Bicentenial Week in Mexico's 'Cradle of Independence' - September 16th, 2010

Independence Day

I really wanted to see some of the other historically significant cities in that region, ones that my schedule did not permit earlier. For the evening of the 15th, the giving of the Grito at 11pm was probably the high point of one's experience for the 2010 celebration. Unbeknown at the time by and luckily for me, that was not the only one and much more was yet to come. I had to serendipitously stumble upon the rest of the fun and it proved a wonderful trip. First on my list was Delores Hidalgo, so-named for its famous one-time resident who began in 1810 what was being celebrated that day.

Bicentenial Week in Mexico's 'Cradle of Independence' - Cont'd

This week has proved to be one of the best yet during my stay, (and there have been so, so many!!), however it didn't start out that way...

During the whole week here in Queretaro, every day has hosted a major parade that has literally enveloped the entirety of the downtown sector, with various themes such as the indigenous tribes holding various gatherings and marching (more like dancing...) through the streets.Unfortunately, I didn't get which ones were parading, but there were several  and they as proud of the Bicentenario as any other population was and they were definitely showing that pride in force!

Bicentenial Week in Mexico's 'Cradle of Independence'

My Current Home, This Region of Mexico, is Where It All Started

When I first arrived here in Queretaro, back so many months ago, I took a tour of the city with a guide, just to learn more about it and it's history. She was a college student who spoke some English, at least to communicate the basic ideas, however I found out quickly that she did not really have an in-depth knowledge, but rather a cursory one. As we traveled around the city and I paid both her and her driver (separately) and asked questions about the landmarks she was describing, the usual answer was "not certain". At the end of the tour, she basically asked for 'propina' (a tip), which I paid, however felt a bit taken in the experience, as I had so many questions yet about this new city and its rich past. I spent the next year discovering the answers to them and much more - it was a good year.

a weekend with good friends - part II

A funny thing happened on my way to the Forum...
(okay, I was headed to Harry's, lol)

So, there I was, minding my own business, headed down to Harry's to watch the last two sets of a new band (to me) called Bee-Groove. They were a funk-style band that was fronted by the wife of my friend & coworker Fabien who is the head of Engineering at the facility I work at. Her name is Lixia and they hail both from Paris, home of great funk bands! ....well, maybe it is(?) lol

She formed-up this band with some of the local pros and have developed quite a reputation as a fun show to catch - so I planned on seeing them at long last.

However, my best-laid plans were halted at the edge of the plaza entrance by some recent and not-so recent acquaintances, Miguel, Javier and his brother who was in town for the holiday weekend from Chihuahua.

They basically collared me before I could even enter Harry's and we were off...!

(obviously I was not struggling)

After a quick stop at the convenience store en-route to pick up two bottles of 'the Captain' and cokes, we headed over to what was a party already in full swing. It was hosted by a fellow who is widely-known as 'El Quixote" as he makes his living impersonating the famed literary character, armor included. His metal breastplate has a slight modernization in that it includes a three inch slot cut into it with a 'gracias' written in sharpie just below it, (yes, exactly - it's for tips!).

The form of entertainment was called 'trios' and it consists of three talented and very rehearsed fellows playing traditional romantic songs, singing in harmony, while the entire room sings along.

As we entered the room and made our way to a table reserved in the corner, the leader of the trio announced, what I think was, the title that Javier held, along with leading the crowd in a 'three cheers' to him. He replied with a nonchalant wave to everyone and quickly sat down.

I thought, "who is this guy anyway...?"

After the three finished their hour-long set, we were treated to a short slide show of a famous since-passed fellow musician, whom I found out later that the party was actually held in honor of.

here's a not-so-professional video I shot of the event.
it's just a quick pan, but it gives an idea of what it was like:

After that, ladies were brought up to the front to sing their personal favorites, which instead of turning into a karaoke-esque fiasco, turned out to be something quite elegant and one lady's rendition of a bolero called "El Pastor" left no one present with a dry eye, much in the way Tania Libertad was famous for.

Btw, go to YouTube and search for that song; there are several beautiful recordings.

here's one of Tania; it will put you into the mood of the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Jm4ITptjM

(btw, the video portion is not so great but the audio is worth it!)

It was a beautiful way to spend an evening, however it was far from over.

Front-row treatment t the hottest spot in town

We left the party with the bulk of the attendees and as we literally stumbled along the cobblestone streets of Queretaro, I was informed that we were headed to another place called 'La Mulata' which was a club here in town that I had yet to see, but always wanted to. The name translated is that of a dark-skinned woman, which denotes sexiness, I imagine.

Arriving at the entrance, we were met with the usual bulldog-like reception of bouncers demanding 'entrada', which in this case was 50 pesos (around $5) each. Javier, who as I said, I knew as a local politician with a few connections, met the head bouncer and after chatting with him all of ten seconds, we were not only in for free, but were led into the place, which was as spacious as a warehouse and completely packed with at least 700 people, perhaps 1000(?).

After walking nearly a full two minutes, winding our way through the darkened aisle ways lit with the occasional flash of the overhead lasers and camera flashes, we were led to a table that was right in front of, and at the center of. the massive stage. We were in arguably THE best table in the place!

The once passing thought was now a full-blown nagging feeling as I thought, "just who the heck is this guy anyway...?!!"

And so the night continued, the party raged and the band came onto the stage to re-claim it from the DJ plying his usual wares of trendy hip hop, etc, that is common now the world over.

To call this place a nightclub, however, would certainly be a misrepresentation, as it was one of the largest indoor areas I've seen since I arrived here, more comparable to a High School Gymnasium. This is an important point for what happens later in the evening - well, morning...

