Corridos, a narrative musical form dating back several centuries in Mexico, sound super cool when you sing them in the style of bulerías, as Omar Montes shared in his anecdote about collaborating with a famed Mexican regional artist for NPR’s Alt.Latino:

Omar Montes: “Do you know that the bulería is similar to traditional Mexican music? For example, you can sing a corrido [to the rhythm] if you want. I learned it because I was recording with a super big Mexican [artist] Carin León. I realized that singing in the rhythm of bulerías, traditional music could also be sang to it. We made a song and aside from adding all the trumpets, percussion and all that’s used in regional music, I also put in bulería castanets, I put in palmas, I did something incredible with him.”

So why might that be? Well, it all comes down to the rhythmic and lyrical structures of these two genres––corridos are typically formulated with octosyllabic quatrains (four lines of eight syllables each) in either 3/4 or 6/8 time. Sound familiar? Bulerías are similarly structured although quicker-paced, with a 3/4 and 6/8 polyrhythm. But all of this is theoretical… you have to hear it for yourself! Try playing bulerías palmas along to a beloved Mexican-American corrido (above.)