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Things
might slow down in Mazatlán this time of year, but along the strip of restaurants
on Olas Altas boulevard downtown weekend entertainment is in full swing.
The beachfront blocks have suddenly become a solid wall of live entertainment.
Some think this revival of an area that was once the premiere entertainment
zone in the city is due to anticipation of the opening of the Freeman Hotel,
others see it as a nice benefit of the continued downtown renaissance—but
for whatever reason, the open-air sidewalk cafes along the beach there offer
a wide range of wining, dining and listening opportunities. Starting at
the south end of the beach, in the same block as the Freeman, the open,
relaxed Puerto Viejo serves seafood (including some great ceviches), libations...and
blues and “oldies” rock from one of the town’s best bands, “Los Rayos Verdes”.
Part of the fun is guessing who will be playing bass on any given night,
but blues fans should be especially aware this month: guitar wizard “Memo”
will be sitting in and greatly expanding the band’s capacity for that unique
American art form, Fridays and Saturdays, eight until one. Between songs,
“PV” listeners hear more vintage rock from “that other band” up the street
at Fonda Santa Clara, one of the traditional old sidewalk waterholes. The
house band, “Bichochas” has recently reorganized, but still rock out with
their incredibly vast repertoire of American oldies, Mexican pop and dance
tunes, and slow-dancing crooners. This is a very fun band, and comes on
Thursday through Saturday from nine to one. The other nights of the week
feature romantic and Mexican country songs by Avila and Felix, moonlighting
from their usual gig at Club Muralla. A block up at the Copa de Leche, the
most venerable and famous of the seaside open bistros, you can linger over
gourmet dining and swirl your brandy snifter to the tunes of Javier and
Oscar on piano, bass and vocals. These boys have been around forever and
are smooth as they come. By no means electrifying performers, but they offer
truemusic lovers a high level of |
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musicianship and excellent voices on romantic and cumbia numbers. You can
get up and dance, people do. They play eight to twelve, Thursday through
Saturday and if you’re lucky you might catch Mario Rojas, the cream of local
vocals, sitting in with them. Up on the corner across from the Deer Statue,
the Shrimp Bucket continues to do what it’s done for decades—feed people
shrimp, stoke the sunset glow, and provide music for dinner and dancing.
Currently they feature Juan and Atea on organ and vocals respectively, Thursday
to Saturday. They also do romantics, cumbias, and Mexican pop, but Atea
has a fine voice and is very popular with foreigners. They play inside (read:
air-conditioned) from eight to midnight. The other nights of the week show
solo guitar/vocal performances from four to nine, a variety of excellent
players doing all kinds of tunes, including requests. If none of this sounds
bouncy enough—or “Mazatlán enough”—for your tastes, walk on around the corner
of the Paseo Claussen promenade to the huge, open La Fragata, where dinner,
drinks, and sunset watching get a musical soundtrack in true local style
from Banda Los Escamillas. The scene here is a little earlier, usually from
two to seven or eight every night but Monday. If you’re not crazy about
Banda, I’ll say this: Los Escamillas is possibly the most listenable Sinaloa
type band in the city—almost like a jazz Big Band or Dixieland outfit. During
September, in celebration of the month of Patriotic Fiestas, La Fragata
will stay open later and feature mariachis after the Banda, so it will be
a great place to soak up local color and sound. On Sunday evenings you can
begin or top off your visit to the area by strolling up the Paseo to the
Flag Plaza, where families gather and dozens of snack venders crowd the
sidewalks...or just stroll along the seawall and watch the waves roll in
to thrash on the rocks. This is Mazatlán the way Mazatlecos see it: a warm
summer evening by the darkening sea, some shrimp, a few drinks and laughs
with friends, and lively music spilling out into the soft night. |
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