A Cat with a way-kewl axe

So in travels I usually try to chat with the band and compare notes, especially with the bass players that I meet. This fellow caught my attention when he pulled-out a 'Factor' bass, which is a really cutting-edge looking machine by Philip Kubicki, and his was even a five string, which I had never seen before. I remember back in the late 80's when these were popularized by cats like Stu Hamm & Jon Taylor from Duran-Duran, and they were all of the rage until they almost literally disappeared 10 years later, at least to me. Looking on the Internet, they can still be had, but this guy's factor5 is truly a rarity - a way-kewl axe indeed.

Chatting with other players and some research on the net show that Kubicki is still making basses, but finding one seems to be a bit difficult for folks like me. Perhaps some day when I'm playing that lousy 80's cover band, I'll be sporting the flock of seagulls hairdo and slapping my own Factors - ah, to dream, but I digress... haha

A somewhat-normal occurrence, at least for me, unfortunately
(or how to really screw-up a really great evening by being a dumb s**t)
 

So eventually I make my way back to our table in center/front and the whole place is going crazy as the band proceeds into a 30 minute medley of dance tunes from the 70's, 80's, 90's, along with a heavy dose of hip-hop driving the set. It was definitely well-rehearsed, quite incredible and nobody was able to resist dancing - the entire area in front of the stage was on the verge of being a mosh pit, (but a fun one).

So I reached for my wallet ready to help pay for the tab, and then it struck me - gone! I checked every pocket, nothing. All around the floor in the immediate area, nope. I think the color left me face as I realized that I was in a foreign country with no credit cards, no means of getting money, and the only ID I had was my passport book. Doing a quick calculation, I figured that I needed a minimum of $500 USD to get a plane ticket back to Phoenix, or at least half that to drive to Texas, either of which I had nothing to use - shit!

Selling one of bass guitars was about my only other option, but that would have really sucked as it took a lot of time & money to acquire them. Of course I was a bit inebriated with the good rum all night, so my thinking was not entirely clear, but I did at least grasp the weight of my predicament - get looking for it was my immediate decision (I know, duh!).

I checked around with a few places I had chatted with the band, etc, but nothing was there. Back at the table, my friends were equally worried for me and offered to pick up my part of the tab. Nice, but also a bit necessary, as I had not two pesos to rub together! Heading out of the club, I was feeling pretty bummed, but Javier told me to wait a moment while he told the club manager about my loss. The manager motioned for me to follow him back into the club. After another couple of minutes of winding our way back to the other end, we came to a bar that was located there where he asked a lady working there about finding anything.

Lifting up the cash register entirely, she held out my wallet and said "solamente esto" (only this). I think I did a moonwalk as I found that everything was in it including my debit card & identification, life was good again! Javier was officially my favorite person at that point, lol.

So just who is this guy...?

On the way home we made our way over to the atm as I insisted on paying them back my share of the tab, which was not really a lot to me, but I know that wages here are roughly a third of the States. As we strolled the cobblestone streets, admiring the older colonial-era mansions of the central district, we passed through the plaza in the middle of the government offices, which once served as the seat of government when Queretaro was Capital of Mexico, long ago when it was the crown of the Spanish empire.

As we passed a particularly elegant edificio (building) from the 1700's with a huge bronze plaque on it that read, something to the effect of, State Governor's Office. Javier non-nonchalantly pointed to it saying, "That's my office."

Inquiring about it later that week with my friends down at Harry's I found out that he's the representative for Queretaro for that office. in the US we would refer to him as, basically, the Lieutenant Governor.

...Okay, I wasn't expecting that one, either!

f

a weekend with good friends - part I

To feel like a Lion on stage...

It was an amazing weekend, starting-out with Friday going to see my friends Vudu Chile play at Wooli's Kaban in San Miguel Allende. It was a special evening in that, unbeknownst to me, they had an artist as part of the show. The painter, Norton Wisdom, had performed a couple of days prior with David the vocalist, who was doing an acoustic show there, David was so impressed that he invited him to perform at the Vudu Chile show.

As I arrived, the 'canvas' was already being set-up, well ahead of the band's gear (surprise-surprise! lol). What it consisted of was a 4x8 sheet of plastic with shrouds on the sides and a bright spotlight on the back side. This illuminated the plastic canvas in a way that allowed the field to be seen even from the far end of the room and the paints that he used, as I found out later, were semi-translucent, and they became a glowing work of art as he worked to create them. This he did all evening, creating an amazing scene that was driven by the music being performed in simultaneous harmony - literally, performance art!

In my ignorance I asked Norton at the beginning of the show, "so do you do one painting for the whole evening or a couple, or what?"

He simply replied, "You'll see..."

That was an understatement.

It turns-out that he's a renowned painter famous for this style of work; there are several videos of him on-stage, so-to-speak. Here's a video of some of his paintings being created:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIn0a9APMNU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUUx8x309iQ&feature=related

One important caveat - this form is basically just a sketch-version of what Norton Wisdom does on canvas. He travels with a photographic portfolio of his work that he sells, and it is amazing. Similar in concept to the 'stage paintings' however the depth of work looks to be several days, possibly even weeks to create.

The band set up their stuff and it was our first time together since I had left three weeks prior, so we had a lot of catching-up to do. I had brought back several things from the US that the guys could use for 'the music biz' so it was a bit like Christmas - we had a great time chatting and opening gifts! lol

The first two of the three sets saw several creations by our resident artist, which he would creat over a few songs, photograph and then wipe the board clean. A few of the painting s were a bit risque' ones that, while most of the customers really loved, a select few 'were not amused' and one decided that she had "had quite enough of this and this guy needed to change his paintings or end this immediately!". In a moment of clarity, as she demanded that the band interrupt the show and basically kick Norton out, David also decided that he had had quite enough of her pettiness and politely yet firmly informed her that instead of adhering to her demands, "perhaps it was time that she left".

After hearing the story, I and everyone else was quite proud of him.

