Gregorio+Cortez

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/mexican_songs/cortez.cfm media type="youtube" key="jj4-6ZCc7i4" height="239" width="294" One of the most popular corridos described a real-life figure, Gregorio Cortez, who killed two sheriffs in south Texas in 1901, and who gained folk hero status when he eluded capture by the Texas Rangers. Born in Matamoros, Mexico in 1875, Cortez toiled as a cowboy and farmer in Texas. In 1901, local authorities in south Texas began searching for a horse thief, described only as a “medium-sized Mexican.” Lawmen confronted Cortez and confusion ensued, since neither the sheriff nor his deputy understood Spanish. The sheriff wounded Cortez’s brother and Cortez responded by shooting and killing the sheriff. Pursued by a posse, Cortez escaped, but not before killing another sheriff and a landowner. When he was finally apprehended, Cortez was nearly lynched. Many trials took place. A Texas appeals court later reversed Cortez’s conviction for murdering the landowner, and was finally pardoned for the murder of the second sheriff in 1913.  Tal desgracia sucedió,  Murió el Cherife Mayor,  No saben quien lo mató. Se anduvieron informando  Como media hora después,  Supieron que el malhechor  Era Gregorio Cortez. Ya insortaron a Cortez  Por toditito el estado,  Que vivo o muerto se aprehenda  Porque a varios ha matado.
 * Gregorio Cortez (With his Pistol in His Hands) **
 * …En el condado de El Carmen

 Decía Gregorio Cortez <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Con su pistola en la mano: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> -No siento haberlo matado, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> lo que siento es a mi hermano.-… <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Venían los americanos <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Más blancos que una amapola, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> De miedo que le tenían <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> A Cortez con su pistola…. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Soltaron los perros jaunes <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Pa'que siguieron la huella, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Pero alcanzar a Cortez <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Era seguir a una estrella…. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Se fue de Belmont al rancho, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Lo alcanzaron a rodear, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Poquitos más de trescientos, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Y allí le brincó el corral.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Cuando les brincó el corral, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Según lo que aquí se dice, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Se agarraron a balazos <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Y les mató otro cherife. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Decía Gregorio Cortez <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Con su pistola en la mano: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> -No corran, rinches cobardes, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> con un solo mexicano.- …. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Y se encontró a un mexicano, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Le dice con altivez: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> -Platícame que hay de nuevo, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> yo soy Gregorio Cortez. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">-Dicen que por culpa mía <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> han matado mucha gente, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> pues ya me voy a entregar <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> porque eso no es conveniente.- … <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Venían todos los rinches, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Venían que hasta volaban, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Porque se iban a ganar <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Diez mil pesos que les daban.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Cuando rodearon la casa <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Cortez se les presentó: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> -Por la buena sí me llevan <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> porque de otro modo no.-

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Decía el Cherife Mayor <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Como queriendo llorar: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> -Cortez, entrega tus armas, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> no te vamos a matar.- <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Decía Gregorio Cortez, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Les gritaba en alta voz: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> -Mis armas no las entrego <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> hasta estar en calaboz.- …. || …<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the county of El Carmen <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> such a tragedy took place: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> The Mayor Sheriff is dead; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> no one knows who killed him.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> They went around asking <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> questions about half an hour afterward; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> They found out that the wrongdoer <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> had been Gregorio Cortez. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Now they have outlawed Cortez <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> throughout the whole of the state; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Let him be taken, dead or alive, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> for he has killed several men. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Then said Gregorio Cortez, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> with his pistol in his hand, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> "I don't regret having killed him; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> what I regret is my brother's death"… <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">The Americans were coming; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> they were whiter that a poppy <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> From the fear that they had <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> from Cortez and his pistol…. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">They let loose the bloodhound <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> so they could follow the trail; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> But trying to overtake Cortez <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> was like following a star…. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">From Belmont he went to the ranch, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> where they succeeded in surrounding him, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Quite a few more that three hundred, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> but he jumped out of their corral. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">When he jumped out of their corral, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> according to what is said here, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> They got into a gunfight, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> and he killed them another sheriff. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Then said Gregorio Cortez, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> with his pistol in his hand, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> "Don't run, you cowardly rinches, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> from a single Mexican"…. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Now he has met a Mexican; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> he says to him haughtily, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> "Tell me the news; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> I am Gregorio Cortez. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">They say that because of <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> me many people have been killed; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> so now I will surrender, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> because such things are not right."… <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">All the rinches [Texas Rangers] were coming, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> so fast that they almost flew, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Because they were going to get the ten <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> thousand dollars that were offered. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">When they surrounded the house, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> Cortez appeared before them: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> "You will take me if I'm <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.2in;"> willing but not any other way." <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then said the Major Sheriff, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> as if he was going to cry, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "Cortez, hand over your weapons; <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> we do not want to kill you."

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Then said Gregorio Cortez, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> shouting to them in a loud voice, <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "I won't surrender my weapons <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> until I am in a cell"…. || <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Source: Américo Paredes, A Texas-Mexican Cancionera, 65-67