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| Volume 10, No. 27 |
April 8-14, 2009 |
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| In The Land of Moz
Morrissey returns; a reflection on his Mexican appeal | | By Maribel Santoyo | | 
Looking into your dark corners takes guts, and Morrissey has made an art of it over the last two decades.
Arguably one of the most singular figures to come out of Brit rock’s pantheon in the last 27 years, the former Smiths frontman-turn-solo artist, dubbed “Moz” by his fans, has such a knack for writing brilliantly whimsical lyrics he could pen a tragic song about a moth floating in formaldehyde and evoke tears and a standing ovation from it.
Less deniable is Morrissey’s rabid international following. At any concert worldwide, you can count on members of the audience to fling themselves onstage in a desperate attempt to be closer to him.
What’s fascinating, says New York Times bestseller and “¡Ask a Mexican!” syndicated columnist Gustavo Arrellano, is that Morrissey has found his “most fanatical, if not, unlikely fan base” in Mexico and in the Mexican communities of L.A. and other American cities.
“By the time you read this,” Arellano wrote in an article re-published in his 2007 book. “There will have been numerous television reports, radio interviews and newspaper stories (like this one) revealing that many Morrissey fans are Latinos.”
That’s nice, but El Pasoans have understood this basic fact for years now, says Daniel Lares, a 1995 Bel Air graduate. If you walked down the hall of any high school in El Paso circa 1992, the sight of a 17-year-old boy (or girl) with cuffed jeans and a “Your Arsenal” or “Bona Drag” shirt was not at all unusual. It was a fashion statement then as it is now in rockabilly crowds.
Even to those unfamiliar with the artist, the peculiar image of a youthful Moz screen-printed on a white shirt guaranteed enough intrigue to merit at least a listen to any one of the albums in the standard Smiths canon.
“What happened is I discovered Morrissey first before listening to The Smiths, actually, and then I was just sucked in,” he said.
But why chalk it up to an issue of racial demographics, some might wonder? Shouldn’t Johnny Marr’s infectiously catchy guitar riffs, or Morrissey’s heart-wrenching ballads be enough to validate good taste in music by any particular group of people?
Consider some facts, though: According to The Believer Magazine, Morrissey reputably dedicated his “¡Oye Esteban!” compilation and 1999 tour specifically to his Mexican-Latino fans. In a historic 2000 live recording of a performance at the Universal Theater in Los Angeles, Morrissey introduced the Spanish equivalent of “Tomorrow” (“Mañana”) to a predominantly Mexican-American audience. And in 2004’s “You Are The Quarry,” Morrissey makes a blatant tribute to his south-of-the-border audience with the song “Mexico.”
The evidence is there, but trying to explain this befuddling Morrissey-Mexican connection is another thing. So, we went to a few sources to draw three theories.
Theory One: Look To “Moz” Angeles
Los Angeles, or “Moz Angeles” as it has been known for years now by Morrissey’s devout Angelino fan base (where the singer also calls home), is also home to The Sweet & Tender Hooligans, the world’s “ultimate tribute band to the Smiths and Morrissey.”
Jose Maldonado, the band’s singer and host of L.A.’s “Breakfast with The Smiths” radio program on 103.1 FM, says he felt a calling to spread the Morrissey “gospel.” He woke up one morning after repeated plays of “Vauxhall and I” and earnestly wondered to himself:
“Now why on Earth isn’t everyone on this planet listening to this?” Maldonado said.
It wasn’t just that someone was telling the story of his life in a song, he said, but Morrissey was, and still remains a perfect showman in every sense — a complete throwback to the kind of entertainer bulldozed by the hideous “American Idol” music today, he says. It makes sense that Latino youth who felt isolated trying to integrate into American society would identify with this “Man from Manchester,” however absurd it seems, he said.
Theory Two: A Beer, A Song
For the last 10 years, local DJ and media personality Rene Romo has been hosting “Morrissey Night,” an annual event at Club Dedo. It is usually in celebration of Morrissey’s birthday, but on some other occasions, it’s to celebrate the release of a new album, like the “Years of Refusal” listening party that he hosted for Morrissey’s latest album a few weeks ago. There is a sense of community when El Paso “Moz fans” get together, he says. The regulars show up to dance their “legs down to the knees” and sing about the foibles of mankind with The Smiths and Morrissey all night long.
“We (along the border) grow up listening to Mariachi music; it gets to your heart and soul,” he said. “Throw in a beer, and emotions get deeper. Same thing when you’re listening to Morrissey.”
Interesting to note, says Romo, is that even Lost Highway Records, Morrissey’s current record label, recognizes that most of the clubs that booked listening parties were Latino-themed clubs such as Denver’s La Rumba, L.A.’s The Echo (in Echo Park), or Boston’s Samba Bar.
Theory Three:
The Double-Decker Bus Theory
Morrissey doesn’t sing trite love songs; he sings about breaking up families, about his friends becoming successful and hating it, and about the privilege of being struck by a double-decker bus next to his buddy. Stuff like that. So there’s something “logical in this Latino Morrissey-worship,” concludes Arrellano.
“The most striking similarity, though, is Morrissey’s signature beckoning and embrace of the uncertainty of life and love,” he says, which are all things that Latinos (specifically Mexican-Americans) accept and embrace as part of their life and culture.
But there are also happy songs, assures Maldonado. From the Rio Grande Valley to Napa Valley there is a livid twitch whenever a joyful song like “Sing Your Life” comes on to remind those in the “Land of Moz” that life’s too short and that over that rainbow, there are blue skies, too.
Morrissey
Abraham Chavez Theatre
Tuesday, April 14 – 8 p.m.
$33.50 plus fees
Tickets available at Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com
or call (915) 544-8444
Comments or questions about this story? E-mail Secret@whatsuppub.com
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