The third set was especially fun, in that the alcohol was beginning to really kick-in, both on-stage and off! David worked the room as the seasoned pro he has become and the crowd danced and cheered with his 'improvisations', shall we say, during a song that allowed him to really cut loose. The evening was a very fun but it most certainly rated PG.

Settling into my comfy couch in the adjoining room behind the stage, I re-opened my laptop and went over some design specs for Gigbag, which I had been doing much of the evening, not to mention the whole week prior. We have been trying to have design of the Musician's section of the website completed so the vendors can get us an accurate estimate for it, which we expect to be quite a substantial sum. It has become something of a routine for me over the last few years, where any time that the muse is upon me I almost always carry my bag along just in case.

About 20 minutes into the set though, I see Javier, the bassist of the group waving to me to get my butt up there. My first thought was "shit, I haven't even touched a bass in almost a month!" and me playing a song was probably an express ticket to clearing-out the bar. Luckily for me, I do have one thing especially in my favor: Javier, who is an amazing player is also a skilled technician, has set-up his G&L 5 string bass with such wonderfully low action and even my rusty fingers find it is a dream to play.

'The lads' insisted and we broke into a solid rendition of SRV's Texas Flood, which is a slow blues tune that really has a lot of room for what I would call, contemplation, and it allows deep infusion of emotion into it. At first I felt very rusty and a bit out-of-it, however it quickly clicked.

As the song moved out of the intro and into that now-famous opening riff that filled the room as Julian gave amazing voice to his guitar, channeling the fellow in the wide brimmed hat - the crowd resounded to the guitar lick's visceral tone, howling their approval.

As usual, the drummer Adrian set up a pocket and I could bury myself into it, focusing on both simple yet driving walking basslines. I guess the strength of the groove definitely registered on some as the owner of the bar came up to the stage and bowed-down in front of me, which was a huge compliment and also was the first time THAT has happened...! haha

It felt great, the bass just growled for me, which is something I strive to produce, and at the end of the song David put his arm around me and said, "Dude, look at the painting Norton did!" Turning around revealed an amazing painting a lion's head (straddled by a lady's legs, of course) flanked by a figure playing a highly-stylized bass guitar. In a 'shamanic moment' as David likes to call somewhat-inebriated deeply reflective conversation, we discussed the effect that my musical contribution that evening on Mr. Wisdom's painting. David asserts that my being here in San Miguel de Allende at this point in time and that meeting and playing with them is not merely an accident, but that it has a real purpose. I'm just happy to have known this evening and many others like it playing with these fellows called Vudu Chile.

With their help, the bass not only growled that night, but even roared...!

(After the Show - pic of Norton with Adrian the drummer)

Btw, if you wish to see more, Norton's website is at:

http://www.nortonwisdom.com/

He's a great guy and if you get lucky enough to have a chance to see him, definitely go!

f

the Reyes Magos

No Santa Claus in this part of the world
In the United States we know them as 'the three wise men' or 'the three kings'. In Mexico, they are called the 'Reyes Magos', which literally translates as 'the wizard kings'. This is significant as the Christmas season that we celebrate a bit more north of here pretty much ends after New Years Day, (called Ano Nuevo in Spanish), where folks here keep it going for several more yet.

When I returned to my work on the the following Monday, I noticed several desks open. Wondering if there had been a layoff, I was 'educated' about the holidays here in Mexico; turns out that many, if not most people take vacation all of the way through the end of the following week after New Years to observe the companion holiday of January 6th, Reyes Magos.

I guess they are starting to expect my usual expression of "what in the flying crap is that...?!" so they coupled it with a brief explanation - my coworkers are very patient with my gringo mannerisms, luckily.

Here's the skinny: Up north and in much part of the western world, there is a jolly 'ol elf, or some derivative or him, known as everything from Father Christmas to Santa Claus. In Mexico, the gifts kids look forward to do not 'magically appear' on the morning of December 25th, but rather the morning of January 6th. Also, in keeping with the much more religious observance of the holiday here, the gifts are not the the product of the kindness of ol' Saint Nick but rather the three kings of biblical fame. Obviously, the story of the nativity mentions them arriving after first seeing and then following the dang old star for several days only to arrive, turns out according to the Catholic tradition, on the 6th of January, a full 12 days later - you know, the 12 days of Christmas..!

Anyway, while I'm staring at my aircraft components being put together, a bunch of kids are having a blast tearing into their gifts that same morning, with their happy parents watching the fun. Perhaps I got the short end of that deal, but to me a beautiful new A-320 Main Landing Gear is (almost) as pretty as anything that I ever got on Christmas, except that one time my girlfriend showed up wearing nothing but a cute ribbon.... well, you get the idea. lol


A Nativity Scene for the Ages
(or what happens when you give a bunch of artists a lot of money and a large space downtown)
So on my way back from Harry's a few weeks back, I had to navigate my way through a huge operation that had literally taken-over my usual path back to my apartment, which passes through a park in the Centro Historico. Again, my usual expression of "what in the flying crap is that all about...?!" was probably apparent as I watched a large crew of workers and electricians moving massive amounts of equipment, statues, lighting and probably a mile or two of electrical cables and rope lights out of semi truck trailers and lay it all out covering the entirety of the park. It looked like the makings of a Las Vegas-style show complete with elephants.

Turns out I was not that far off...


Mary gets the news that 'the rabbit died'

Walking up towards the park on my way to Harry's to have a cocktail and type away at this laptop for a few hours, I saw a massive glow coming from its entirety, as if a group of UFO's had landed and were lighting-up the trees and creating a huge halo effect that could be seen for a quarter mile distance. As I got closer, the lighting was even more complex than I had first thought and I could see that the mile or two of light-roping had been ran upward from the ground and wrapped around each tree, with white being the most common, but also some blues here and there, (and on the far end was a corner done completely in red - "what in the flying crap is that all about...?!"). I would find that one out in due time.

