Then there's SOUND!

There is always music in Mexico. Last night we sat on the verandah and listened to the band playing in the plaza down in Guayabitos. Bass line set down by a tuba, trumpets playing notes that don't quite match, and violins that must be tuned to dissonance. It was still going on when we went to bed, and when we woke again at 4:30 to a fisherman's song. As I write this the cantina across the estuary has cranked up the volume, good old plaintive mi amor has left me stuff. Very similar to the song that broke out of the man yesterday at the vegetable store. "How beautiful you sing!" I said. What else do you say to someone pouring out his soul to a bunch of radishes? He lowered his eyes at me, made a fist, pulled it toward him and hit his gut. "Not beauty. Deep emotion." I'm sure there was a story there.

One of my favorite memories of Disneyland is a grown man with a Goofy hat on dancing with complete abandon with his daughter at the Tomorrowland Bandstand. There's something wonderful about people who sing freely and dance wildly, at any age. Bravo for parents who dance with their children. Bravo for schools that keep music programs alive. The photo above was taken by my friend Jeannie at the Chula Vista middle school near here. Gringos were delivering a lot of school supplies there, and the students gave a performance as a thank you. Paper, pencils, notebooks -- always in short supply. But music -- never!