Saturday Night Mariachi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_crKZ9k0M5I

This is a youtube of Oaxaca's #1 Mariachi Orchestra which we so enjoyed on Saturday night. I looked up 'Mariachi Oaxaca' and the group in dark uniforms was who we saw.

Jim's doctor belongs to the Rotary Club in town and on his last visit to check Jim he asked us if we liked Mariachi music. We had seen advertising for Mariachi Oaxaca and had been wondering if we should buy the tickets. We ended up buying them from the doctor.

The venue was for dinner, dance, and music to celebrate Valentine's Day, and some of the proceeds were to go to help the children in this community.
We arrived early and had our choice of seating. We chose the second table from the platform. The tables were large and circular and in the end most of them were filled only on the viewing side.

The event started on time! 9 p.m. The music was so enjoyable. The musicians were very talented and half of them played a variety of instruments and about the same amount also sang various parts. We were very impressed.
There were 3 ladies who played violins (and occassionally rhythm bells, voices, and accordian), 3 men who played different styles of guitars, and 3 to 4 trumpet players.They were all dressed in the classic Mariachi costume.

The treasure of the group was a very elderly man who once in a while joined in with his trumpet and once in a while joined in with his voice. He was very petite but he stood tall in his dignity and seemed very aware of everything around him. I wanted to go up and hug him, he was that cute!! I decided he looked like Salvador Dali except his hair was wavy and grey and his mustache was small.

We were served a very tasty creamy soup and then a chicken dinner with pasta and 2 vegs. If we had wanted dessert it was available at the side table. We were too enthralled with the music to bother with dessert.

After the dinner the music changed to more dancing style and many people got up and enjoyed it. The Mexicans were dressed so well. Many evening gowns and fancy shoes. The men in dark pants and long sleeved shirts! Many of them had such fun together on the dance floor.

We were very satisfied to leave after midnight and considered we'd had a great evening of entertainment.