Leftovers

Love may be a bourgeois fantasy, but here's some music to help that ignorant bliss last a little bit longer.

El No-Lucky Mitt: Segunda Parte

Yes, much of a hullabaloo has been raised about the fact that Mitt Romney was quoted saying that he regrets his father was not "born of Mexican parents", that he thinks that lower economic 47% of the American population is not his problem, that Jesus invented America, etc. etc.

But recently, in an interview with the popular Latino channel Univision he went a little further by actually donning a darker shade of brown on his tan in order to, one would guess, "appeal" to the Latin@ audience. The Latin@ audience, however, did not swallow this latest attempt to persuade them. It backfired and R-Money was criticized and compared to other famous brown-face fools like Charleston Heston in Touch of Evil, as professor of Chicana/o studies, William A. Nericcio has pointed out in his blog.

Why did he fail, (besides the fact that he was obviously being racist)?

Well, because he forgot to check on history and the dummy picked the wrong color.

For example, previous to the Mexican Revolution, general and dictator (some still call him president) of Mexico, Díaz used to powder his face white--that's right, WHITE!--in order to appeal to his population. If you don't believe it, just ask your local professor of Mexican history. Díaz was in power for 35 years, and credited with the "modernization" of Mexico.

In fact, not since Benito Juárez has there been another considerably "brown" president in Mexico. Think about that for a moment... and then look at the faces of the Univision hosts during the interview with the Presidential candidates. Do they look brown to you?

And, how about the U.S.A.? Besides our current president, Barack Obama, could you name any other non-white president of the United States?

Whether we like it or not, the fact is that prejudice still exists against brownness in our Latin@ communities and in general in the U.S.A. and that some abuelitas still call their grandkids "prietitos" if they just happen to be a little on the browner side of things.

Romney, simply forgot to do his homework... again.

El No-Lucky Mitt

Today, in the trashy heap otherwise known as the "HuffPo", a new Mitt Romney video surfaced in which Presidential Candidate Romney is quoted saying that he is unlucky for not having been born of Mexican parents.

His full quote is the following:

"My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company. But he was born in Mexico ... and uh, had he been born of uh, Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this [...] But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico. He lived there for a number of years. I mean, I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino."

Apparently, Mitt Romney also forgot to mention that if he had been born of Mexican parents, he would have had a much better shot at being harassed, discriminated against, living in harsh economic conditions, getting arrested (for no reason other than driving while Mexican), not graduating from college, not having a 401K or fancy cars to drive around, not getting a GOP nomination, and, certainly, a much better shot at not having a laugh while saying he's unlucky that he wasn't born of Mexican parents.

Indeed, Mitt, ¡qué suerte!

Gary Clark Jr. Signs With Warner Bros.

I had the great opportunity to check out the last Coachella edition in the Southern California desert thanks to a very charitable B. Jones, and I have to say I had a blast. Having witnessed such awesomeness on the stage over and over left me feeling loved, privileged and lucky. But, what really remains in my mind is that magical performance by Gary Clark Jr. on the Sahara Tent. It was unlike any other rock concert I have ever been to, matched in excitement only perhaps by the first appearance of The Kills a few years before on that same stage.

It was so haunting a performance that I kept scouring the internetz for more of that sound, and to my amazement only found Clark Jr.'s EP tracks and some live performances on youtube and other online avenues. He was that raw and new to the scene.

A few days ago I received an online mailer from Gary Clark Jr. announcing his new stuff. I could not be more excited and so I clicked right away! 

What a disappointment.

His new stuff, now under contract at Warner Bros. is nothing but a popped-up can of generic cola with no signature taste of any kind. Gary Clark Jr. is going to quickly turn the fine blues and rock sounds that once made me jump and jump and bang my head into sweet pop-label cash. If this new track is indicative of his new record, I don't want any part of it. No sir.