The music scene in La Cruz

During our time here at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Rich and I have listened to more live music than we have in the last four years. Here are some examples.

On my birthday, Rich and I went for dinner at Marsala, a Mediterranean restaurant here in La Cruz. That evening the group Tatewari was playing. In the tradition of the Huichol indians, Tatewari is the oldest Huichol god, also known as Hikuri, the Peyote-god. He is personified with Peyote plants on his hands and feet, and he interprets all the deities to the modern shamans. Tatewari is the source for the name of this group of three talented musicians from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Esau Galván Saltos (rhythm & lead guitar), Daniel Marquez (bass guitar) and Cruz Alberto Perez (backup guitar) are high school buddies, who have been performing for over five years in a variety of establishments in the region of Banderas Bay. Their eclectic and distinctive sounds of rumba flamenca, fusion, and world music captivated the audiences. We have heard them play not only at Marsala but also at Lupe’s Los Arroyes de Verdes during the Pacific Puddle Jump Reunion and at the Los Amigos de La Cruz event at the marina. We bought one of their CD’s. This is a video of Tatewari from You Tube

Another popular group in La Cruz is Latcho and Andrea. They are German artists that perform gypsy rumba and flamenco guitar music similar to The Gypsy Kings. Last Friday, 3/30, we joined the crews of Nirvana and C'est La Vie at the Black Forest Restaurant for dinner and the their last performance of the season. They were joined by Geo Uhrich of Vancouver Island, a violinist who is also very popular in town. Their dance floor was the size of a postage stamp but that did not stop anyone from dancing, including Keith and Susan.

Geo, Andrea and Latcho

No visit to La Cruz would be complete without a night at Philo’s bar. Philo Hayward was a studio musician in Los Angeles before settling here in La Cruz and opening a restaurant & bar. He is also a cruiser and sailed across the Pacific when we did in 2002. We have been there many nights, including one night during the Puddle Jump reunion when Sarah watched Rich and I shuffle on the dance floor with a lot of other 'Q-tips'. On Thursday night, 4/5, we had dinner at Philo’s with Keith and Susan of C’est La Vie, Susan’s daughter, Stacey, and granddaughter, Casey, who were visiting and vacationing for a week with Keith and Susan. Keith has been attending guitar lessons at Philo’s for the past view months and his guitar class performed that evening. Bob of SV Nirvana who plays the mandolin, joined the performance. It was a fun evening. They have a live webcam for the performances which you can check out at the website.

Music is a part of La Cruz. There is always a group playing at the Sunday Markets or Jam nights at Philo's or La Cafe de Huanacaxtle or Ana Banana's or Octopussy's Garden, etc. The examples above are just a few of the groups we have seen.

Our visit here has been more than replacing the engine and boat chores.