Cargamento del Diablo

Album Review

For many years, corridos were dominated by mariachi bands. But that was back in the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. In the 21st century, corridos are closely identified with norteño and banda — and plenty of duranguense artists have been performing corridos as well. So there are a variety of options if a regional Mexican artist wants to perform corridos. On El Cargamento del Diablo ("The Devil's Cargo"), José Eulogio Hernandez, aka El Potro de Sinaloa, performs corridos exclusively and uses brassy banda instrumentation exclusively. El Potro is no stranger to norteño, but he sticks to banda this time—and while some of his recordings have been influenced by Latin pop, that isn't the case at all on El Cargamento del Diablo. Everything on this 2009 release is a hardcore corrido, and El Potro isn't shy about performing narcocorridos. For example, "Se Equivocó el Pistolero" ("The Gunman Made a Mistake"), "Traficante del Diablo" ("The Devil's Drug Trafficker"), and the title song are gritty, no-nonsense anecdotes about the Mexican drug trade and the violence that surrounds it. Some listeners will compare those tunes to gangsta rap, which is a valid comparison — although outlaw country (as in Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, or Johnny Paycheck) is an equally valid comparison. Not all of the corridos on this 33-minute CD are narcocorridos, but narcocorridos are a riveting part of the equation. And even the corridos on El Cargamento del Diablo that aren't narcocorridos have a lot of grit. El Potro, thankfully, is an engaging storyteller and has no problem bringing any of these corridos to life. One of El Potro's most consistent albums, El Cargamento del Diablo is easily recommended to corrido enthusiasts.