Approaching the NW corner of the park, I was greeted by, of all things, a smiling donkey...
yep, you guessed it - "what in the flying crap is that all about...?!"

At closer inspection, I let out a chuckle as I realized he was getting a free wi-fi connection, of course! lol

(notice the sign at his feet)


Rounding the corner was the scene of poor Mary finding out she was going to be an unwed mom and probably have to go on welfare, luckily Joseph was a gullible guy and, well you know that part...

The entirety of the park was set up with elaborate displays that included a scene of a traditional Mexican family celebration including the making of sopes & tortillas and kids making quick work of a pinata, which showers them with lots of unrecognizable goodies. Judging from the way they were portrayed in mid-celebration, it was wasn't broccoli dropping out of it.

Another was a full-blown display of Adam & Eve in the garden of Eden, along with requisite 'strategically located' vines worn by the shameless pair, lol. This was especially interesting as it included every kind of animal they could fit, from a gorilla glowering at the passers-by to a hippo in a large man-made pond playfully floating about to the great amusement of the many kids visiting the park with their parents. It was quite clever, as they created the top portion of the hippo, probably in a styrofoam-type of compond, so you could only see the ears, eyes, nose and back floating on top of the water.

Next to that display was a depiction of the caravan of the Reyes Magos, which traditionally includes a horse, a camel and and elephant, with the color of each maji's skin corresponding accordingly also, as white guy rode the horse, the Arab on the camel, and a black fellow on (what else?!?!) the elephant... don't ask me, at least it wasn't the usual blue-eyed Jesus thing, but then again, I didn't check the kid out that closely. The Black Maji did have serious 'bling' going-on, with an all-gold robe, so he did a good job making the other two look under dressed for the occasion - hey, it's the king-of-kings; break out the tux with tails, gents!

A large section of the center display was dedicated to the manger scene, which was pretty traditional, and yes, Mary was almost vampire white in her complexion, (as was all the ladies of that region of Palestine during those days, right?). Baby Jesus was even giving the hand gesture that the Pope uses today, obviously it wasn't meant to be any kind of sign they give me while I'm driving in morning traffic, I hope.

The folks doing the display made, in my opinion, a fun change to the shepherds, as they were all Mexican peasants donned in the traditional straw hat and poncho attire of about 100 years ago. The ladies also wore the traditional shawl and scarf attire, creating a neat juxtaposition of the two cultures into a mixed-media display that was full of such fun idiosyncrasies.



The one that caught me off-guard was walking around the side of the scene of the manger and spotted sitting with several animals, was a gent dressed as a padre, complete with Luther-esque haircut and wool robes. I guess these guys were just sitting around before that time, ready to carry out the great commission. Hey, where was he when they were dragging poor Jesus off to die on Golgatha, anyway? Boy, could have used his help then!




Finally, heading out of the park and in the direction of Harry's, on the park's SW end, I was completely stunned to see before me, a truly Danteaen scene.... again, "what in the flying crap is that all about...?!"


Out of the frying pan and into the fire (& brimstone too)


I was awestruck at the artists creation showing what, apparently, was happening simultaneously down below in hell. They had constructed a representation of Satan sitting on his throne, clad in red & black robes and surrounded by several of his devils & demons, enjoying and also falling prey to the pleasures of the flesh, with all of its trappings. Each one seemed to extort one to the seven deadly sins, including sloth, gluttony, greed, and so on, much to the bemusement of the throngs of folks looking at the corner of the park.


To make it even more eerie, every five minutes a huge rat located in the middle of the display would belch out a large cloud of smoke (like the kind we used in my band - uh oh, we're going to heck for that one, I knew it! lol). Satan and his crew were enveloped into a hellish cloud and his glaring, evil smile was always just above the whole thing - very well done!

Contemplating on the display later that evening, I could not rid myself of the thought of how such a presentation of Satan and his demonic court would be received by the majority protestant Christian populace, with their puritanical approach to such matters. I would imagine it would involve protesters carrying signs, news crews broadcasting live from the 'controversial' display and culminating with a spot on Fox News and Bill O's cultural wars opinion pieces... it would probably create some fireworks indeed.

In an apropos indictment of my almost daily ritual of imbibing in wine & song, each evening I would come face-to-face with this horned & fanged, trident wielding dude with his gang of willing executioners laughing at my misdeeds and counting the days to when they would have me in their clutches to amuse themselves for all of eternity...

In my usual rebellious manner, I would simply give them 'the raspberries' as I passed by -

"pbbbbt! Take that, Lucifer! "

(yep, that showed him..!)

f

Celebrating Turkey Day in the Land of 'Tacos al Pastor"

One of my favorite foods that is served everywhere in town, practically on every street corner and almost every restaurant, is 'al pastor'. The literal translation is "to the shepard" which probably speaks volumes as to its origins, but as a lay-person I claim no expertise in such areas. It is (usually) seared pork sliced from a large skewer, right onto the tortilla, and then covered with cilantro & onions, and also sometimes with chunks of pineapple. I prefer the salsas or chilies with them, but sometimes it's just great to wolf them down with a Mexican beer while watching a band play in the plaza. It's trully the fast food of this land, and probably holds appeal far beyond the reaches of the borders of Mexico, and for good reason.
a little quote: "Nobody eats turkey in November here, except you Americanos !?!"
In Spanish, turkey is called "pavo" and here it's usually only served for Christmas dinner, which seems quite enough for the majority of my Mexican friends. I was hoping to find a decent semi-traditional turkey served at one of the American chains down here, namely Holiday Inn, whose hotels have restaurants in them. Alas, calling around, not one of them even knew about the holiday, let alone served any kind of turkey dish on Thursday - No Pavo, Senior.

