Gay Vatos in Love

Album: Fire Away (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a male couple from the streets of East Los Angeles. Some may be surprised that a group with no gay members would address same sex unions, but Ozomatli have a longstanding mission of peace and tolerance. Keyboardist Ulises Bella told Billboard Magazine: "That song is our declaration of how we feel about the issue. It's scandalous that we're still at a point in society where we even question whether they deserve the same rights."
  • In our interview with Ozomatli bass player Wil-Dog Abers, we asked him what kind of reaction they get to this song. He replied: "It's a mix. It depends on the community and what's going on. When we play it at our shows, I notice rainbow flags will come out. We just did Bonnaroo and saw a gay couple in the back stand arm-in-arm, sing the song, and bring out the pride flag. And then, in Spanish media, they're always asking about it and wanting to know who's gay in the band. And then there's the L.A. Latino community that's kind of mixed on it, you know, it depends on who it is. You'll see some guys in a band, more macho guys like, (makes growling noise), so a lot of people even laugh when we play it. Kind of like it's a joke or something. So people have different responses to that song. But it's really for the people, it's for gay people, really. And it's also for straight people, showing solidarity with the gay movement and being straight."

    Wil-Dog adds that a lack of acceptance of homosexuality is not isolated to the Latin community. "I think all communities have people that are okay with it, and people that are not okay with it," he said. "And that goes for every culture. I don't think there's a culture out there that's across-the-board okay with it. It's funny, because if this had been about race, I think people would be up in arms about it. Because if you really look at the movement of the gay/lesbian transsexual/bisexual rights movement, it kind of started with the Civil Rights movement here in this country. And it's way, way, way behind."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."