Playing Arizona

For many artists, the recently signed Arizona law intended to curb illegal immigration presents a quandary: to play, or not to play, Arizona?

“Mexican-Americans are not going to take this lying down,” Arizona native Linda Ronstadt said at a recent Phoenix news conference, according to the New York Times. Colombian pop princess Shakira called the law “a violation of human civil rights.”

And fellow Colombian Juanes told the Times, “I’ve performed in Phoenix many times, and it’s sad that I’m not going to be able to play there.”

Los Lobos was a recent cancellation, taking its June 10 date at The Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale off the books.
Juanes has not only declared he will no longer play in Arizona, he has endorsed boycott organizers The Sound Strike along with several other performers.

“Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to,” former Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha wrote in a Sound Strike press release.

“What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, ‘We’re not going to ride the bus,’ saying we are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona!” the open letter concludes.

Among the signatories are Cypress Hill, Conor Oberst, Los Tigres del Norte, Kanye West, Calle 13, Joe Satriani, Serj Tankian, Rise Against, Ozomatli, Massive Attack, Sonic Youth, and Tenacious D.

The movement is not limited to The Sound Strike. Somos America is a coalition of human rights and religious groups opposed to Arizona’s immigration law. And while Shakira has gone to Arizona to speak against the law, she has not endorsed a boycott of the state.

“We love Shakira and love her music and thank her for standing with us during the bill’s consideration,” Somos America’s Alfredo Gutierrez told the Times. “But ultimately we want her to join the others and not come here commercially.”

It’s not at all clear what economic impact the boycotting artists will have on Arizona. Some observers have noted that business for Latino artists and others was, even before the bill was signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

But at least one observer suggests slow ticket sales to Latino events are not just a matter of the ongoing soft economy, but because law enforcement targets consumers entering and leaving venues that host them including concerts, rodeos and fairs.

Phoenix Vice-Mayor and Radio Campesina GM Michael Nowakowski told the paper that Latinos, even those who are American citizens or green card holders, are afraid to attend such events because of routine law enforcement sweeps.

“It’s a purely racial, Hispanic thing, ethnic profiling at its worst,” said Soma America’s Gutierrez of the practice.