I remembered that there is a large American ex-pat community in San Miguel so googling turkey-san miguel-restaurant-thanksgiving, I found only one place, called 'The Restaurant' in town that was serving, but that was all I needed...! Turns-out that it was a really high-end place there that catered not only to that community, but it's most affluent part. For a Thanksgiving meal the price, not including wine, was in excess of 600 pesos ($50 USD), which was just way out of my price range. It broke my heart to have to say no, but at that point I was ready to just settle for my usual order of tacos al pastor and spend the savings on my groceries for the rest of the month! Luckily the spirit of holidays past was looking out for me...

A little place called Harry's comes to the rescue yet again...!
While chatting with my friend Enrique, who manages Harry's, I complained a bit about missing Thanksgiving and especially, the taste of a good turkey & stuffing, etc, etc. After he had heard enough, (apparently..) he asked why I wasn't planning on having my dinner there at Harry's and pointing at the huge flyer that was spread all over the restaurant and another large sign that I actually was facing the whole time - duh!! Sometimes it's the obvious that we take for granted, and it takes someone to occasionally whack us upside the head to snap us out of it, I guess, perhaps both verbally and also on occasion, literally.

Anyway, needless to say, the dinner was really great and they served the turkey both traditionally and Cajun-style and when it was all over, there was spicy BBQ sauce (from the cajun turkey, of course) all over my tablecloth, my leather jacket, my hands, and anything else that was within a 5 foot radius of yours trully - it was friggin' great! (...and I was using a knife & fork, believe it or not, lol). Harry's is definitely a good place to find a piece of "the States" when needed. The only element of the whole ritual that was missing was anyone to share it with. As usual, I dined alone on Thanksgiving, but at least this time it was in some crappy Chinese take-out eating off paper plates, which is my usual ritual, ever since joining the service - I know, very depressing and I don't even like mentioning it, however it puts the experience in proper context. It's amazing what a person can adjust to when exposed to the broad range of experience that constant travel can offer. Some not so great but so much of it, quite wonderful.

A little band outta Texas - well, more like Mexico...
That evening, to round things out, what I thought was to be the piste de résistance turned out to be something closer to the coup de grâce, lol. Enrique also informed me, mid-pavo, that the stage being set-up in the middle of the bar area was for a series of bands that were to play from that Thursday evening until Sunday, and the first of them was to be a Blues Band, right there from Queretaro! I thought to myself, "self, you've been missing out on the Blues scene this whole time." To think that it's been going on right under my nose, but I had not bothered to sniff it out...! He asked me, as he knew my love of the genre, to please stick around and give them a listen, as he wanted to hire them for more shows if they were any good. My response was something to the effect that they probably couldn't drag me away from this bar tonight, as this was what I had been searching for since I had arrived. Well, it turned-out to be not quite that, honestly.

So naturally, I spent the rest of the day on this thing tapping-away on some work stuff and also working on Gigbag, of course, sitting in my fav spot at Harry's, awaiting this grand event. As the time passed, the place filled-up rather quickly and there definitely was an electricity in the air, as many of the patrons were also awaiting this band. Some were even fans, as was my friend Miguel, who is a fellow British car nut/mechanic. I asked him about the group and he dutifully complimented them on their ability as musicians and included that they had been playing for six years together. "Six years," I thought, "they must be seriously tight and have a great set!"

It turned out that I was right, kinda... lol

a little break - Disclaimer time: Okay, I need to be very clear here: finding a band that even specializes in the blues, let alone is serious about it, here in this part of Mexico, is something of an extreme rarity, so for me to be sitting at a blues show at Harry's was exceptionally lucky. There are no blues clubs here and the ONLY place that I've ever heard it is on the university radio station, and then it's only late at night. There just simply is not a tradition here and these guys most certainly stand alone in the field. With that caveat very firmly in place, I'll proceed.



The band set up their gear quickly, got tuned-up, grabbed a drink before the first set and took their spots on stage; they had obviously done this many times before. The first song was a great slow blues number, all instrumental, and had good solos on both the two guitars and harp (harmonica). Things were progressing nicely.

The second song was "I shoulda quit you baby", which is an old standard covered by everyone from Muddy to Zep to Clapton, and on. The singer even sang it in English, which was really kewl, but I soon realized that the only lyrics he knew were "I shoulda quit you baby, a long time ago" and that was repeated on and off for several minutes! The crowd, mostly Spanish speakers didn't know the difference and applauded wildly when it was over. I was kind of in shock, myself.
The next had to be better than that, right? Well it went from reasonably good to mediocre to flat-out 'jam night average'. After listening to almost two sets of the drummer play only the straight beat and bass player do a completely fundamental riff over and over and over - I felt my brain begining to melt. Out of frustration, I made eye contact with the drummer, who was a younger guy, perhaps 23, and gave him a little coaching from my chair to add something to his turnarounds. He understood, did a quick snare roll on the 5 to 1 transition and the whole band seemed to give him the "WTF are you doing?!! look". He cowered a bit and went back to his boom-tap style and I realized immediately what was happening. The band was not being allowed to develop because they weren't getting it - the blues, I mean.

My little plan's genesis
Turns out, these guys, who all seemed to really love the music, weren't actually very familiar with it. After that set, I introduced myself and after talking for a few mins learned that the band consisted of two father-and-son teams, along with the singer who seemed to be a music teacher, or something to that effect. The fathers, one on bass and one on lead guitar, both invited and apparently inspired their sons to get into the blues, and that's how the band got going. It was really a great story, except that inspiration aparently had a ceiling in the expansion department. I pulled the drummer aside and we had a quick 'come to Jesus' chat and I gave him the straight skinny on what he needed to do to change the dynamic, especially between he and the bass player. The rhythm section had to groove and it was up to him to get these guys trained. The trick to it was that it would have to happen in small increments, not great leaps. These guys had the chops to be something much cooler, much more of 'the real deal', as we like to say, but it would have to start at it's foundation, that guy sitting behind the skins.

