It’s a lazy Saturday morning with nothing really on the slate until later. Today is Cinco de Mayo. As a I child I remember all of the festivities surrounding this date. My childhood memories recall the dances being learned, the music playing and the green, white and red being proudly displayed. I didn’t know the history then, and even now that I do I don’t really associate the historical event (the battle against the French at Puebla keeping the French from invading and Napoleon III from becoming the emperor of Mexico) with the cultural pride that it instills. I think perhaps of all the weeks for me to have seen Rodrigo y Gabriella this is the best one because it was just before Cinco de Mayo and it really did give me a renewed sense of cultural pride.
Rodrigo y Gabriella are an acoustic guitar duo from Ixtapa via Mexico City. As told by Gabriella they were in a thrash metal band in Mexico City and working hard to get gigs at all. The band parted ways, but she and Rodrigo decided to go acoustic and move to Ixtapa to figure it all out on the beach. So, they ended up playing acoustic versions of Metallica to dreamy eyed
vacationers who found their “Traditional Mexican songs” irrestistable. It’s a funny story, but I can see how the music they play would be interpreted that way. They are simply phenomenal guitar players with a style that really does captivate. I highly recommend to anyone picking up their album. If you like classical guitar, if you like rock, if you aren’t sure if you’d like either get it anyway. It’s really awesome.
And this is where I go back to talking about cultural pride. Seeing this beautiful Mexican woman play the guitar so expertly made me so proud of my Mexican heritage. It helped me remember that the women of Mexico are beautiful, smart and talented. I think in the United States we get so caught up in trying to understand the illegal immigrant issue that we forget that the culture of Mexico is so diverse and amazing. It makes me proud of that part of my heritage when I see a Mexican woman doing her thing and in this case rocking her ass off.
Rodrigo y Gabriella are an acoustic guitar duo from Ixtapa via Mexico City. As told by Gabriella they were in a thrash metal band in Mexico City and working hard to get gigs at all. The band parted ways, but she and Rodrigo decided to go acoustic and move to Ixtapa to figure it all out on the beach. So, they ended up playing acoustic versions of Metallica to dreamy eyed
vacationers who found their “Traditional Mexican songs” irrestistable. It’s a funny story, but I can see how the music they play would be interpreted that way. They are simply phenomenal guitar players with a style that really does captivate. I highly recommend to anyone picking up their album. If you like classical guitar, if you like rock, if you aren’t sure if you’d like either get it anyway. It’s really awesome.And this is where I go back to talking about cultural pride. Seeing this beautiful Mexican woman play the guitar so expertly made me so proud of my Mexican heritage. It helped me remember that the women of Mexico are beautiful, smart and talented. I think in the United States we get so caught up in trying to understand the illegal immigrant issue that we forget that the culture of Mexico is so diverse and amazing. It makes me proud of that part of my heritage when I see a Mexican woman doing her thing and in this case rocking her ass off.
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone. Have a cerbeza, listen to some Mexican music and celebrate even if you aren’t Mexican. It’s a beautiful culture to recognize.
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