The Corridos
We were introduced to two versions of the Corridos, a short story and a movie. I myself liked the short story better. The way in which the short story portrayed Gregorio Cortez was much more interesting to me.
In the short story Gregorio Cortez was more of a daring risk taker. He was known as a badass that could escape the law at anytime. In this story he was proud of being a Mexican but there was not much emphasis on his family. In this story he was a tough man who kills many sheriffs and admits to it. He also says that he will do it again, he’s not scared. This version was a great deal different than the movie version.
In the movie Gregorio Cortez was not portrayed as a badass. He did kill but in the movie it wasn’t the same. Cortez in this version is definitely a family man, he lives with his brother, kids, and wife. In this movie Cortez killed because when they came to talk to him the interpreter was changing his story around trying to get Cortez arrested. I believe that this was more of a killing due to self-defense. In this version it was also considered more of a disadvantage of being Mexican; they were treated unfairly because they were Mexican. Being that Cortez was Mexican they did not want him to be found innocent. So in this version he is not as much portrayed as a bad guy and when he is found guilty you actually feel bad for him.
I like the short story better because Cortez was considered a badass that couldn’t be caught. It was interesting to read and you wanted to know what Cortez going to do next. I was not a fan of the movie but it being a movie is probably why it was portrayed this way. They wanted people to wonder if he would be guilty or innocent and wanted to keep their attention.
I think that’s really good that you like the short stories better. At first I thought that the movie was better but now that I have read why you like the stories I agree that they were pretty good.
↓ Quote | Posted October 15, 2006, 7:03 pmI totally agree on the fact that the way he is looked at has changed. I liked your last line “They wanted people to wonder if he would be guilty or innocent and wanted to keep their attention.” I love this line because I was trying to think myself why the movie was so much different and this points out that it probably was the director that wanted it to be this way so people would watch it and wonder. I liked the corridos better than the movie too.
↓ Quote | Posted October 16, 2006, 8:35 am