So the final set was in the bag and the guys were giddy at having played such a larger venue. I could tell that the bass player, a gent pushing 60 who seemed to really enjoy playing his 50th re-issue American P-bass, was also kind of leaning on the drummer for his deviation from what they normally practice to. I couldn't listen to it, naturally, and he and I chatted for about 15 mins, in my poor Spanish and his limited English, about what he was listening to. I quickly discovered that he was listening to the usual around there, which are the traditional Mexican styles of music like Banda, etc. He was in a blues band but didn't really have a exposure to much of it's variety beyond just perhaps a few songs.

This was the key issue, in my opinion and I gave him a short list of bands that he needed to find on YouTube and give a listen. I borrowed his bass for a moment, showed him some ways to walk a bassline and just a few tricks of the guys over in Austin, however, suddenly he had to pack up his rig - he took back his axe and it was time to go. The band quickly packed-up their stuff, we said our goodbyes, and I returned to my friends and ordered another Havana rum.

Obviously I had rattled the guy's cage a bit, but I think there was some small bit that got through. I knew that the drummer got it, loud and clear and the others seemed to really dig the changed energy that the third set offered, especially with the more distinctive phrasing from the young drummer. Perhaps the bass player felt a little annoyed that some young punk from up north was trying to tell him how to play bass, and the machismo of the society reinforces that obviously, but that really may have been what it took to get his attention also. The real problem was not in the way that people were seemingly unwilling to change, but in their limited view of what was available to them. By offering a peek into the next level that his band would now be moving toward, if he isn't willing to develop his chops, his band will most likely give him that nudge to becoming a much better player and, I'm quite certain, a more enthusiastic blues player. I'd seen it before and also in myself; he looked to now be on the path from being a bass player, to becoming a bassist.
I could see that Queretaro was on the way to having a blues act that would eventually surprise even a tourist from Texas, and thus spread the gospel of the blues to more of the city, but that was only the first step in 'my little plan', but more of that later....!
fs

Day of the Dead and a big, steaming bowl of VUDU' CHILE

Living in a new country is to experience constant personal growth & development on a nearly daily basis
(...thus constantly having to admit that one's previous ideas were wrong!)
When I first started planning the trip down here, I made the assumption that in Mexico I would probably not get an opportunity to celebrate the holidays here, as I probably wouldn't be close to anyone enough to do so. Had I known the culture was so welcoming, that would not have been a consideration. Further, having lived in Arizona for so many years, I thought that this time of the year was relatively quiet in Mexico - I was wrong again.


In Arizona, the Mexicanos there tend to, based on my recent experience here, tone-down the day known as "Dia de los Muertos" which translates into day-of-the-dead. It's steeped in the Latin American Catholic tradition with the days before it serving to build into a culmination that is to most here, a nationally-recognized holiday that is only neo-religious; I call it that as it seems to have transcended the mere religiosity of Catholicism (but it dates back much further, btw). It now has become to the people of central Mexico a time of gathering with one's family and remembrance of one's ancestors with trips to the cemetery and even creating a place in their home for those remembered to re-join the family, have some food, a drink and even have a cigar. As Santa's cookies and milk magically disappear, so does the food, tequila and the fine cigars.

Similar traditions have existed throughout the history of early civilization and even pre-civilization, and what I have witnessed these last few days certainly hearkens back to this building block of what would become religious philosophy concerning what happened to the 'person' inside this shell we call mortality. But I digress..

'Dia de los Meurtos' falls during the holiday season that much of the western world celebrates as Halloween; the days of the holiday go (something) like this:

Oct 30: Devils Night
Oct 31: All-hallows Eve (Halloween)
Nov 1: All Saints Day
Nov 2: Dia de los Muertos



Swimming with the current
(...or how to survive living one block away from a massive party that lasts an entire week!)
I knew living down here in Centro was going to be difficult now and then, especially considering I would be trying to park a truck the size of a battleship on streets centuries old (and narrow to boot) - and within the vicinity of several large Catholic churches. For the uninitiated, these serve as cultural gathering/rallying points for a myriad of festivals, and of course, the plaza in front of the Gran Hotel/Harry's - my second home here, is Ground-Zero.

At the beginning of last week as I sat out at my usual perch tapping away on this laptop-thingy, several trucks began unloading what looked to be staging equipment. As soon as the lights were unpacked, it confirmed my guess. The scale, however, was far beyond anything that I would have even ventured, as it took up much of the far end of the central plaza, soon afterward massive tents were erected covering the balance of the open space, turning the whole view brilliant white as sunlight hit the canvas in the afternoon din. It was a harbinger of the week ahead and I had no idea of the crazy train headed my way...

The next late afternoon, as I headed back from work (we usually break about 6-ish) the traffic was even worse than usual, believe it or not, lol. Actually, compared to Miami, this place is a cake-walk, and that doesn't even include the one-fingered waves one receives on your morning commute through Hileah - with Alabama tags. Don't get me wrong, Miami is a cool town; I just don't miss that drive.

So I gave up looking for parking after 30 mins of the stop-and-go gaggle f**k of cars and paid the lady at the Estacionarse Publico (parking lot) to keep an eye on things for about 16 pesos/hour. Making my way down to have my usual 7-Anos Havana Club Rum & CocaCola Light was like running the weekend gauntlet - but it was only Wednesday! I found a spot at Harry's way in the back, as people were literally spilling over both sides of the railing; had I not been good friends with the staff, I would probably STILL be waiting for a seat, haha.

The stage out front was a parade of Mexican music and cultural acts that ranged from ultra-modern to several from indigenous tribes chanting incantations that have endured more than a thousand years. When they do this en masse, the trance effect is breathtaking; I witnessed probably several hundred people throughout the square, dressed in everything from Gucci to loin cloths dancing in rhythm with the drums' hypnotic pulse.

