Also a former Manitoban

But if most people aren't even listening to the music I post then I won't waste my time any longer.

Au contraire, mon ami! We do listen! Sometimes I wonder if you spend your days just sitting under a palapa sipping papaya licuardos finding these hidden gems. Lucky Guy!

Please don't stop. We would be saddened to lose your daily musical suggestions. It certainly breaks up the day as I sit chained to the desk chair in front of my laptop master. And I don't think I would have ever heard of Lila Downs. How sad!

(But this, of course, doesn't mean I have any intentions of giving up Beethoven or the Beatles.)

I have lived here for three years and one of the few issues I have is the predominant hegemony/what evs of gringo music.

Why would you come to another country and want to hear classic rock from the RofNA? Why do the bars and restaurants feel compelled to hire musicians who play the same stuff gringos can hear back home? Why do gringos patronize such establishments?

Viva the local musicians who play Latino musica.

Oh - and the gringo women clapping their hands and singing ‘ba ba baa’ to Sweet Caroline ….

I'm with you. Historically our local musicians have played tropical music including salsa, cumbia and boleros. That's the music of the region.

I've gone out of my way these past 2½ years to post tropical music with my daily Covid reports, and I continue doing so even though we have no Covid to report on. But if most people aren't even listening to the music I post then I won't waste my time any longer.

My son had a basketball ball game behind the Scotiabank yesterday and when we arrived there was 100 locals blasting Led Zeppelin's Whole lotta love. Rock on.

"Long live rock ... be it dead or alive!" -- Pete Townshend

Great Muaicians, great Men, great historians and so proud of their pueblito.

They would take their break with a hot green tea and come back with such a beautiful gift!!

Standards set by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Nancy Sinatra, and Chuck Berry were soon covered by bands such as Los Apson, Los Teen Tops, Los Twisters, Los Hitters, Los Nómadas, Los Rockets, Los Lobos, Los Rebeldes del Rock, Los Locos del Ritmo, Los Crazy Boys, and Javier Bátiz , which later led to original compositions, often in English. The group "Los Nómadas" was the first racially integrated band of the 1950’s.
In the 1920’s, early forms of country music were born out of honky tonks, which was adapted mostly from ragtime but also heavily influenced by Mexican ranchera music. At the height of its popularity, Western swing music was associated with acts like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, but that signature sound of the 1930’s was actually largely adapted from Mexican musical styles, incorporating sounds that are common in mariachi music: with stylized violin or fiddle elements, various string instruments, and lots of horns. This all makes up what’s known as the big-band sound (Banda, in Spanish).

The iconic Western-swing pianist Knocky Parker once described the Texas-swing genre as “a mixture of Mexican mariachi music from the south, with jazz and country strains coming in from the east.” To this day, the Mexican song “El Rancho Grande” is still a go-to for American swing bands, with its boisterous orchestral use of fiddles and trumpets.

I could go on and on, but you may ask who I am. I am a Spanish musician with over 60 years of experience. I studied music and music interpretation first from my family who many were great musicians, then I went to High School of Music and Art in New York City, and The Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens College. I was a recording and sound engineer for several years and have jammed with some of the best musicians from the U.S, Mexico, most of Latin America including Spain. Something else you may not have noticed… most of the people who request Classic Rock and Country music are Mexicans, who also love music from Credence, Elvis, Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson and so on. If you don’t believe me, next time you go to the riverfront, look at all the people listening, dancing, and even humming along to classic rock and country music. Most of them are Mexican. There’s a lot more I can tell you about the MUSIC SCENE in Mexico but I think I’ve made my point. Traditionally, Mexican music, like Mariachi, Norteño, and Banda are some of the most beautiful and poetic music you will ever hear. But in Mexico we also play Mambo from Cuba, Salsa from Puerto Rico, Flamenco from Spain, and yes Rock and Roll and Country Music from the U.S, Canada the U.K. and other countries. My goodness, we even play Polkas from Germany. And let’s not forget, Tejano Music or TexMex and guess what the Mex stands for. So next time you hear music, enjoy it and remember it is the Universal Language. Be well my friend.

What spots do you recommend to find good music in those genres? We are new residents still exploring, and so would love recommendations! Thanks in advance!

To each his/her own, but the best way to encourage diversity in music is to expose people to good music!

IMHO, the best music is played by wandering musicians. Not the norteños, but the guys from here in Guerrero. Los Hermanos Morelos are my favorites. Los Romanceros del Balsas were the best for many years. Some of my favorite local musicians are listed on my SERVICES page.

To each his/her own, but the best way to encourage diversity in music is to expose people to good music!

I have lived here for three years and one of the few issues I have is the predominant hegemony/what evs of gringo music.

Why would you come to another country and want to hear classic rock from the RofNA? Why do the bars and restaurants feel compelled to hire musicians who play the same stuff gringos can hear back home? Why do gringos patronize such establishments?

