To a random person living in the US, country and punk probably don’t seem to have anything in common. They are associated with two drastically different scenes: country is often placed on the far right of the political spectrum, a reflection of “true” American ideals (AKA white nationalism), while punk is categorized as protest music, an outcry at the state of our society. What do they have in common then? These scenes revolve around a false narrative placing white males at the forefront of these genres, both as content creators and consumers. As Ludwig Hurtado puts it, “we take for granted that country music sounds white, looks white, and in many ways, is white”. But take a moment to venture into reality, and you’ll find that Latinos not only account for a huge portion of the listeners in each of these genres, but much of the sonic and societal influencers as well.
When exploring Home Alive, a Seattle-based self-defense group, Leah Michaels noted the cloudy narrative surrounding the organization’s creation, which was a reaction to the rape and murder of Mia Zapata of punk rock band The Gits. Despite being heavily into the underground scene in Seattle, Michaels was shocked to find she didn’t know about the organization before hearing about it in class, noting, “We found that it was really weird, like there was this lack of history talked about that no one of our generation knew about” (Dawes). This incredibly important and empowering organization was not included in the narrative of punk in Seattle, and neither was the murder of a prominent latina artist in punk. Once again, history continues the vile erasure of Latinos in American music.
In the typical love and theft fashion, Latino contributions to punk and country have been written out of the narrative. Just as Alice Bag pioneered punk with her ranchera inspired estilo bravío, early country music (circa 1930) is built upon Spanish banda, borrowing “sounds that are common in mariachi music: stylized violin or fiddle elements, various string instruments, and lots of horns” (Hurtado). In today’s country scene, The Last Bandoleros are unifying Latino and right wing white country fans through their music, diminishing the rift between these two groups by creating a musical common ground. But this isn’t being talked about in mainstream media! Like Michaels and Home Alive, I (and most of my classmates) had never heard of The Last Bandoleros before our introduction to the band in class. I struggle to find what, if anything, has changed in our country’s cultural narrative.
When will Latinos be credited for their pivotal influences in American culture?
References:
Dawes, Laina. “Finally, Filmmakers Tell the Forgotten History of Seattle DIY Self-Defense Group Home Alive.” Bitch Media, Bitch Media, 5 Dec. 2013, 2:33pm, http://www.bitchmedia.org/post/finally-filmmakers-tell-the-forgotten-history-of-seattle-diy-self-defense-group-home-alive.
Hurtado, Ludwig. “Country Music Is Also Mexican Music.” The Nation, The Nation Company LLC, 3 Jan. 2019, http://www.thenation.com/article/country-mexico-ice-nationalism/.
DJ Selections:
Below, I have selected This Land Is Your Land by Chicano Batman and Levitating by Xenia Rubinos. Both are songs of protest by Latino artists, but they use very different methods of protesting the white narrative. Chicano Batman released this cover in 2017, as the anti-immigration “build a wall” movement gained traction. They use this beloved American anthem as a pro-immigration protest, translating one verse to Spanish, “No existe nadie que pueda pararme / Por el camino de libertad / No existe nadie que pueda hacerme volver / Esta tierra es para ti para mi”. Levitating directly addresses the problem with privileged groups not recognizing their privileges and the violence of micro- and macro-aggressions from these supposedly well-meaning groups.
This Land Is Your Land by Chicano Batman
Levitating by Xenia Rubinos, Sammus, Olga Bell
AFRAM337 