The Music Scene

I personally don’t go to venues to listen to that type of music at home, so it’s hard for me to imagine anyone enjoying ear-blasting music anywhere. That said the places that present such music are most likely increasing their revenue by doing so. I think many gringos are interested in a warm vacation and feel that Mexico is more economical than other warm vacation spots and that the main motivation lies more in affordability than in experiencing another culture.

Hola
My comment has nothing to do with your post, but the way you presented it. Why do you have all these infantile emojis on your post? They completely distract from what you are posting. Too much smoke? Not enough smoke?

A few years ago I heard a band from Mexico City do a Doors tribute.
Now that was cool!

We have lived here full time for more than 7 years. We both love latin music so we do not frequent bars, restaurants or concerts where gringo music is played. We love the boleros, rumbas, and various salsas. Musica, maestro!

Well - it's like this... Foreign tourists come to MX for sun, surf, and sex, and generally, they want the food they have at home... I've seen differences in the tourists - Canadians somewhat more "adventuraus" than Americans when it comes to food and cultural events.

Keep the mixed drinks tasty and strong, red wine chilled, beer VERY cold, and food hot, and food served at the same time as others in their party - a very difficult concept when it comes to trainng Mexican staff on foreigh tourist's demands...

But, how do you know soooo much, you wanna be" Well, I owned a place in Ixtapa for 4 seasons - the Vid hit - it all fell fast. Extra info coming - doing buisness in Mexico/Ixtapa/Zihu area took out alot of my fighting spirit and energy that may not come back but, the area also has a part of my soul in a conflicted way, yet good in many respects...

Yeah, there was tourist me, then business owner me - holding a Mexican working visa, and paying Mexican SAT taxes, entrepreneur owner in Mexico me... So, from a purely Capitalist way of understanding - that is why I, along with others play Classic Rock tunes - bring in the crowds..

A fellow Manitoban -

Best to you folks enjoying the sun.

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.

We spent 7 winters very close to the music venue you are referring to. OMG. Not only do they have the same play list every single week, it is the same every single year!!!!!!!

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!

"If it sounds good, then it’s good music." -- Duke Ellington (Various versions are reported.)

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.

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.

This message goes out mostly to Oeste Hermoso. ( please forgive the length) My friend, no offence, but you should learn more about the Music Scene in Mexico. So let me give you a brief and accurate lesson on the history of some of the music in Mexico. I have be coming to this wonderful country since I was seven years old and now I’m now almost 75. I have lived here for close to 20 years - in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Morelia and now in Zihuatanejo. In the first place, Mexico has been playing rock since before Elvis came on the scene and country music since before Willie Nelson, and has continued to play and love rock and country music. Mexico has had a major influence on music, with really good bands and musicians that have given so much of their talent, such as Santana, Ritchie Valens, Alex Lora. Freddy Fender and so many more, plus Mexican rock music, often referred to in Mexico as rock nacional ("national rock", originated in the 1950’s.

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.

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.

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.