Appeal

Appeal

The anti-commercialism of punk was a huge appeal to many people, as it embraced bootlegging, pirating, and DIY. The barrier of entry as a fan and as a musician was incredibly small; as long as you had the attitude, you'll fit right into the community. There were no requirements for being a punkero.

As seen in the 'History in Latin America' section, rock had one point been a symbol of higher class people in Latin America as it was associated with the United States, with regional music being for every person. Although punk musically shared a lot with rock and roll, the attitude surrounding it was the opposite of artists like the Beatles or Elvis Presley, which was made the scene attractive to young Latinos in the first place.

During a period where many governments were spearheaded by dictators with people dying and disappearing, punk was an outlet for youths to vent their frustrations and create friendships and embrace community.

The whiteness of the punk scene is part of a larger-scale issue in many alternative communities like goth or emo. Even when many of these communities are founded on being different from the mainstream or have core features established by certain groups of people, there is a certain look and background to be expected to join. It’s discouraging when entering a space and seeing no one who looks like you, and even worse when they begin to discriminate against you. So it is critical to highlight these communities within communities to show that we’ve always been here, that we exist.

But even then, we shouldn’t need to justify our existence in order to partake within a community and subculture.

Despite the good the Latino punk community has done for giving minorities a voice and platform, there are still issues within the community like any other.

Bigotry will still persist even in safe spaces.

The War on Emos

There was no actual "war," but in 2008, there were a series of attacks on emo youth in plazas in Mexico.

This was during a period of time when emo has began growing in prominence and gaining widespread, national attention within the US and outside, in part due to fearmongering and misconceptions of the subculture promoted by news outlets and "concerned" parents, such as rumors that emo promoted suicide, self-harm, and Satanism.

The series of attacks were perpetuated by punks, metalheads, goths and others. The reason? It's mixed. Some state that emo lacked any sort of ideology, and conflicted with the ideals and history that the other groups had. Emo is derived from punk, but only began taking shape in the 90s and thus does not have as long of a history as its other contemporaries. Emo focused on, as the name states, emotional lyrics and being open about a person's feelings. It was also, in comparison to punk, much more commercialized and had fandoms for the bands, thus creating a separation between band and audience.

But the other underlying reason was due to homophobia and biphobia. Although the bands did play around with gender non-conformity in their fashion, the fans themselves were androgyenous. They dressed in skinny jeans, wore black eyeliner, and wore their hair long; the look of male and female emo fans blended with each other. With the stereotype that men shouldn't cry or have to express their emotions in a specific way, the upfrontness of mental health and melancholy feelings in emo was perceived as 'feminine. And so, male fans were likely gay or bisexual due their appearances and manner of acting.

Punk prides itself as being open to all, but as seen in a short interview with an 18 year old skinhead in anti-emo crowd that anyone can claim that sentiment but not follow it, "[Emos] don't have any ideology. Besides, they are all bisexual. We're all punks and anarchists here so we aren't homophobic but these guys make me sick."

The issues of punk are not isolated, and a part of a larger issue of hatred and intolerance within our society for anyone who does not fit the "traditional" norm, but nonetheless should be highlighted as it can go unnoticed or swept under the rug.

Why Should We Care?

So, why does it matter? It may seem farfetched to care about something if you aren't particularly interested in punk.

But, the ignoring of the Latin punk scene is part of a wide-scale problem of history being seen solely through a Eurocentric/First World viewpoint and ignoring the viewpoints and history of marginalized people. By exploring the Latin punk scene, we can get a thorough look at the punk scene as a whole and a more profound insight into Latin American history.

Cebati ends off their article The New Punks of Los Angeles with these words,

"Alienation breeds creativity breeds community. The music, whether apathetic or politically charged, interactive or combative, is the most honest venue these kids have to communicate their feelings. And they’ve found a crowd that is willing to listen."

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