IMPROVISED, FREE-SPIRITED, hot: good adjectives for Puerto Escondido, but they could just as easily describe the music of the two bands performing here this summer. Both are local bands, in the sense that the groups formed here and their sound is of the spirit of the place.
![[La Viuda de Romero]](images/viuda-1.jpeg "La Viuda de Romero")
La Viuda de Romero takes traditional Mexican and Cuban songs and infuses
them with so much energy that they don't sound like your grandparents'
boleros anymore, even though the melodies are familiar. So it was no
surprise to find that lead singer and guitarist Daniel Santiago is a fan of
Pink Floyd. Their rendition of Miguel Matamoros's Lágrimas Negras positively
rocks. As sung in a rich tenor by the trio's keyboardist, Victor Rojas, this
lament for lost love, quickly moves from a bolero tempo to a son or rumba,
and then takes on jazzy, improvised riffs via David Rangel's congas.
It's just another Friday night at Brad's Split Coconut at the Jardín Real in Bacocho, but we were all blown away. (Editor's Note: Starting this month the band plays Thursdays at the Split)
La Viuda de Romero takes its name from a brand of Tequila. When they started playing at Brad's, they didn't have a name. A customer ordered a drink, as they were tossing monikers about and they liked the sound of it.
Although the Viuda has only been around for the last few years, it has its roots in La Mancha, a group that has existed in Puerto since 1993. La Mancha is a more traditional costeño dance band which in its current incarnation includes the Viuda three-some plus another keyboard and drums. It is often featured at dances at the Agencia, and their song, "El Pez Vela" (words by Juventino Robles and music by the band's keyboardist, Victor Rojas) is an official anthem of Puerto Escondido.
![[La Viuda de Romero]](images/viuda-2.jpeg "La Viuda de Romero")
David Rangel says that as the cubists took impressionism to another level,
breaking with the old structures, so it is that Viuda uses traditional
themes and introduces them to Latin rock and jazz, making every performance
a unique improvisation. Rangel, 42, is from Mexico City and has the most
musically varied background of the group. But, he is quick to add that the
most important element of Viuda is its roots in costeño music.
Oaxaca coast music is part of Victor Rojas' inheritance. Rojas, 38, shares the same birthplace, Cacahuatepec, a village near Pinotepa Nacional, as Alvaro Carrillo, Oaxaca's most revered songwriter/composer. His family moved to Puerto when he was 5, and he has a strong commitment to the region's unique musical heritage. He also teaches music and art at a middle school in Nopala.
Puerto native, Daniel Santiago, 27, brings a blues, rock inflection to the band that would seem to be in opposition to Rangel's often Cuban sounding congas and Rojas's regionalism, but it takes the whole combo sailing onto uncharted seas. Santiago and the others emphasize how much they enjoy playing with each other and how they are all influenced by what the others contribute. They look forward to playing together in Puerto for a long time.
![[mayca]](images/mayca-2.jpeg "mayca")
The biggest band in Puerto this summer (most venues, largest crowds) is also
the newest and youngest. The three musicians who make up Proyecto Mandala -
Jorge Guerra, ukulele; Alan (Tabula rasa) Gosa, keyboard; and Harris
(Molokai) Iverson, electric guitar - met each other last winter when they
jammed Friday nights at the Bar Aquí on Zicatela. Now their original reggae
sound covers the waterfront: Thursdays at Bruno's, Fridays Fajitas,
Saturdays Calaveras y Diablitos, and Mondays at Bar Aquí. The shows start
around 10 and sometimes go on to 3 a.m.
The musicians are young but they each have solid music backgrounds. Harris, 25, comes from the Hawaiian Island of Molokai by way of Boston's Berklee College of Music where he majored in music synthesis. He spent the last two years in Amatlan (Morelos) composing and engineering music for the record label, Toltécnica. Jorge, 30, who is from Mexicali, studied classical music for four years at the Conservatorio de las Rosas de Michoacán, but he also toured playing guitar in a rock band. He switched from guitar to ukulele two years ago while living in Hawaii. Alan, 35, is from the state of México, but he has played in every country in Central America plus part of the Caribbean. The last eight years he spent touring the U.S. and Canada.
As might be expected, each guy has his unique sound which comes out in the solos, but the band also works as an ensemble. Like the Viuda, the Mandala Project musicians have a very harmonious working relationship which carries over into their playing. Next year they may be separated by oceans, but each will bring this unique Puerto reggae sound to wherever he may perform. Catch them while you can.
Barbara Schaffer is a poet and language teacher. barbaraschaffer.com