(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Stills)
You’re not alone if you’re hesitant to even mention the name of you know who, but the fact remains—Morrissey’s influence is here to stay. While there’s an argument for separating art from the artist, the former Smiths frontman has a habit of inserting himself into spaces where he clearly doesn’t belong—politics being just one example.
His legion of sympathisers, meanwhile, seem to find every possible way to excuse his behaviour. This dynamic, problematic as it is, can at least be understood when those fans aren’t the ones directly targeted by Morrissey’s torrent of right-wing rhetoric. What’s harder to explain, however, is the singer’s dedicated and unlikely fanbase in one of the most unexpected places: Mexico.
No, you’re not imagining things—you read that correctly. The singer – who has been called into question regarding his anti-immigration views – has managed to garner significant popularity in Latin America, so much so that in 2018, he was featured in a highly anticipated performance at the Tropicália Mexican Music Festival in Long Beach, California. You might expect him to stand out like a sore thumb amidst a lineup that included artists like Mac DeMarco and Cardi B. Yet, disappointingly, he seemed to blend right in.
Crowds flocked to see their main man on stage, but even the most politicised of Mexicans seemed blissfully unaware of Morrissey’s bigoted views. It goes without saying that this was conveniently forgotten during the performance, where he repeatedly told fans, “I’m home!” and professed his love for them. To an outsider looking in, the whole scenario just has the makings of a complete parody, and so with a lot of incredulity, I ask: why?
To that end, there is no concrete answer, but there are still a number of reasons that point towards it. Once again, we return to the idea of separating art from its creator because it is ultimately the music that sees legions of Mexican fans falling at Morrissey’s feet more than the man himself. Such is the strangeness of this phenomenon that experts have gone as far as to carry out studies on his popularity within the demographic, from which they suggested that it has a lot to do with the emotive nature of Morrissey’s distinctive vocal.
They compare it to that of the lost-love songs in the Mexican Ranchera tradition, odes so powerfully emotive that they have been known to reduce even the hardest types to blubbering wrecks. Morrissey, in particular, also harks back to the style of rock music popularised during the 1950s when pachucos and greasers had immigrated to America, and so, completely ironically, his music reminds many Mexicans of their family history and settling in a new homeland.
It’s a totally flummoxing paradox for those of us who have become boringly familiar – and continuously angered – by Morrissey’s questionable politics. However, we cannot pretend to have never enjoyed his music, Smiths or otherwise, and it is not for anyone else to dictate what people around the world should or shouldn’t be listening to. In many ways, Morrissey’s had an incredible streak of luck with how big he is in Mexico – and you can bet he knows that all too well.
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