Beatriz Navarro, La Vanguardia correspondent in Brussels, brought from her previous stage in Washington not a political book but something much more suggestive: Dolly Parton. An American portrait where she observes aspects of United States society through the career of a character as unique as the popular singer (now 77 years old) “in all its dimensions.” The book includes a playlist.
How and when did you discover Dolly Parton?
Before arriving in the US, I knew Dolly Parton as an actress and singer, but I didn't know anything about her career. When I started scratching a little, I was amazed at what was behind that characteristic look, at the way she had been able to use that image. Not only because, as she says, beneath those wigs and that overflowing chest there is a much bigger brain and heart, but because of the amount of contradictions that she is capable of embodying, very American. She is both tit jokes and Bible verses, a bombshell blonde, a feminist reference, and an angelic girl who sings country songs, an idol for gays and transsexuals without ever ceasing to be a music star. Christian in the deep south of the USA. I went from being fascinated by Dolly Parton to being fascinated by Americans' fascination with her, and to wondering why an artist from a very conservative background has managed to become a figure loved by both Americas.
It portrays a transversal heroine of a divided country…
He is the figure that arouses the least negative reactions, and this seems to me to be a feat in today's world. She has no enemies, and she has achieved something that very few public figures can boast of in the United States, and that is to be loved both by the public in the cities and in rural areas, on the coasts, where the elites live, in the north and south. And coming from a genre like country, which has very clear and strong political connotations. Since its beginnings, the country industry has been closely linked to the Republican Party. That is why I find it so striking that Dolly has managed to rise above this context, be faithful to her causes and defend them in a subtle but effective way and without losing the favor of either part of her audience.
He was living and working in the US during one of its strangest times, that of Donald Trump. In the book she describes Kellyanne Conway, a presidential advisor, in a supermarket with toilet paper tied in her mouth during Covid because she didn't want to put on a mask. Meanwhile, Dolly Parton co-financed the Moderna vaccine...
That image of Conway that day was comical and at the same time quite sad because it reflected how the White House ignored the most basic health recommendations and set a terrible example for the country. In general, the conservative states had a hard time. Parton, no. She locked herself at home, let herself be vaccinated live and sent a message: “Hey, don't be a chicken, get vaccinated.” She later had a lot of criticism from the conservative world and she dismissed the gesture, but she did it. It is her way of doing things, without assuming the flags of others or joining political slogans.
You put on a Dolly t-shirt looking for people's reactions...
It wasn't deliberate. When I was at Dollywood – the artist's particular theme park – I bought a t-shirt. But it was a fun experience to see how many mixed reactions the image of a country singer elicited in a city like Washington.
The best-known country singer is Johnny Cash, the man in black, with his stories, while Parton's image is brilli-brilli... Perhaps Cash had a better start among Europeans?
Dolly Parton was popular as a singer in Europe. This was not the case in Spain, but it was in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. I think that when Dolly triumphed, her style had nothing to do with what was happening in Spain, and she has never gone beyond the exuberant and sometimes ridiculous façade with which she presents herself, but that is what I defend in the book, who is a very rich and complex character.
She reminded me of Lola Flores, in terms of the type of character who does not speak out but asserts herself with her attitudes and jokes, and who ends up attracting young people. If Dolly Parton has Miley Cyrus, Lola Flores has Rosalía...
It doesn't seem like a crazy comparison to me. Dolly is Miley's godmother in real life, she appeared in the series Hanna Montana and in several reality shows with Miley, and that has contributed to rejuvenating her fan base. And it explains the current strength of the phenomenon. Millennials and generation Z have claimed her as a feminist reference; Today's young people don't mind their wigs, their clothes, their heels or their nails. Maybe she understands it better now than 40 years ago. I think there are deep feminist convictions in the way this woman, who grew up in a cabin without running water or electricity in deep America, in a hyperpatriarchal environment and with very few references, pursued life. Despite the artificiality of her appearance, Dolly Parton is my favorite artificial intelligence. She has been a super smart woman and businesswoman her entire career.