The rest of the week, once I learned when was the right time to look for a parking spot, was amazing. The acts that graced the stage increased in talent and apparently, in notoriety also, including a presentation by the Governor of the state one evening.


Meanwhile, in a sleepy little town nearby
My friends who play in the band Vudu' Chile that, on occasion, let me wreck a couple of songs by sitting-in with them, insisted that I attend a gathering that they were hosting in San Miguel de Allende. Turns out that the ex-pat community up there does Halloween in a big way, throwing a terrific costume party with hand-crafted beer and the best $1 margaritas I've ever had, (and that's not just because I had... shit, I can't remember how many, actually, lol), but we'll get to that in a bit.

So my usual costume for such events is Jake Blues (the Blues Brothers) which is a simple yet functional getup, especially if one is going to play bass that evening (i.e. nothing to get in the way of the guitar, etc). A simple assembling of ray ban wayfarers, a mini-fedora, a thin tie and a black suit with white shirt, set-off with white socks, of course. I have probably enough versions of this basic ensemble in my closet to clothe both Jake AND Elwood, plus Mr. Fabulous and even the 'Duck', but it never occurred to me that I might need any of it in such a "remote" part of the world - I was wrong yet again.

















60's Retro in a land that remembers it's past, not yours!
(...or the search for outdated shades, a funny tie and a weird-looking hat)
Walking through the mercados here in town, I noticed that several impromptu costume shops had a costume version of the fedora that Michael Jackson made famous. "I know that hat..!" was the eureka-moment that was the impetus for the next day's quest, complete with Knights with outrageous French accents hurling livestock at me! (actually, it was even more fun than that..)

I immediately bought a small stack of the hats from the gent running the tiende (shop) as they were only $3 each and 'the lads' may need a last-minute costume for their gig. I figured that I would find something better, but just in case I had a 'plan B' in place so I kept one when I gave the balance to my friend David, the singer of Vudu' Chile.

After another 30 mins of walking, it was obvious that I need some professional help with this one. I flagged-down what turned out to be one of the kewlest cabbies in town and we went shopping! With all of my trudging about town, within 10 mins he took me to one of the biggest Mercados I had ever seen, packed with more items for sale than I had thought possible and people also packed into such a small space, reminiscent of the Egyptian Bazaars. It was an awesome experience, especially with my cabbie as my guide/translator. We found three hat shops straightaway and a few were close with their versions of the infamous fedora, but alas, no 'tobacco' (cigar). What a great place, however , and now I have THE spot to go in Queretaro (Qro. is its abbreviation) for pretty much anything except for plasma screen TV's; they have everything else. I could have driven around this town for weeks and never had found this hidden place; hopefully I can find it again(?).

Btw, it turns out, Mexico is NOT the place to save money, that is, if you are looking for non-Mexican items. Often Mexicans will pay a 20% to 50% higher price than that of the US, and sometimes much, much more. One of the principal items in such a costume is the now-classic, Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses (called 'lentes; in Spanish). There are several versions of these coming in a myriad of colors, but Ackroyd wore the standard all-black & Belushi wore the tortoise framed browns, those being the most rare to locate in my experience. I found some imitations for sale, but they were basically the kids' version and didn't fit my big ol' noggin.

During my escapade with my new cabbie friend, he took me to several "tiendas optica" high-end eyeglass & sunglass shops that carried Wayfarers, and they did carry the all-black version. What I thought was a direct hit turned into a dud - the going rate for a set of these at a nice shop in a mall in the US is about $100. These places apparently cater to the upper classes of Mexico City and not tourist Gringos, so to offer them is a status symbol in itself. They were charging, after converting to dollars, more than $250 for the same set of glasses. As the blood went to my feet, I did an about-face and considering abandoning this whole endeavor completely.

Despondent and in shock, I hopped back in the cab and asked my friend to take me back to Centro so I could get a quick bite and re-think this scheme. We arrived at the plaza in front of Harry's and I was charged $16 for an entire afternoon of driving. Just before we parted, the cabbie suggested one more shop for me to try, that being the one he dropped me of in front of.

Not getting my hopes up I entered the shop (a regular eyeglass/optometry shop, it turns out). There on the end of the display sat not just any of the versions, but the exact ones Belushi wore, which I had pretty much abandoned searching for in the US - here in Qro less than two blocks away from my apartment! Holding my breath, I asked what the price was and... we had a bingo! I had finally found a set of these and in of all places, who'd a thunk?!

Okay, the last time we needed a set of the narrow-styled black ties for the band in Alabama, we actually had to make them ourselves as it's just not a common design, at least nowadays. Here in Mx, I figured that I would have to buy a standard and have it altered, or something in that direction. When I went to the tux rental place to see about renting the black suit required, they not only had a perfect match for the suit & white shirt, but they even had THAT tie... son-of-a-gun, I was locked and loaded.





Tofu tacos 'to die for' and a few too many margaritas
Arriving at the Club de Leonnes (Lion's Club) San Miguel, with the help of a cab who led me and my LR through the many winding streets of the historic district, one could see that it was going to be fun. In costume, sans shades, I entered the club and immediately a large fellow, who I found out later was the association president, loudly protested, "Who let the Feds in?!" Laughing, I reached for the shades and donned them, to the cheers of several people there at the entrance. Apparently I was not the only one to choose that guise as a lady said, "they've been waiting for you!" (who, me?!)

The association was the San Miguel Vegetarian Society, or something like that. They promote organic food production and sell it at a local market where many of the Americanos shop for such items. The group had included a big spread of food to go with the event and the salsas were particularly good, in a country that is famous for its salsas, btw.

