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I am sorry for watching and enjoying this sketch, to keep my dementia at bay, (only available in some countries, sorry). In the sketch, a singer performs a Spanish song (you can see the English subtitles) which is called, "A Latin pop star’s Spanish-language hit delivers a pointed message to its ignorant white fans.". Now from 1:54, he sings, "I'm sorry for the sombrero thing on Cinco de Mayo". What would be funny about this line or would the line just be meaningless if the whole theme is "A Latin pop star’s Spanish-language hit delivers a pointed message to its ignorant white fans."?

*I know what sombrero is.

*Cinco de Mayo : Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. The day, which falls on Wednesday, May 5 in 2021, is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. While it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations.

I didn't know about Cinco de Mayo. But it looks like it is not at all offensive to the U.S people even if the sketch theme is "A Latin pop star’s Spanish-language hit delivers a pointed message to its ignorant white fans."?

Does it mean anything or is it just nonsense?

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    "clown" or "county" you use clown in the title but county in the body of the question.
    – James K
    Jul 20, 2020 at 14:43
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    I’m voting to close this question because it's a matter of lyrics interpretation that depends on potentially obscure cultural / historical details
    – FumbleFingers
    Jul 20, 2020 at 15:18
  • ...but if anyone's interested, this is probably relevant - Please Don't Wear A Sombrero: What Cinco De Mayo Really Means, From A Mexican. All I did was google america sombrero "Cinco de Mayo" offensive (that last word being because OP's context is an apology, so we can take it for granted there's something "offensive" involved).
    – FumbleFingers
    Jul 20, 2020 at 15:21
  • @FumbleFingersReinstateMonica If you think so, kindly feel free to vote for close. But for an ELLer, the material doesn't matter if it's a tawdry parody or comedy sketch, because a user says they are embedded on the U.S culture.
    – user17814
    Jul 20, 2020 at 15:22
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    The entire song is in Spanish, and intends to mock his listeners for their not knowing that language. There was a mention of "Ustedes votaron por ese payaso naranjo", meaning "some of you voted for that orange clown", i.e., Trump. The singer feeds the audience lines in Spanish to repeat, that apologize for their racism, depending on them not understanding the language. It's in pretty poor taste. It mentions "favorito" as the only word they understand, which is probably a reference to the very popular song "Depacito".
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Jul 20, 2020 at 15:36

1 Answer 1

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The song is a comedy sketch. It is a satire on people who sing songs that they do not know the meaning of the words just because the melody is catchy. The artist is complaining about his dislike of singing for ignorant fans right to the ignorant fans. But, none of them know what he is saying because it sounds nice. He then gets the fans to sing along. Therefore, he is getting them to say things that they do not know what they are saying. It’s synonymous to teaching someone else’s toddler curse words. Then, sending them back home to their parents. ROTFLOL, right?

**The singer at time stamp 1:30 gets the crowd to sing “We’re white and we’re oblivious. There’s so much to apologize for! I’m sorry for cultural [mis]appropriation!”

So, although wearing a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo is not in itself offensive, the cultural misappropriation of a person not of Mexican heritage doing so might be looked upon as inappropriate by an actual Mexican or Mexican-American person. It is similar to anyone of any culture wearing an item, article of clothing, or decoration without truly recognizing its significance for the cultural from which it originated. Just because they like the look.

Case in point:

  • Don’t wear a green, tan, blue, gray, red or maroon beret on a US military installation (unless you are a child).
  • Don’t randomly wear a turban for fashion.
  • Don’t wear a Catholic priest’s collar as a joke.
  • Don’t wear red-face paint and a feathered head-dress to a sporting event.
  • Don’t get tattoos in a language foreign to you unless you know exactly what it says.
  • The list goes on.

What may not be offensive to you or me, may be highly offensive to a person from another culture.

P.S.
Lola is a dude.
The Summer of 69 has nothing to do with baseball, barbecues and pool parties.
And, Born in the USA is not at all patriotic.

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  • Waaaayyy thanks. When you are living in a homogeneous country like mine, this kind of "joking" rarely happens!
    – user17814
    Jul 20, 2020 at 15:49
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    @Kentaro - Don’t get me wrong. Cultural misappropriation is very rarely done as a joke or with malicious intent. Usually, the person doing it believes it is a form of honoring or showing their appreciation for the culture. Yet, it is done with a lack of sensitivity for that culture. A white guy who speaks Spanish and plays (well) in a Mariachi band wearing a sombrero is different than a drunk frat boy doing it just because it’s beer:30. But, even then, consideration must be given to actual members of the culture’s feelings about it. Doing it specifically as a joke is just a d/*k move.
    – Dean F.
    Jul 20, 2020 at 16:06
  • @Kentaro - I’ve travelled throughout Europe and Asia. You would be surprised that as recently as a few years ago, you could still find European and Asian comedic actors on tv in black-face. And, I have heard several European and Asian people sing songs in English without knowing what the words mean. It may be as prevalent as tattooed Asian symbols on white people. It goes both ways.
    – Dean F.
    Jul 20, 2020 at 16:11
  • Yes, I agree. Today, my country's rappers are using English for just English sake or rap tone sake. But when I watched the notable Melanie C, a member of Spice Girls, had a tatoo on her shoulder written something like "女＊", i wouldn't ve been offended, I just thought ah they have some special view on Asian countries (in this case, my country) and didn't think furthermore. link [ youtube.com/watch?v=hYyzPPxo0Pk ]. I've been to the U.S only for SF, Seattle, Hawaii, Guam. What surprised me was the weakness of the U.S infrastructure,
    – user17814
    Jul 20, 2020 at 16:27
  • if you pay 200 bucks when you travel in my country, you can have a nicest hotel to the U.S standard. (In Hawaii, the shower was not available to my surprise.) Anyway, I talked too much, thanks!
    – user17814
    Jul 20, 2020 at 16:27

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