Out Ridin’ Fences
by Charlie Geer
The Desperate Man
Now and again a Spanish network will air the Robert Rodriguez movie Desperado. If you haven’t seen Desperado, don’t. It seems Mr. Rodriguez invested most all of his talent in his first movie, El Mariachi. As soon as Tarantino et al chucked money at him, he chucked artistic integrity out the window. In any case, like El Mariachi, Desperado takes place in Mexico. Like El Mariachi, Desperado concerns the adventures and misadventures of a group of Mexicans. Unlike El Mariachi, Desperado is presented in English. These things happen when Hollywood starts signing the checks. Because Spaniards are just as resistant to subtitles as Americans are, the version of Desperado that airs in Spain is dubbed into Spanish, meaning that a viewer in Spain watches as the dialogue of Mexican characters in Mexico is dubbed over and supplanted by the language Mexicans in Mexico would presumably be speaking in the first place — Spanish. Surely this effect is even odder when Desperado airs in Mexico.
Worth wondering: if the original version of Desperado is presented in English, why is the title in Spanish? Maybe because Desperate One is an even worse title. Or perhaps the marketing powers that be assume that, thanks to the Eagles, Desperado translates easily enough.
Video: El Mariachi:
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Charlie Geer is the author of the novel “Outbound: The Curious Secession of Latter-Day Charleston.” His work has appeared in Tin House, The Sun, Bloomsbury Magazine, and The Southern Review.