Viva the local musicians who play Latino musica.

Oh - and the gringo women clapping their hands and singing ‘ba ba baa’ to Sweet Caroline ….

Your post reminds me of the time that I visited Bangkok, Thailand and walked by a crowded open air "Hard Rock" ???? bar/restaurant. Couldn't quite wrap my head around Thai performers belting out classic American rock and roll music! Then I remembered: it's a hard rock venue. Closer to home, in "party town" Playa del Carmen, Mexico, traditional Mexican music ???? takes a back seat to very LOUD house, dance, techno music beats. To be fair, some of the songs are sung by Spanish musicians and rappers. Just not the kind of music one generally associate with Mexico. To each its own, I guess.

You sure it's all gringos? On the holiday weekends when the Mexico City crowd shows up, I don't hear any traditional Mexican music. Incidentally, R&R is popular all over the world with all kinds of people. Maybe some kind of medication would help your condition.

I agree with you. I would like to listen to music from here in the tropics of Mexico.

11-03-2022
@Susan G

Between 99- 2007 or so, when I went on trips to Acapulco desde aquí en Z, there I enjoyed the musical called:
"ACAPULCO TROPICAL" , e.z. to find there.
When it comes on, or I hear it by chance, it sounds good.
As another Z Board user mentioned about "the beat and the smoothness of the music.
It makes the whole experience more authentic."

Don't know why I seldom if ever hear that specific genre known as Acapulco Tropical here in Z.
I think it would blend in well, easy and smooth listening.

I suppose that the type of music heard in public establishments is based on demand.
There's no shortage of Grupera and Banda as it apparently is what most of the local alkies prefer.

And, a change of pace from high-energy high-power music played on Stratocasters, etc, backed by walls of Marshall and/or Hiwatt stacks, every now and then is good for the soul.

I have lived here for three years and one of the few issues I have is the predominant hegemony/what evs of gringo music.

Why would you come to another country and want to hear classic rock from the RofNA? Why do the bars and restaurants feel compelled to hire musicians who play the same stuff gringos can hear back home? Why do gringos patronize such establishments?

Viva the local musicians who play Latino musica.

Oh - and the gringo women clapping their hands and singing ‘ba ba baa’ to Sweet Caroline ….

Your post reminds me of the time that I visited Bangkok, Thailand and walked by a crowded open air "Hard Rock" ???? bar/restaurant. Couldn't quite wrap my head around Thai performers belting out classic American rock and roll music! Then I remembered: it's a hard rock venue. Closer to home, in "party town" Playa del Carmen, Mexico, traditional Mexican music ???? takes a back seat to very LOUD house, dance, techno music beats. To be fair, some of the songs are sung by Spanish musicians and rappers. Just not the kind of music one generally associate with Mexico. To each its own, I guess.

Music is so subjective, so universal and yet so intensively personal. If it sounds good, it is good ... for you!

I will never forget my cousin's son rolling his eyes as I put on Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D. I forget exactly why I did so. Either my cousin or his son asked me to choose a "classical music" piece for some reason or another. (Note: This is not a piece from the classical music era. It is from the romantic era.) I wasn't proselyting or anything like that. One or both of them wanted to hear something like that for some reason or another. However, the look on his face was perfect and unambiguous. "This sucks." I, on the other hand, believe this piece to be one of the most beautiful works of music ever written. We didn't get past the first movement.

It is sounds good, it is good. If it doesn't, oh, well, time to find something else.

We finally resorted to going inside and turning up our own music, loud.

Sweet Caroline? I was at the Greek Theater when Hot August Nights was recorded, but the women with their singing along is enough to make me hate it!!!!! Then there is their Johnny Cash. Really? It's MEXICO!!!!!

Fortunately, we are your neighbor and very rarely, but occasionally do hear the music drift up from the south end of the beach. We look at each other and say OMG. Don't miss living there!

I have lived here for three years and one of the few issues I have is the predominant hegemony/what evs of gringo music.

Why would you come to another country and want to hear classic rock from the RofNA? Why do the bars and restaurants feel compelled to hire musicians who play the same stuff gringos can hear back home? Why do gringos patronize such establishments?

Viva the local musicians who play Latino musica.

Oh - and the gringo women clapping their hands and singing ‘ba ba baa’ to Sweet Caroline ….

So the 26,000 that watched Iron Maiden in Mexico City before the pandemic were all gringos as there is no way any Mexican would like rock. So once I step foot in Mexico everything should change? I could say the same thing about getting out and experiencing real Mexico and not staying within 3 blocks of the beach. Everyone has their own idea of what they want as a vacation. This last trip one restaurant in Barrió Viejo told us we were the first gringos at their restaurant and they have been opened for 5 years. They were even nice enough to attempt to teach my wife how to make tortillas on a cómal. Somehow I don’t feel the need as to tell everyone what they should be doing.