BETTY LA BONITA

Louis Armstrong scored this Betty Boop short and it’s rad, especially when his face forms in the clouds like La Virgen in an A-bombing. The cartoon, um, well… 1932 was a pretty shitty year for race relations and, like, cultural sensitivity. But that was before American cartoonists discovered that most people living east of New York don’t actually cannibalize white people and/or talking dogs.
Swindle mag put Betty Boop on the cover and does an interesting, if not very in-depth, piece on her resonance w/Latinas of a certain gen coming up in East LA. Lots of little factoids I didn’t know. There’s a lot of eyebrow grooming popping off in this synergism. They didn’t even have threading in the ’30s, and Betty had to curl her hair with a round brick she heated on the stove. (via M.I.S.S. Crew.)
And since we’re talking about it, obviously it’s time to drag out this video again:

i wish my transistor radio shot lightning bolts. sidebar I am wearing Betty Boo’s outfit right now, don’t swipe my/our steez.