Mariachi Music & Mexican Dinner

On Saturday night, Thomas, his mom & I went to an upscale Mexican restaurant to watch a dinner show by a live band, Mariachi Sol de Mexico. The show started at 7pm but a long line of people was standing outside waiting to be seated by 6pm, when we arrived.

We were one of the first groups to be seated, slightly off-center from the stage and 30 feet away. Occupying the long rows in front of us were three big parties there for birthday celebrations. Looking around, I noticed that we were the only three Asians in the entire room full of about 200 people.

Our waiter, who was very fluent in English promptly took our orders for drinks and came back with them within minutes. We started with a typical but extremely tasty free appetizer of tortilla chips and fresh salsa. The menu included choices of fajitas, enchiladas, tacos, burritos, steak & seafood, all came with a sides of rice & refried pinto beans. We were also one of the first groups to get our dinners. I hungrily devoured my huge fried sea bass and was almost done with my dinner before the lights were dimmed, obscuring the paintings of Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera's masterpieces on the walls.

The stage, which was nicely painted with bright green vines and red flowers, were then lit up, revealing the nine uniformed men with Mexican bow ties, three guitarists and two trumpeters in the back row and four young and handsome violinists in the front row. The upbeat music immediately started with one of the young men in the front row singing in Spanish. Although I had no clue what he was singing about, the energetic beat of their Mariachi music was enough to captivate my interest. One by one, the men took turns singing, and playing their instruments when they were not singing. They went on continuously for about thirty minutes.

They took a short break from singing for one song, when they encouraged the ladies from the audience to dance on stage. After that, the main man, who was a trumpeter and singer, made birthday and other announcements in both Spanish & English. The band then went on to sing what seemed to be a traditional Spanish birthday song, followed by the English one. After that, they continued to awe the audience with their amazing voices and music for another half an hour before the show came to an end.

Our bill, which was a little over $100 for two drinks and three entrees, were a little pricey for the quality of the main courses. However, we knew going into the restaurant that we were paying for the entertainment and it was worth every penny. The band was so vibrant and captivating that they took my breath away for the whole hour that they performed. What also amazed me was the cooperation among the different band members in lighting & the switching of positions among singers in that limited stage space that hardly fit nine men and their instruments.

According to reviews that I read on Yelp!, people drive quite a distance to get here to see this band & they have performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the Academy Awards. They are practically right in our backyard (a few blocks away from where I currently live), and it took us until now to discover it!