Heaven Knows I’m Mexican Now: Morrissey’s Latino connection goes live

*What is it about Morissey and Mexicans? It’s about drama and identifying with the underdog. Rhythms are similar, switch a synth line with a trumpet, add an occasional accordion … Morrisey has a huge fan base among Mexicans and many Mexican-Americans, and now his lyrics will be translated, his music adapted by Mexican musicians and preformed in London. It’s unexpectedly cool. VL

By Tim Jonze, The Guardian

It was a lyric about Reggie Kray that really stumped Camilo Lara. Translating Morrissey lyrics into Spanish had been proving tricky enough for the Mexican Institute of Sound DJ, what with Moz’s fondness for black humour and elegant phrasing. But the east London criminal namechecked in Last of the Famous International Playboys? Nobody in Mexico City was likely to know who he was.

“Thankfully, we also have a bunch of amazing crooks here,” Lara says, laughing. “We’re world famous for that!” And so he began scouring Mexico’s criminal history for an appropriate match. Eventually, he plumped for Rafael Caro Quintero, a notorious drug cartel boss known to cover his misdeeds with acts of philanthropy: funding highways; building hospitals in impoverished areas.

“He was very loved in the north of Mexico,” Lara says, “so he became my version of Reggie Kray.”

You may ask why Lara was going to such painstaking detail to translate Morrissey’s back catalogue. That will become apparent in the UK on Saturday, when the Barbican in London hosts Mexrrissey, a night of Smiths and Morrissey songs given added spice by a band of Mexican musicians put together by Lara. Inspired by the huge, reciprocal connection between Morrissey and his devoted Latino fanbase, Lara wanted to bring the flavours of cumbia and mariachi to the Moz canon, but was determined not to do so cheaply.

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