Quiero a todos los Gringos: Or how a Mexican dressed the stars of country music (and Ronald and Nancy Reagan) like Mexican vaquero divas

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.