Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Friday is officially Morrissey Day in Los Angeles, coinciding with the first of two Morrissey performances at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend.
Thx Moz fans for the love!
The City of L.A. has officially declared this Friday Morrissey Day |
— Monica Rodriguez (@LadyMRod)
Thx Moz fans for the love! #Moz #MorrisseyDay
— Monica Rodriguez (@LadyMRod) November 9, 2017
The City of L.A. has officially declared this Friday Morrissey Day | https://t.co/WcvEkyilXG
Morrissey has long had a huge fan base here in Los Angeles, and it's safe to say that one of his biggest fans is Jose Maldonado, lead singer of the Morrissey and Smiths cover band, the Sweet and Tender Hooligans.
Maldonado, who's also known as the Mexican Morrissey, not only sings Morrissey songs but also hosts a radio show devoted to the band. Here's a short documentary from Vice and the British magazine, i-D.
A lot has been written about Mexican American Morrissey fans, especially those from LA, so we asked Maldonado, who is Mexican American, for his take.
One of the first people to point that out to me was Morrissey himself, the very first time I met Morrissey, when he was signing my autograph and asking me who to make it out to. When I said make it out to Jose, he said, 'You know, I seem to meet a lot of people like Jose and Carlos and Juan in Los Angeles. I don't think my records sell very well in Spanish-speaking countries, what is it about Los Angeles?' ... The super sexy answer is that we as Latinos are passionate people, and Morrissey writes very passionate lyrics ... Another answer, perhaps, is his upbringing. Being the son of Irish immigrants in Northern England is not unlike the experience of Latinos in Southern California...
Jose Maldonado is the lead singer of the Morrissey cover band The Sweet and Tender Hooligans. If you don't see the actual Morrissey this weekend, check out Maldonado and his band January 5th at the Anaheim House of Blues.
(click on the blue arrow to hear the entire interview)