‘There Was No Such Thing as Mexico’: Katy Perry Mocked for Misidentifying Founders of Los Angeles, Appearing To Glorify Spanish Colonizers, in Statement Opposing ICE Raids

An American pop star, Katy Perry, is being told to take a history lesson after she sought to express solidarity with illegal migrants by claiming that Los Angeles was founded by “Mexican settlers” — even though the city dates to some 40 years before Mexico was established. The Grammy-award winning singer took to Instagram on Tuesday to criticize the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles by sharing an infographic that described the California city as “a place that literally began as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula, founded by Mexican settlers in 1781.” The statement, which was originally written by a Mexican American journalist, Leticia Estrada Rahme, adds, “This was once Mexican land, and the people being targeted today are often descendants of those who have lived here for generations — or who came seeking safety, work, and dignity.” A Democrat advocacy group, “Democratic Wins Media,” was quick to praise Ms. Perry’s opposition to “Donald Trump’s inhumane ICE raids” before declaring, “Public support is turning against Trump. This is huge.” Critics, however, pointed out that the statement Ms. Perry shared with her 203 million followers appeared to omit a crucial detail: “Clueless #KatyPerry, or her media flack, doesn’t know that in 1781, there was no such thing as Mexico,” a Cuban American former diplomat, Alberto Fernandez, wrote. “It was New Spain (the Virreinato de Nueva España), part of the Spanish Empire.” The Spanish colonized Los Angeles in 1781 as a strategic bulwark against the Russian and British Empires, which had both been moving closer to California. Under the guidance of the Spanish governor of California, Don Felipe de Neve, 44 men, women, and children were sent to settle in the region. According to the 1781 Census, the settlers were of Native American, African, and European heritage and the land that they departed from — New Spain — only became known as Mexico 40 years later, after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. Before then, “Mexican” did not appear to exist as a national identity. Others questioned why Ms. Perry appeared to gloss over that the land was already inhabited by a native people, called the Tongva, who had lived in the region for more than 10,000 years. The Spanish colonizers forcibly displaced the Tongva people and enslaved them as laborers. “Katy Perry, coming out strong for the Spanish Conquest as a true Leftist ought to. Amazing stuff,” blogger Derek Rishmawy wrote. “Sorry is the new lib position that colonialism is good as long as the colonizers were Spanish,” a campaign executive, Logan Dobson, mused. “When you’re a Woke dummy like Katy Perry, some colonizers are better than others, and all historical time boils down to the present outrage,” an American poet, Joseph Massey, reckoned. Lastly, perhaps the most popular response, with 35,000 likes and counting: “Out: Native American land acknowledgements. In: Conquistador land acknowledgements.”

‘There Was No Such Thing as Mexico’: Katy Perry Mocked for Misidentifying Founders of Los Angeles, Appearing To Glorify Spanish Colonizers, in Statement Opposing ICE Raids

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