From my country, they will only take me out feet first
December 14, 2021 9:21 AM Subscribe
Vicente Fernández, arguably the most famous ranchera/mariachi singer in the last fifty years, died last weekend. His life was not without controversy, and his politics were never inspiring. But, he sure could
sing.
Not really looking forwards to this thread. "Problematic figure" is selling it short.
I'd like to share two stories involving Chente.
In the early 2000s I visited a fellow Mexican friend in Zagreb. It was the tail end of a long backpacking trip and I was feeling kind of homesick. At nigh we went for a walk along the Sava. There were large tents every few hundred meters with live music and beer. We sat down at the first one to have a couple of Karlovačkos when suddenly a mariachi comes out and starts playing. I was skeptical at first, but they were very very good. We (badly) belted out El Rey, got tons of free beer, and got our 15 minutes of fame as authentic Jalisciences. One of the best nights of that trip. I never would have imagined that Chente would be what would give me a door into Central Europe.
Many years before that, Chente was building a huge ranch and house outside Guadalajara, Tres Potrillos. He had to grease many hands to be able to buy a lot that was close to the airport and get the permits, under a busy flight path. He wanted passengers to recognize his house from the air, so he asked for a huge guitar shaped swimming pool. My father was one of the architects involved and I visited the site several times. At least a couple of times a week Vicente would visit the site, bask in the adoration of the workers, start singing and distributing beer and tequila, and then complain that the project was delayed.
My father was more a Pink Floyd type of architect, and did not appreciate Vicente's music or interference at all. The way my father tells the story, he was at the site and Vicente was haranguing him about the delays, my father was yelling back that if he would stop singing to the workers and getting them drunk the project would be on time, Vicente complained about my father's cigarette smoke, and my father accidentally put out his cigarette on Vicente's sleeve, burning him. Vicente accused him of burning his hand to sabotage his career.
My father was fired from the project, his partner got all the credit when Tres Potrillos was featured in architecture magazines, and Vicente Fernandez was never played in my house again.
posted by Dr. Curare at 10:15 AM on December 14, 2021 [28 favorites]
I'd like to share two stories involving Chente.
In the early 2000s I visited a fellow Mexican friend in Zagreb. It was the tail end of a long backpacking trip and I was feeling kind of homesick. At nigh we went for a walk along the Sava. There were large tents every few hundred meters with live music and beer. We sat down at the first one to have a couple of Karlovačkos when suddenly a mariachi comes out and starts playing. I was skeptical at first, but they were very very good. We (badly) belted out El Rey, got tons of free beer, and got our 15 minutes of fame as authentic Jalisciences. One of the best nights of that trip. I never would have imagined that Chente would be what would give me a door into Central Europe.
Many years before that, Chente was building a huge ranch and house outside Guadalajara, Tres Potrillos. He had to grease many hands to be able to buy a lot that was close to the airport and get the permits, under a busy flight path. He wanted passengers to recognize his house from the air, so he asked for a huge guitar shaped swimming pool. My father was one of the architects involved and I visited the site several times. At least a couple of times a week Vicente would visit the site, bask in the adoration of the workers, start singing and distributing beer and tequila, and then complain that the project was delayed.
My father was more a Pink Floyd type of architect, and did not appreciate Vicente's music or interference at all. The way my father tells the story, he was at the site and Vicente was haranguing him about the delays, my father was yelling back that if he would stop singing to the workers and getting them drunk the project would be on time, Vicente complained about my father's cigarette smoke, and my father accidentally put out his cigarette on Vicente's sleeve, burning him. Vicente accused him of burning his hand to sabotage his career.
