cherry poppin daddies and the zoot suit riots
The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and the Zoot Suit Riots During the late 90’s a revival of a music fad began. The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies were among many swing groups that became popular for the music that was once a large statement of the thirties and forties. A particular song called “Zoot Suit Riot” calls much attention to the similarity that it possesses to the actual riots that took place during the summer of 1943 in Los Angeles. In these riots many of the zoot-suiters were beaten and then arrested while the sailors, or loyal servicemen, had nothing done to them. ... The Pachucos, who were the Chicano zoot-suiters, stand as a symbol of power and freedom from the oppressing forces that the white society imposed upon them. The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies probably had no clue that the song they were writing would become a huge hit and bear a tremendous amount of similarity to the historical evidence of the zoot-suit riots. For many Chicanos today the zoot-suiter, or more specifically, the pachuco, stands for an icon of Chicano culture with the human desire to be treated as an equal and to stand up against those that see them as an inferior race.