A block from my hotel in Nashville
was a small corner boutique with a simple but oh so stylish sign in the window:
Manuel. Manolo/Manuel was my dear uncle’s name, it’s a name that I love
intuitively. So the name got my attention but then I looked inside and was
amazed by the colors, the stitching, the curves and whirls of the jackets, and
blouses and dresses in the window. The rhinestones and piping and stitched
flowers fluttering on the lapels tailor-made for the stars, living, dead and
striving of country music.
I first saw the window when I went out for a quick
run in the morning, the store was not yet open and I hoped to return later before
the store would close- not sure of what I would find inside.
I made it a few minutes before
closing, I walked inside and was greeted warmly by a young man, long blond
hair, nose ring, urban-cowboy mustache. At first I just wanted to wander and
then we got to talking. He brought me to the back room were all of the duds are
hand sewn. I met two of the craftsman, one a young Nashville local and the other
an older man from Michoacán (if I remember correctly). I found out that Manuel,
the designer behind this store was also from Mexico. He began designing clothes
in Los Angeles and then moved to Nashville for the more relaxed southern rhythm
and in order to be even closer to the celebrities he would dress. I loved reading
the framed letter from Ronald and Nancy Reagan thanking him for the ranch wear
that they enjoy while on the Reagan ranch.
It was next to a picture of Loretta
Lynn in a white rhinestone Jacket receiving a presidential medal from Obama.
Walking around this little shop I
got to thinking about that most stereo-typically American style of music-
country and western- and relishing in the irony that its stars knowingly or not
were strutting onto the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and a 1,000 other stages
wearing reimagined ranchero outfits, dreams of mariachis remade across the
border.
The clothes are dazzling, kitchy
and so much fun! There is grace and energy in the matching his and her suits
and in the jackets of many colors and “nudy suits”. If I had more courage, or
panache or money perhaps I would buy one of those suits- just for the thrill of
it. I was tempted to buy a party of a t-shirt that was closer to my budget:
rhinestone stars and stripes as backdrop Manuel declares: Amo a todos los Gringos!
I love all of the Gringos. Times like these we could all use more Manuel!
I want to thank Julia Phillips
Cohen and the Jewish Studies department at Vanderbilt University for hosting me
in Nashville and gave me a chance to explore this fantastic city. It was
wonderful to encounter passionate students and scholars interested in speaking
across disciplines about big ideas in such a warm and welcoming setting. Perhaps some of the discussion of blood, race and faith in the first global age that afternoon informed this brief meditation.