I entered the main hall and up on the stage were "the lads" of Vudu' Chile, all wearing the hats and doing their best impressions of that infamous band that wrecked half of the Chicago Police force's squad cars. I was greeted by David with a a booming, "Welcome fellow Blues Brother!" in the middle of Julian's terrific guitar solo, and the crowd sounded their approval - it was to be a good night indeed.

Apparently there were a lot of single ladies in attendance that evening as I had to fight them off with a stick (yaaaay! lol). To pick a favorite seemed at the time at least, like bad manners as I was new to this group. Just then I noticed two older "young ladies" were out in the middle of the floor having a blast; they became my dance partners for most of the remainder of the evening. The two ol' gals probably were pushing 60, (if not pulling it a bit), but they were more energetic than most in their 30's - I was worn-out after just a few songs!

During a trip to the men's room I remember walking in and being frozen in my tracks as I caught my image in the mirror: it was almost scary how I'm looking more and more like Belushi's 'Jake" every year (so is that a good thing... or really bad?!), lol.





Later that evening Javier the bass player invited me up to play a couple of songs. Of course I was not in any shape to do so, however he insisted so I stumbled onto the stage, kicked over some one's beer and proceeded to play along with one of the funkiest versions of Suzie-Q that I can remember. It was one of the best Halloween parties that I've ever attended.


Dirty Martinis with Cultural Icons
The last day of the Festival in Qro. was completely incredible, and I had no idea what I was watching until it was over, in most cases. Harry's not only was packed, it had a table in front marked "Reserved" for a VIP that was expected soon. Apparently it was someone with clout as they were able to keep a table empty for that long in a mobbed nightclub in the teeth of such a party. "Who the heck can do that?", I thought. Turns out, it was the semi-illusive owner of Harry's, an 'Americano' who's name is....

nope, it's Bob.

Bob is one of these Am. ex-pats who went to Mexico to make his fortune and apparently he has done this in spades. He is said to own houses in San Miguel, where there is another Harry's, and Cabo San Lucas, where he'll probably put another one some day soon. At his table that evening, once he arrived, was seated several friends and what looked to be a few 'hangers-on" as would be expected with a guy with some money, in any part of the world.

I waited inside the bar working on my laptop, as it was the only place that I could find and I had a few web design pages to finish for Gigbag. Happily tapping away, Bob, whom I had never met prior, walks up and loudly proclaims to the whole bar, "you're looking at porn while Tania Libertad is about to perform in a few minutes?!" Par for the course, I guess, but I was hoping for more from someone of his ilk - and who the heck was Tania Libertad?

I was on the list for a table out front to see the music, but I was not going to get my hopes up. However, just as I was about to resign myself to only hearing the show and not seeing it, the lead hostess appeared told me that a couple had just vacated what was, my favorite table and asked if I wanted it? It was probably like watching Wyle E Coyote disappearing with papers and dust flying where he had once stood - I bounded to, and took my place at one of the best places to view the show. A Vodka Dirty Martini was ordered immediately to celebrate my good fortune but alas, it would have been even better had someone been there to share it with.

The headliner for that evening, which was to be the closing act for the entire festival, was lady known throughout the Latin world as "Tania Libertad", who I had never heard of, let alone seen play a show. It was explained to me that she is similar in reputation to that of possibly, Joan Biez would be in the US, as she is not interested in commercial success. However, that is probably where the comparison would end as she is a classically trained mezzo-soprano with an amazing range that is also quite powerful. She was born in Peru and has a huge following here in Mx, along with much of the rest of the hemisphere. She travels with a quartet of musicians all of great talent and they perform a list of songs that are steeped in the history and tradition of Central & South America, as it was explained to me.



I remember catching myself with a tear rolling down one cheek, thinking that I have no idea what she's singing, but the emotion she is able to communicate and instill was inescapable - or was it just me? Looking around the mass of people I saw very large, football player-sized men openly weeping. The elderly couple next to me was holding each other closely while the woman wiped the tears from her gent's face; a very touching and beautiful scene to watch.

After the show was over, the plaza slowly emptied and I worked a bit more on Gigbag pages while also working on another martini. I watched the cleaning crews and roadies work their magic for a couple hours as they re-claimed the plaza, slowly restoring it to its former state a week prior. As Harry's also slowly emptied, the folks remaining consisted of most of its regulars, myself included.

Suddenly, a buzz took over the hotel lobby, which adjoins the entrance to Harry's, as some of the security chaps cleared the area and a petite Tania Libertad arrived right behind them, a small entourage trailing her. I found out later that Bob had summoned her through the Hotel staff to come down and have dinner with his friends and him. As she made her way through the place, she was hugged, kissed, photographed and just generally adored by the patrons of the restaurant, all the while patiently greeting the next person in the small throng along her route to the back where Bob waited. As it passed my humble little table she even wished me a good evening, which was, I guess not surprising in this very warm and friendly culture. Had this happened up north, security probably would have tackled and dragged off to ensure their celebrity didn't have to see any of the riff-raff.

The buzz died down and they dined for another hour and I tapped-away, revising a few more pages of Gigbag. I could hear the laughing of the large table of the two entourages getting louder as the evening wore on and the alcohol flowed, Bob the host usually being above the others. Bob had a reputation among the patrons of Harry's as a fun person who tended to, shall we say, imbibe freely.

Suddenly, (there seemed to be a lot of those that evening...) I hear Bob loudly call out from the restaurant to his staff, "Let's hear some Michael Jackson!" Within a few seconds the mellow jazz on the house system was replaced with, at almost full volume, 'Billie Jean'. The group arose with Tania in the lead and she marched toward the front in-time with the music, smiling and waving to everyone, her long flowing gown and entourage behind her, similar to the way a professional wrestler would exit the arena after having defeated their foe.

A fun & surreal ending to a wonderfully surprising evening.

fs