We couldn’t really hear the instruments from the orchestra, but it was nice to sit up in the bleachers with a wide view of the huge stage, where I’ve seen many shows over the years, among them the Rolling Stones, Roger Waters, Metallica, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, and other Vive Latinos.Īfter that we headed over to a distant side stage to watch Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles.
Then we went to the main stage and watched a cover band with a symphony orchestra doing famous rock en español as the sun went down. They’re good, but they were much better when I saw them from about 20 feet away at a much smaller music festival in Metepec near where I live. This Mexican group plays a bouncy mix of jazz, tango, and rock. Of course, the obvious reason for the wristband was that the workers wouldn’t be skimming money all weekend, and in that regard I’m sure it was a success.Īfter the wristband adventure and getting some food, we watched Pate de Fua first. This one had a happy ending, though, a fresh beer every time. I’ll admit that I felt like I was in a Black Mirror episode at times: the cell phone glowing over my hand, light reflecting off the piece of plastic tied to my wrist, and then the new lower number on the screen, counting down to zero. You didn’t have to deal with change or tipping, and at the end getting a refund for the leftover money was fast and easy.
As the night went on, I became a believer. Thankfully it didn’t take long to find a recharge station that had wristbands. No, I don’t know where the wristbands are. As we walked the grounds outside the huge bleachers of the main stage, I saw many other people trying to buy beers and hearing the same explanation. I had disturbing visions of spending the whole day with no food or drink. The problem was that when we entered Foro Sol sometime around 4 PM, there were no more wristbands. The vendors would scan it with their cell phones so you could pay for your beer or hot dog. You had to get a wristband and add money to it at a booth. The beer and food vendors (and presumably t-shirt vendors too) accepted no cash. The first surprise wasn’t pleasant at first, but turned out to be a good idea. It was a hell of a lot of fun with a few pleasant surprises. Unlike other years, when we’d see a few bands on side stages and then spend the rest of the night watching the main stage, this year we wandered around catching music on several of the five stages. I went with my wife and some friends on the first day, Saturday. The headliners on Saturday were two of Mexico’s biggest bands, Panteon Rococo and Molotov, and on Sunday Queens of the Stone Age and Gorrilaz. This year, like most years, it was mostly rock en español with outliers like electronic music and rap, along with some famous foreign groups. Every spring, international and Mexican bands take the stage at Foro Sol, a massive outdoor venue that hosts the biggest rock shows in Mexico and doubles as a baseball stadium and racetrack. Last weekend (March 17-18) was the Vive Latino Music Festival in Mexico City. Check it out, and please recommend what I missed. Instead, I want to hear (and recommend) Going Down to Mexico by ZZ Top, Mexican Minutes by Brooks & Dunn, The Seashores of Old Mexico by George Strait, Buenas Tardes Amigo by Ween, Mexicali Blues by the Grateful Dead, and South of the Border, a jazz standard done very well by Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and numerous other artists.Īll of these songs about Mexico and more are on my Youtube playlist Mexico Songs by Gringos. Honestly, I don’t mind the lyrical content-I like doing tequila shots and making stupid decisions-but the music accompanying these banal, cliched songs about Mexico is undeniably terrible. The bad songs about Mexico, which aren’t on my list, are about doing tequila shots and making stupid decisions. Sometimes they use the trope of Mexico as an escape, like Mexico by Cake, but they’re good songs about Mexico anyway. Sometimes they’re stories of bandits and federales, like Pancho and Lefty, by Townes Van Zandt, made famous by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. Sometimes they’re dreamy glimpses of Mexico in the imagination, like James Taylor’s Mexico. There are also plenty of cool songs about Mexico by foreigners, mostly Americans.
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