Corrido de Cariño broadside with portrait and ¡Vivan los cubanos! verses

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What sets this broadside apart is the pairing of a printed portrait with the cry ¡Vivan los cubanos!, placed among the verses of a love ballad. Corridos were narrative songs sung across Mexico and the border region, and printers issued them as cheap single sheets, or hojas volantes, that sold in markets and at fairs. Cuba's long struggle against Spanish colonial rule drew wide sympathy in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America during the nineteenth century, which gave sheets like this a political edge. Notice how image and text work together to turn a sentimental song into a statement of solidarity.

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