ART & CULTURE
KANSAN.COM
12
NARCOCORRIDOS FROM PAGE 11
such as Gerardo Ortiz and Los Tigres del Norte can be found on iTunes and most streaming services.
Drug lords or cartels, Acosta said, commission most narcocorridors rather than musicians independently deciding to write them. Some musicians are even related to cartel members. Acosta said he compares the situation to the Medici family's patronage of Leonardo da Vinci in 15th century Italy. The songs are intended to "increase public prestige" or paint the cartel members as Robin Hood-
like figures.
In some communities, they really are Robin Hood figures. After a tornado ripped through Piedras Negras, the town where Acosta attended high school, a local drug lord coerced the government into giving aid to the victims.
Acosta said, much like some hip-hop in America, the songs' lyrics glorify the lifestyle of their subjects, describing their great wealth and exciting lifestyles.
"The difference here is that with narcocorridors, they're talking about real people who are actually doing stuff, whereas most of
mp-top is not really about people running the drug business in America," Acosta said. He also said narcocorridors about El Chapo act as propaganda that glorifies El Chapo's control of criminal activities in five continents.
and the southern United States, meaning many victims of the violence are drug traffickers as well as civilians.
Three national cartels, with six sub-cartels under the main three, control territory in the Mexican Drug War, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. The same report showed that over 80,000 people have died from drug-related violence since 2006. Each cartel fights for control over different regions of Mexico
I think we need to be aware that we are either not identified with or even interested in listening to this type of music or following this type of culture."
Luis Rodriguez graduate student
Although narcocorridos are a popular type of music all over Mexico, Luis Rodriguez, a graduate student from southeast Mexico, said there is significantly less drug-related violence in southern Mexico, so the sentiment surrounding narcocorridos is less favorable.
"I think we need to be aware that we are either not identified with or even interested in listening to this type of music or following this type of culture," Rodriguez said.
the type of person who typically consumes this type of music varies a lot. Listeners are rarely associated with the drug trade.
More likely, they just enjoy the music.
"It doesn't mean, if you like this kind of music or this type of life, that you're doing drugs; it's only that you're familiar with the terms, with the references, that they are using," Rodriguez said.
"Some people like them, some people like the music who don't like the lyrics — it's a very wide spectrum of reactions," Acosta added.
- Edited by Deanna Ambrose
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Lawrence Antique Mall, located at 830 Massachusetts St., is one of the largest antique shops in Lawrence.
Lawrence Antique Mall has a variety of items in stock, varying from dishware to movies.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Lawrence antiquing culture stands the test of time
▶ COURTNEY BIERMAN @courtbierman
That's the fight the Billings family, who own the Lawrence Antique Mall, has been fighting for more than 25 years.
Click around Amazon or eBay today, and anything one could imagine can be found. Even collectible items traditionally sold in antique shops, such as rare books and fan merchandise, are easily found online.
"A store like this, you know, a lot of people just walk by it. You might just not think to stop in, but an antique store is an interesting place just because it can have anything in there," Kyle Billings said. "I see it all the time: people come in, and they're being drug in, and they're the ones that get excited when they see something and end up buying something."
The Internet has created a challenge for antique stores and consignment shops in Lawrence, which has lost
Billings said the store is the largest antique mall in Lawrence. He has worked there intermittently as manager since his parents purchased the store from his uncle before opening it themselves.
several popular shops in the last few years to permanent closings and/or location changes. Strong's Antiques was located at 10th and Massachusetts Streets before closing in 2014, and Vintage Emporium was on 9th Street in East Lawrence before it moved to Shawnee.
In Lawrence, the draw of antique shops has as much to do with their location as it does with their merchandise. With large clusters of stores located in popular shopping areas such as Massachusetts and Locust Streets, people stop in on a whim, said Susannah
Mitchell, a freshman from Kansas City, Mo.
"I mostly go if I'm bored or if I have nothing else to do or if I'm just walking around, like, 'Oh! There's an antique shop!" she said.
Molly Kaup
I like that you can find really unique stuff, and a lot of the time you see stuff that you don't even know what it is that you're looking at."
"Lawrence is definitely smaller, so there's not as many options. But I think in terms of the kind of antiques that are being sold, there's not a huge difference," she said. "I feel like in Lawrence they tend to be more eclectic because the community here — in the best way — is a lot more weird. In Chicago you just get more run-of-the mill stuff, and here it's just very random. You find really weird Chiefs and Royals memorabilia."
Molly Kaup, a junior from Topeka, frequently visits the antique mall for the element of surprise she gets when she finds an interesting item. Some of her favorite finds include a taxidermic alligator head she bought when she was a child and a century-old cartoon of a rooster accusing a hen of adultery, which currently hangs in her dorm room.
"I like that you can find really unique stuff, and a lot of the time you see stuff that you don't even know what it is that you're looking at," Kaup said. "A lot of things kind of give you a feeling of history, the way things used to be."
- Edited by Michael Portman
Before transferring to the University this spring, Mitchell studied at Columbia College of Chicago. Although Chicago has more shops than Lawrence, Mitchell says it doesn't have the same appeal.
Mitchell said she is drawn to small porcelain items. One of her favorite finds is a delicate cigarette holder in the shape of a
woman's hand. Her dorm room is decorated with many similar items.
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