Conventions Strike Up the Band (With a Latin Beat)

Social scientists say most political revolutions are preceded by cultural ones.

Maybe that’s why, coming off the year of so-called “Latin crossover” in U.S. pop music, both the Republican and Democratic parties have wasted no time in booking Spanish-language musical acts for prime-time performances at their conventions.

Ranchera superstar Vicente Fernandez sang “Cielito Lindo” at the close of the Republican convention in Philadelphia. And today the Democrats are scheduled to feature East L.A.’s Los Lobos rocking out on the convention floor, shortly after the gavel goes down.

Never in U.S. history have Latino artists been featured so prominently at national political party conventions.

Politicians say it’s just a sign of their party’s inclusiveness. But analysts say there’s no more altruism in Latin music convention performances than there is in a slick Marc Anthony video.

The real reason behind the performances is this: Growing numbers of people in the U.S. are identified as Latinos. The statistics about this suddenly courted group are oft-repeated, but nonetheless impressive:

The U.S. Census estimates 32 million people, or 12% of the U.S. population, now identify as “Hispanic” and in the next 50 years that number is expected to nearly triple. In addition, much of that population is concentrated in states with large numbers of electoral votes, including California, Texas and Illinois.

Give ‘em Latin music, and they’ll give you their votes. Or so it is hoped.

“Latinos are very much front and center at both conventions because they’re the fastest-growing constituency,” says William Schneider, senior political analyst at CNN and a contributing editor to The Times’ Opinion section. “The Republicans want to prove to Hispanics--and to other voters--that they’ve changed, and the Democrats aren’t willing to concede those voters.”

Schneider, who has covered national political conventions since 1976, says he has never seen so much emphasis on entertainment in general--and Latino entertainers in particular. Several other analysts, historians and ethnomusicologists agreed.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Linda Breakstone, political editor for KCBS-TV. “I’ve covered all the conventions, and all I can remember is the ‘Macarena.’ ”

In fact, that’s the only Latin(ish) music anyone seems able to recall at a national political convention. Los del Rio’s novelty hit was played relentlessly at the 1996 Democratic convention.

“But that had to do with a spoof on Gore’s stiffness,” says Schneider, who, like many, will never forget Gore’s gyrating to the song. “It had nothing to do with Hispanic culture.”

Not so this year.

In addition to the actual convention floor performances, both conventions had, or will have, separate Latin music showcases staged for their delegates--also a first.

In Philadelphia, Cuban exile and music mogul Emilio Estefan Jr. put together a concert featuring Cuban-born salsa queen Celia Cruz, Cuban-born pop star Jon Secada and Puerto Rican pop star Carlos Ponce.

In Los Angeles, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante has put together an invitation-only “Latin Talent Showcase” for delegates Friday at the Universal Amphitheatre, featuring performances by Spanish pop superstar Enrique Iglesias, Los Lobos and Tex-Mex band Little Joe y La Familia.

“What the Democrats and Republicans have done is figured out that music is the heart and soul of Hispanics,” says UCLA ethnomusicology professor Steve Loza. “They need the vote, in all the key states--Texas, California and Illinois--where we’ve got big numbers.”

Whether the candidates actually need the Latino vote is open to debate, however. Though Latinos compose 12% of the nation’s population, they represent 8% of registered voters, Schneider says. What the candidates do need, he says, is a Latino-friendly appearance.

This has been especially so since 1998, when California Republicans, seen as anti-Mexican, were clobbered in state and local elections, but Texan Republicans, seen as Mexican-friendly, prevailed. Analysts attributed the difference in performance to how the candidates were seen among people identified as Latinos.

A similar thing can be said to have happened in the U.S. music industry, which for years ignored Spanish-language music, but which was forced to reassess its position after Ricky Martin’s 1999 Grammy Awards telecast performance brought attention to the fact that domestic sales of music in Spanish is growing at twice the rate of the overall market. Now almost every label has a Latin division, or is seeking its own bilingual superstars.

By including Fernandez at this year’s convention--dressed in a full charro outfit, including a giant sombrero--the Republicans were trying, Schneider says, “to show that the party is not mean-spirited. They want to show voters in other parts of the country that they’re not racists, that unlike the party of ’92 or ‘96, they’re open to all. They might make gains in the Hispanic community that way, but they’ll also make gains among educated moderate non-Hispanic voters. It’s as much the latter as the former.”

But as both parties have discovered, targeting the “Latino vote” is difficult, because the population is as diverse in race, economic status and beliefs as the greater population. The liberal politics of Puerto Ricans in New York have very little to do with the conservative politics of Cubans in Miami.

Already the Republicans have felt a backlash from their repeated use of Martin’s hit song “The Cup of Life” at their convention, when the song’s composer, Robi Rosa, issued a written statement after the convention, protesting their use of his song.

Similarly, Fernandez has been inundated with criticism in the West from his fans, many of whom say they have always viewed him as a working-class hero. Fernandez has since appeared on Spanish-language network television defending his decision to appear at the convention. Fernandez is politically conservative, and his manager, Ralph Hauser, who arranged the appearance, is a Republican. But the pressure of public opinion has led Fernandez to say his appearance was not political.

And while Fernandez is a household name for many Mexican Americans, he is all but unknown to many others, who, KCBS’ Breakstone says, may have just seen “a stereotypical guy in a big hat singing that song from the Mexican restaurant” on stage. And that, too, may backfire for Republicans seeking votes among non-Mexican voters, Latino and otherwise.