Morrissey and Latino Culture?

Just experienced four Morrissey concerts in nine days and am, as is to be expected, suffering from an obsessive form of delirium.

I did bump into an article trying to explain the phenomenon. One of the passages helped me crystalize half-formed thoughts about Morrissey and some forms of Mexican music:

Morrissey's "Latino connection" has been a source of amusement and confusion to journalists who cannot quite see how this skinny, effete Englander with his oblique references to dank Manchester cemeteries could appeal to the traditionally macho, sun-kissed Latino culture. Nevertheless Morrissey dedicated his 1999 ¡Oye Esteban! tour to these fans, once famously told an audience in Orange County "I wish I was born Mexican," and the singer's new hometown is affectionately referred to as "Moz Angeles" by the local Latino contingent. Of the handful I spoke to at the Totally 80s Convention, all had seen Morrissey perform live at least twice, all had visited the annual The Smiths convention held each year in Los Angeles, and two had even met Moz in person. "Everyone we know has been touched by at least one Morrissey song," said Hernandez. "He's been in our lives for many years."

What's behind this Morrissey-Latino love fest? Arellano draws interesting parallels between Morrissey's music and Mexico's ranchera music tradition:

His trembling falsetto brings to mind the rich, sad voice of Pedro Infante, while his effeminate stage presence makes him a UK version of Juan Gabriel. As in ranchera, Morrissey's lyrics rely on ambiguity, powerful imagery and metaphors. Thematically, the idealization of a simpler life and a rejection of all things bourgeois come from a populist impulse common to ranchera.

The most striking similarity, though, is Morrissey's signature beckoning and embrace of the uncertainty of life and love, something that at first glance might seem the opposite of macho Mexican music. But check it out: for all the machismo and virulent existentialism that Mexican music espouses, there is another side — a morbid fascination with getting your heart and dreams broken by others, usually in death. In fact, Morrissey's most famous confession of unrequited love, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" ("And if a double-decker bus/Crashes into us/To die by your side/Would be a heavenly way to die"), emulates almost sentiment for sentiment Cuco Sanchez's torch song "Cama de Piedra" ("The day that they kill me/May it be with five bullets/And be close to you").

But this is just part of the story. More immediate a reason for the connection between Morrissey and his Latino fan-base is the link between one misfit with a powerful message about transcendence and a nation of people all trying to transcend the difficulties of a life in a foreign culture. "Morrissey sings to the disaffected, and God knows alienation is part of the assimilation tradition— the equal and opposite reaction of the immigrants drive to blend in," said Arellano. "We ache; Morrissey soothes."

| Their Charming Man: Dispatches from the Latino Morrissey Love-In in Orange County Weekly |
| The Passion of the Morrissey by Chloe Vetman in The Believer |
| MP3 Excerpt from NPRs "LatinoUSA" radio program |
| ShiftlessBody.com |
| Morrissey-Solo |

Will the 2004 Presidential Debates have any impact?

It is stunning to me how easy it is to convince a significant number of U.S. citizens that George W. Bush's following traits:

• Cursory and inarticulate understanding of issues
• Simplistic presentation of "good" vs. "evil"
• Continual shifting of purported justifications for pre-emptive war
• Disengagement from global cooperation

are actually examples of:

• Humble and folksy character
• Strength and determination to combat threats
• "Multi-pronged" strategy toward Iraq
• Placement of national security above weaker, global diplomacy

While, at the same time, convincing them that some of John Kerry's vital strengths:

• Thorough and articulate understanding of issues
• Recognition of complexity
• Ability to alter one's views when new information warrants it
• Desire to incorporate global alliances into decision-making

are actually examples of:

• Paralyzing indecisiveness
• Inability to be forceful when confronting threats
• Flip-Flopping
• Allowing U.S. policy to be dictated by foreign influences

This is why, despite Kerry's clear superiority in debates and policy discussions, I am pessimistic about the ultimate impact of these high-visibility outings. This dynamic reminds me of several instances in "office politics" where reasoned and well-spoken analyses get trumped by a need to be efficient and a misunderstanding of the analyses. It seems that just as many corporate organizations need to flatten and simplify decision-making for the sake of efficiency, the electorate is also opting for that model.

Why is a large portion of the electorate swayed toward interpreting simplicity as forcefulness? Complexity as indecisiveness? Global dialogue as weakness? Obviously there is no quick answer, but I am certain that this kind of behavior is reinforced and nurtured by:

• A simple and patriotic approach to civics and U.S history in our educational system
• An insistence to study political science as if it were a type of marketing
• Mainstream media choosing to be a conduit for spin rather than also adopting an analytic approach
• An endorsement of simple analysis as folksy and a condemnation of complex analysis as elitist

This is why I have serious doubts that the debates will have a significant impact on opinion -- unless, of course, some major cosmetic gaffe occurs.

| Political Marketing in EllipticBlog |
| Alternative Political Parties in EllipticBlog |
| FactCheck.org - Annenberg Political Fact Check |
| "More spinned against than spinners" - The Guardian |
| "Tsunami" - Columbia Journalism Review |