Sunday, March 04, 2007

Assimilation

I happened to hear this story on NPR yesterday, which made me chuckle. It is about the affinity Latin American immigrants have for country music, and how that actually has helped to revive country music radio stations in markets like L.A. where it was disappearing. The industry has taken notice and now is more actively courting Latinos.

At one point, the reporter went to a festival, and approached a family that looked like a typical group of American country music fans--pick-up truck, cowboy hats, and listening to "Sweet Home Alabama." Turns out they were Salvadoran, spoke no English, and said simply they liked country music because it was "bonita" and "alegre."

2 comments:

boz 8:49 AM  

Good timing on the story, with NASCAR in Mexico City today.

Greg Weeks 1:39 PM  

True--I hadn't even noticed that. A little googling suggests that the popular culture of the U.S. south is rapidly expanding into Mexico, including country music, NASCAR, Krispy Kreme, and Bojangles (which for non-southerners is fast food fried chicken and biscuits). Actually, this also relates to the problem of the U.S. exporting horrible health habits.

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