Have students critically assess the video as a source of information:
Who created the video?
What creative techniques are used to attract the viewer's attention?
How might different people understand this video differently?
What values, lifestyles, and points of view are represented by the video?
What values, lifestyles, and points of view are omitted by or missing from the video?
Have students connect the information provided in the video with what they already know about Mexico. Have them consider the following questions:
Who is involved in drug-related violence in Mexico?
How has the drug trade affected Mexican society?
How has the drug trade affected Mexico's relationship with the United States?
What questions do students have after watching this video?
