Tomasa del Real, La Mafia del Amor Bonnie N Clyde (2016)
At the height of the Great Depression, newspapers across the United States yearned for stories to uplift the public. The two-year robbery-spree of notorious criminal couple Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow gave them a topic that was not per se feel-good but definitely entertaining: To this day, the original framing of Bonnie and Clyde as outlaw lovers living a wild life of crime continues to make them one of the most iconic couples of pop culture and has been inspiring TV shows, movies and music—in the best cases things like Tomasa del Real and La Mafia del Amor’s 2016 fervent reggaeton track “Bonnie N Clyde”.
The OG Bonnie and Clyde stayed on the public’s good side until they killed two police officers approaching their car in Texas in 1934. Then, although this was by no means the first time they resorted to murder, the FBI’s manhunt for them began in earnest.
Perhaps the following act was meant to regain the sympathy of the nation, or perhaps Clyde Barrow just wanted to get the sentiment off his chest while he still could. Either way, he wrote a letter to none other than car tycoon Henry Ford just a week after the shooting in Texas: “Dear Sir,” it read, “while I still have breath in my lungs, I will tell you what a dandy car you make.” That’s right: Clyde Barrow, while on the run from the FBI, wrote fan mail. “For sustained speed and freedom from trouble, the Ford has every other car skinned,” he said, and then signed with “Clyde Champion Barrow.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ringing endorsement of Barrow’s favorite getaway car didn’t stop the nation-wide manhunt: A month later, both Bonnie and Clyde were found and killed in a shoot-out—in their car. The model: a Ford V8.
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