Biography
Formed in Orange County, California, Manic Hispanic originated as a lighthearted side project assembled from veterans of such '90s punk bands as Cadillac Tramps, the Adolescents, and the Grabbers. Their probation officer proposed the idea specifically to steer the participants away from further jail time. The band released two albums, 1992's Menudo Incident (later reissued by BYO) and 2001's The Recline of Mexican Civilization, both built around high-energy covers of punk acts including Black Flag, X, the Stooges, the Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, and the Descendents. Distinctive new lyrics supplied the humor, as when X's "White Girl" became "Brown Girl" and the Offspring's "Come Out and Play (Keep Them Separated)" was reworked as "Get Them Immigrated." On May 5, 2003 (Cinco de Mayo, of course), they returned with Mijo Goes to Jr. College, whose cover art deliberately echoed the Descendents' style to reinforce the album title's joke. Grupo Sexo appeared two years later.