Mariachis and I Did It My Way: A Transformation

I was not planning to write anything today. But then I walked to the liquor store. We are up the hill from the store and the path leads directly though the main square in the center of town. As I was cutting through the square .I was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful version of Frank Sinatra’s My Way. This was no ordinary version, it was being played by an eight piece mariachi band.

This was notable to me because I have been going to Mexico since about 1976 and I never got much enjoyment from mariachis. I am not sure whether my ear has evolved, or I happened upon an exceptional band. My memories are of frenetic style over substance displays of raucous whooping and hollering. Today I heard a thoughtful interpretation of a classic song that featured a couple of soulful multiple horn interludes and restrained vocals in Spanish. It probably lasted about 8 minutes and I was blown away by the eloquence. I listened to 3 more songs, including another classic, Herb Alpert’s the Lonely Bull. I am forced to reconsider my previous opinion.

The square, as usual, was a hub of activity. Eight seems to be the magic number today. An eight person cleaning crew made their way around the square as I sat and listened to music. They all had brooms and were sweeping, but not trash. People seem to not throw their trash on the ground, except for cigarette butts. They were sweeping leaves. This is a daily event. There was another crew at work, I did not count their number. They were busy stringing stars throughout the square for the big Christmas tree lighting on Saturday. The streets all around have the same stars hanging and word has it they will turn on and be on every night until January. Once everything is lit I will post pictures. Below s a picture of some light hanging.

I went to the liquor store because we had bought a $5.50 bottle of 2021 Chilean Sauvignon Blanc wine two days ago. I was hesitant to buy it because it was so cheap, but a clerk at the store assured me I would like it. Well we did like it so much I returned to buy three more bottles. You might think this means we drink a lot, but the original bottle was still in the fridge today three days later. We do like our wine, but also drink only 4-5 days a week generally and bottles usually last us into the third day, or longer.

On a less positive note, my T-Mobile cell phone has lost most of its function since we arrived. It will not roam, even after three hours on the phone with T-Mobile techs 2 weeks ago and 2 more hours yesterday. On top of that it will rarely place or receive a call anymore. Sometimes texting works. Whats App works. This is incredibly frustrating, especially since Sheila and I are on the same plan with almost identical phones and hers works perfectly. This is not an isolated incident. My landlord had the same T-Mobile issue when he moved down here 3 years ago. Eventually, he had to give up and switch to AT&T. Be forewarned if you bring a T-Mobile phone to Mexico. The end result of 5 hours on the phone is, I am out of luck. Will be doing research this weekend on what my best option for change is. By the way, I am open to suggestions.

Have a good night!