The Sounds of Mexico

This is a blog topic I have thought about on many occasions, but never took the time to write.  But, yesterday something really quite amazing and fantastic happen and I couldn't put it off any longer.  This is one thing I want Elena to remember and read about someday.

Yesterday a band was making it's way down our busy little street, trying to earn a days wages through tips for playing their beautiful music.  This is not an uncommon occurrence here, I would say it happens 1-3 times a month.  Usually it's just 2, maybe 3 or 4 guys playing the marimba and some sort of drum or sometimes mariachi bands.  The Marimba is a really commonly played instrument here.  The ones we see a lot on on the streets here are like a big wooden xylophone, and the music produced from them reminds me of being on a tropical island somewhere lying on the beach.  Today's performance, though, was exceptional.  I couldn't even see the band.  They were just out of my eyesight, around the corner, so I am not exactly sure what instruments they were playing.  It didn't matter to me what the instruments were though, as I was immediately drawn in and hooked to the music.  I listened from my large bedroom windows that are wide open everyday throughout spring and summer to let in the breezes of fresh air, and keep the inside temperature agreeable.  Now, I am not by any means an expert in music, but what they were playing, sounded to me like Salsa music.  Some sort of percussion instrument stood out to me.  The rhythm was up-beat, fast, very catchy, yet smooth and it sounded so sweet you almost couldn't resist to get up and shake your hips.  Then something magical happen, people were literally lured out of their houses away from their work to come watch, hear, and even dance!  The music was like a siren seducing everyone around.  You couldn't help but stop what you were doing and focus on the band and the beautiful music they were making.  I watched people walk down our ally towards the source of the sound with excitement.  From my view I could watch two couples on a sidewalk below my window dance and twirl  each other around quickly to the beat of the music.  This, I thought, is number 10014 why I love Mexico!  I mean if you really stop and think about it, it's not too often that people drop their everyday normalcy, routines, work, life, etc...and just take in the moment and simply enjoy.  This was one of those impulsive, impromptu moments of just letting everything else go, to take in, I mean realllly take in, and enjoy a passing moment.  Nothing else mattered right then.  It was inspiring.  It will be a memory I keep forever, as it touched my heart.  Not to mention it made me want to take a Salsa dance class ASAP!

After it was over, I couldn't help but think about the all the beautiful sounds of Mexico once again.  There are just so many!  The culture here has your senses on fire, on overload....but in a very very good way!  I live in one of the largest suburbs of one of the largest cities on Earth, and there is never a dull moment when it comes to the 5 senses here, sounds and hearing especially!  I couldn't begin to count all the sounds I hear daily, the city is alive and breathing, full of life and action.  And there were so many sounds that were completely new to me when I moved here, sounds that I had never heard in my life.  From the annoyingly loud trash bells to the street vendors selling anything and everything from popsicles to pillows.  The gas men yelling ''GASSSSSS'' every morning, to the millions of street dogs barking off and on throughout the night.  The rawrs and the coughs of the old beaten up combi buses, to the funny horn honks that don't sound like a horn a all, but a whistle or a little song.  The sounds of babies crying and screaming pour out of the open windows and into the neighbors, and the children's laughter as they play and run through the streets.  The roosters, who don't seem to mind that their miles and miles away from the countryside.  The fireworks, oh how they love their fireworks here! Year-round there is always a reason to have fireworks, and the loud ones that sound more like a bomb, and still make me jump!  Music everywhere from mariachi, to traditional banda, to reggaeton.  The sounds of  hundreds of people shuffling by on their way to work or home from work.  From the futbol matches on the television in the background everywhere you go, to the homeless people muttering something indistinct as you pass them by.  The mercados bustling and busy from sunup to sundown.  Gun-shots in the night, sometimes distant, and sometimes too close for comfort that make you feel frozen in fear wondering what's going on and why?  The thunder even sounds different here, in this valley surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the thunder sounds older, tired, yet stronger and deeper than anywhere else I've ever heard before.  These are just some of the sounds of Mexico I have grown to feel comfort from.  These are the sounds of my home. Put them all together and it's part of the orchestra of life.  These sounds are beautiful, and part of the amazing charm of this little dot on the map.