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| LET'S LEARN ABOUT MUSIC: NORTEñO |  | Category: Music
Saturday, December 31st, 2005 @ 10:53 am
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I've been meaning to file some reports about how life is different here in the big D for awhile and I just couldn't figure out where to start. Thankfully, my neighbors just helped out.
See, the part of town I live in is like ten years into some urban renewal process. That means that ten years ago, the very place where I am sitting was probably filled with a few crackheads and gunslingers and stone-cold can collectors. Now it means that my neighborhood is a cheery mix of socio-economic and ethnic groups that mutually enrich one anothers lives. Or something. I feel like I'm still living in the UPT, and that's the main thing for me.
The big D (or at least my part of it) is (contrary to what a map might tell you) located in Mexico. It didn't take long for me to find a portrait of one of the guys in my neighborhood, so you can see what I'm talking about.
See, the longstanding stereotypes of what Mexicans look like are dead. Speedy Gonzales wasn't protested because he enforced an offensive stereotype, he was protested because he was outdated. Nobody dresses like that anymore.
Unless they're in a norteño band.
 See, when you move around my part of town, you'll see these hardcore cowboy looking guys. Except they're Mexicans. Which I guess is okay. I mean, when you're a kid you play Cowboys and Indians, not Cowboys and Mexicans. So it's not like the two are fundamentally opposed or anything. Anyway, sometimes these Cowboys will listen to regular country music like Garth Brooks or Toby Keith or something. And then sometimes they listen to something else. Something that reminds them a little more of home. Something that sounds like... polka.
See, I'm a regular white kid. I saw Selena, marvelled at Jennifer Lopez's ass, and figured I knew about Mexican music in America- also known as Tejano. So when I heard this accordion and tuba music coming from my neighbor's house, I was like, "Oh, those cute little Mexicans and their Tejano listening ways! When will they ever understand?" But then I found out that Tejano is something different. Tejano can have an accordion. Hell, it can have a tuba. But it's not supposed to sound like el oom-pa-pa.
None of this made sense to me when I first checked up on it at Wikipedia. How did music that's so very German end up in so popular in Mexico? And how was it decided that the people who like this music and the people who make this music should all dress up like movie cowboys? Those are two pretty good questions. Two questions that will be answered by someone with a scholarly interest. My interest lies mostly in the pointing and laughing and then maybe feeling a little white liberal guilt about it so maybe just resolving at a rumpled eyebrow with a quizzical sidelong glance.
I mean, Mexican cowboys listening to polka! What the fuck?
Actually, I don't care. It's not that crazy. Because while finding those other images, I also found these. And any genre of music that has room for these two suave motherfuckers is fine by me.
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