Corridos!! The passionate, history-rich ballads of the world as they are sung by the vivid voices of MExico, Central and South America, los mariachis and las Tejanas and the wide, wide spectrum of colors and voices in between Chile and Canada.

There are thousands of them, from the stately ballads of lost love in a horse-drawn era to the rich and violent tales of border smuggler shoot-outs with the D.E.A. in a cold dawn along the back roads of the desert passes where Arizona blends into MExico. Thousands -- named for names, named for nations, named for Jalisco, Durango and Morales and heros and heroines down the centuries. And they are still being written. If you go to Apple's iTunes store and search for "corrido" you will come up with a few hundred, just those available through the store.

The richness and variety and breadth of these songs defies description and surpasses many of our own vaunted collections for quantity and, within their own musical framework, quality.

I am looking for one particular one, called "Yo Soy El Corrido" (I am the Ballad) which I heard last night at a theatrical presentation called "Corridos Remix". I can't recommend the show enough.

If anyone has the lyrics or an MP3 of "Yo Soy El Corrido" I would be grateful.

Meanwhile, I offer this thread as a general discussion area for a topic we have slighted too long here on the Cat.

Amosq