My father was fired from the project, his partner got all the credit when Tres Potrillos was featured in architecture magazines, and Vicente Fernandez was never played in my house again.
posted by Dr. Curare at 10:15 AM on December 14, 2021 [28 favorites]
This column (maybe paywalled if you used up your LAT clicks) from Gustavo Arelleno helped contextualize the complicated feelings people were expressing about Fernandez and his legacy.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:38 AM on December 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:38 AM on December 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
Thanks, mandymanwasregistered. If I'd known about it, it should have lead the original post.
posted by eotvos at 11:06 AM on December 14, 2021
posted by eotvos at 11:06 AM on December 14, 2021
Singer/songwriter Dan Navarro (late of Lowen & Navarro, writers of "We Belong" for Pat Benetar) has done "Volver Volver" in a Laurel Canyonish-style as an encore for the past six years [fb, but I think it'll work without login] with his characteristic incredibly resonant voice and sense of humor.
posted by jocelmeow at 11:07 AM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jocelmeow at 11:07 AM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
Meghan McCain tried to remember him, and uh, this happened.
posted by axiom at 12:18 PM on December 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by axiom at 12:18 PM on December 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
This column (maybe paywalled if you used up your LAT clicks) from Gustavo Arelleno helped contextualize the complicated feelings people were expressing about Fernandez and his legacy.
This is great, thank you for linking that.
I love his music but otherwise "complicated" is a good word.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:58 PM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is great, thank you for linking that.
I love his music but otherwise "complicated" is a good word.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:58 PM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
For me, he represented the worst of toxic Mexican macho culture. In my Mexican family at least, his biggest fans are the ones I also suspected of beating their wives.
You can't unfortunately extricate him from Mexican-American culture. His music was there at all the parties, played by every mariachi. I know many of his songs by heart. His music is part of the soundtrack of my life and many others.
At least we had other voices from those times, like Juan Gabriel, who was gay and flaunted it - something that really annoyed Vicente Fernandez.
Goodbye Chente. Thanks for the music but your values were from an era that we would all rather put behind us, not celebrate.
posted by vacapinta at 1:25 PM on December 14, 2021 [5 favorites]
You can't unfortunately extricate him from Mexican-American culture. His music was there at all the parties, played by every mariachi. I know many of his songs by heart. His music is part of the soundtrack of my life and many others.
At least we had other voices from those times, like Juan Gabriel, who was gay and flaunted it - something that really annoyed Vicente Fernandez.
Goodbye Chente. Thanks for the music but your values were from an era that we would all rather put behind us, not celebrate.
posted by vacapinta at 1:25 PM on December 14, 2021 [5 favorites]
Thanks, vacapinta. I didn't know about Juan Gabriel until today. He's great!
posted by eotvos at 2:19 PM on December 14, 2021
posted by eotvos at 2:19 PM on December 14, 2021
.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:00 PM on December 14, 2021
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:00 PM on December 14, 2021
I discovered Chente one evening years ago when I came across his recording of Miedo."
I don't speak the language, but something about his voice, and the spirit that it contained, captured me. I've loved his music ever since, and doubt we'll ever see his equal again.
posted by Quasimike at 4:35 PM on December 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't speak the language, but something about his voice, and the spirit that it contained, captured me. I've loved his music ever since, and doubt we'll ever see his equal again.
posted by Quasimike at 4:35 PM on December 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think he's created his own genre of music: Open Carry Romance.
posted by Guy Newport at 11:06 AM on December 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Guy Newport at 11:06 AM on December 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
The gun is part of the traditional Charro outfit. It is protected under law in Mexico.
They way it was explained to me, but I could be mistaken, is that when wearing the full outfit one is allowed to carry a loaded .22 revolver, or an unloaded revolver of a higher caliber. In Mexico civilians are limited to .38 caliber handguns, with a few exceptions. Being a Charro is one of the exceptions, a few of my relatives in the culture legally own .45 revolvers.
posted by Dr. Curare at 10:08 AM on December 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
They way it was explained to me, but I could be mistaken, is that when wearing the full outfit one is allowed to carry a loaded .22 revolver, or an unloaded revolver of a higher caliber. In Mexico civilians are limited to .38 caliber handguns, with a few exceptions. Being a Charro is one of the exceptions, a few of my relatives in the culture legally own .45 revolvers.
posted by Dr. Curare at 10:08 AM on December 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Scanning his wikipedia page, this caught my eye: "Fernández stated that he had been interned at a hospital in Houston, United States to undergo a liver surgery, but he decided to reject a transplant because he did not "want to sleep with [his] wife while having the liver of another man, who could have been a homosexual or a drug user".
Wow. That's an...interesting take on transplant surgery.
posted by davidmsc at 9:39 AM on December 14, 2021 [6 favorites]