Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is not afraid to sing during his weekly television show and his “growling baritone” was even featured in an album released last year. Perhaps that’s not enough and he’s seeking a larger stage:Mongrel frontman Jon McClure says he wants to record the band's second album "in Venezuela with Hugo Chavez"…Mongrel is described by the Guardian UK as an indie rock “super group” that includes members of Babyshambles and the Arctic Monkeys. In other words, don’t be surprised if we see Chavez performing at Coachella in a few months.
"The Mongrel thing is just going to roll and roll," he told 6Music. "We've got plans to go and do a second record out in Venezuela with Hugo Chavez. Their culture's kind of exploded, and Chavez has put a lot of his wealth into restoring the indigenous culture and stuff"…
"We're going to do a kind of Buena Vista Social Club-style thing out there with some of their drummers, and hip-hop people and horn sections and stuff. It should be fun man. Venezuela is like the new Jamaica, or Brazil, or Cuba, it's kicking off."
Chavez follows a rich tradition of Latin American presidents* fronting musical groups like Chile’s Michelle and the Bachelets or the jazz/fusion of the Tony Saca Six.
* Yes, that’s a joke.
Image- BBC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, YouTube, NME
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