Juan Pablo Fernandez

Obituary on one of Yorkshires finest Latin dictators

Juan Pablo Fernandez, who died earlier this month at the age of 86, was without doubt one of Yorkshire's finest Latin dictators. His passion and commitment in driving through his policies of social and economic reform through the power of latin music during the height of his political career was a turning point in modern political thought. 'He was a true visionary,' said Neil Kinnock of his closest friend. 'He replaced flat caps and whippets with sombreros and maracas, and we loved it. He will be sadly missed. Not least by his local constituency in Bubwith, who even to this day can be seen wearing their ponchos with pride.

Born in Paraguay in 1926, the only child to Vincente and Cristina Fernandez – bean farmers from a small village close to the Brazilian border – the young Juan Pablo spent his formative years working as child labour in his father's bean factory. The hardship and struggle during this time was lightened only by the touring Afro-Cuban group, 'Roberto Roena Y Su's Apollo Sound', who held a regular friday afternoon spot at the bean factory. Employed by Vincente, their job was to boost moral among the workers as they counted beans.

In 1940, eager to explore a world beyond beans, Juan Pablo took the unprecedented step of seeking legal advice, divorcing himself from his parents and putting himself up for adoption. Dorothy and Cyril Burgess from Wakefield were to become his new parents in 1942, after visiting the small village of Juan Pablo's birth and seeing his 'adoption wanted' poster on a tree. Dorothy and Cyril took their new son back with them to England and it was here that Fernandez was to find his social and political conscience. In his 1986 unofficial biography of Fernandez, 'The Grim North is Alight With a Latin Passion', the social and political historian Marcus Selby wrote: 'for a child like Juan Pablo to be taken from his bean counting duties and be placed into the exciting new environment of Wakefield could only have had a prominent social and psychological effect on the young Fernandez; it was an environment in which he now had to re-adapt'.

Fernandez adapted quickly. In 1948, Dorothy and Cyril Burgess enrolled the young Fernandez at West Craven elementary school in Wombelton. It was here that he met Spanish teacher Phillipa Rose who would later become his life-long partner and interpreter. In 1950, Fernandez was beginning to find the exciting new environment of Wakefield wearing a little thin. He was growing conscious of the harsh realities and low self esteem existing amongst the working classes. He began to draw inspiration from memories and experiences of his working life in Paraguay, and in 1953 invited 'Roberto Roena Y Su's Apollo Sound' to play a small working men's club in Timble. It proved highly popular and word soon began to spread.

It wasn't long before other clubs in the North began embracing this new latin thing; and it was infectious. The working classes were becoming exposed to a feel-good factor previously unknown to them. Within a week smiles were becoming frequent sights on the streets, from Skipton to Burnley and Huddersfield to Micklethwaite, and even Sheffield. In 1959, riding high on the success of his popularity and the continued touring of 'Roberto Roena Y Su's Apollo Sound', Fernandez decided to put himself forward as a local council candidate in the upcoming Bubwith by-election. He won with a landslide majority, and cheers of 'Olé!' echoed around the town hall. In his famous four hour election victory speech, interpreted by his now wife Phillipa, he pre-dated the modern political soundbite by 30 years. He punctuated with vernacular like 'Latin Music! Latin Music! Latin Music!', 'Tough on non-Latin Music! Tough on the causes of non-Latin Music!' and ended with the emphatic policy pledge: 'If music be the food of life, then you, the good people of Bubwith, shall have a huge slice of samba cake with a side order of calypso chips; and for the young and infirm, you will all get salsa buns!'.

With the jubilation of election night over, Fernandez now had to settle into his new role as councillor. He found himself in a position of power where he could now practice what he preached. In 1962, Fernandez pushed through his first major policy towards social reform in the North. Inspired by the French radio policy that 80% of all music played should be French, Fernandez made radio stations of the North play nothing but 100% Latin. It was an instant success. Productivity in the industrial area of Burnley rose by 68%; absenteeism in schools dropped by 78%. These results confirmed what Fernandez had always truly believed: that Latin music, with regular exposure, can fill people with an overwhelming sense of happiness, and which in turn would bring about positive results for the whole community.

The following year he introduced Latin music on all public transport. The music of 'Orquesta Arangon' and 'Som Imaginrio' were for the first time being enjoyed by the people of Uppercumberworth. Marcus Selby writes, 'Juan Pablo was riding the crest of a Mexican wave during his early years in governance. But a wave, like all waves, is made of water; and water, like all water, will eventually dry out or be collected in buckets'. In 1967, Fernandez liquid-like popularity was beginning to get plumbing problems.

It was the 60s, and a new musical revolution was taking place outside the Latin Yorkshire borders. The Beatles were becoming the new sound and voice for the younger generation. The MLF (Musical Liberation Front) were gaining recognition and prominence in Kirby by illegally playing 'Hard Day's Night' and 'Help' using portable 4-track players as they knocked on people's doors canvassing for votes. Fearing an uprising, Fernandez decided to take desperate measures: Latin Musical Doorbells, Latin Musical Ice-Cream Vans, and emergency service sirens to a 6/8 beat. Those close to Fernandez were losing faith and believed his vision for social change had now run out of Latin steam. Fernandez clung to power for the next two years only by relaxing some of his laws. He allowed the Beatles to be heard on radio stations for the first time, albeit overdubbed in Spanish. He was deposed in 1970 by Nigel Barnes.

Juan Pablo Fernandez legacy and spirit lives on, though, and is still prevalent today in modern politics. Politicians and political parties are only too aware of the effect that choice music can have on society when played at certain times. When Tony Blair chose D-Ream's 'Things Can Only Get Better' for his 1997 general election campaign, he knew by that time tomorrow morning he'd be … well, the rest is history.

Fernandez is survived by his wife Phillipa and a son, Ringo.