Journey to Mexico

In January of 1995 I traveled to Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico as a part of a one month long course with my undergraduate school, St. Mary's College of California. My classmates and I went to study the culture and ancient ruins of the ancient Mayan civilization.  The ancient cities of Mexico took my breath away.  As I walked through Chicen Itza, Uxmal, and Palenque, I was in awe of the beauty and majesty of the structures.  This beauty further cemented my love of Mexico, and led to me wanting to know more and more about this country and its people.

Of course, intermingled among all of the travel was dancing, festivals, and savoring the food.  As we listened to the music, something interesting happened:  When a certain type of music was played, my ears would perk up and I would dance, bob my feet, and I suddenly felt energized.  I still did not know the name of this music, however, I scoured the local music shops and purchased some CDs.


When I arrived home I told my family about my adventures, showed them pictures, and of course played my new music.  It would not be until Spring, when my friends invited me to an Oakland nightclub, that I would learn the name of my mystery mystery genre of music: I'll visit that experience in my next entry. . . .

Sparks

When did you start loving Banda?  This is an interesting question, and it is posed to me often.  I can understand the confusion many may have when they hear of my passion for Banda music: I am a proud African American man, born in Pittsburg, California.  My family was poor, and my parents, who were newlywed teens at the time of my birth, loved R&B and listened to the music of Motown.  Pittsburg was famous for its steel mills, not banda music. 

One would think that an African American man born in Pittsburg would be the most unlikely person to feel the passion of Banda music. Well, as it turns out, being from Pittsburg is the spark that ignited my love for Banda music.  The spark came in the form of a restaurant. . . .  As a boy my family and I went to a Mexican restaurant called New Mecca Cafe.  I have always loved eating there. The food is simply to die for. After ordering food I would head over to the jukebox.  It was a huge, old machine, with a treasure of music inside. I would choose a variety of songs to serenade my family to for the duration of our meal.

Intermingled with my favorite music from the USA were selections of Banda music.  With certainty, my family would laugh, and say, "Do you know what they're saying?" I would simply say, "No, but I like the music."   How do I describe this passion for Banda?  It is like a warm fire in my heart: a  fire fueled no doubt by God, in which I feel family, community, love, and Spirit.

It would not be until I was an adult that this type of music would get a name.  I simply knew it as Mexican music.  This changed when I traveled to Central America on a month long adventure to study the Mayan culture and history. This trip, which I will discuss in my next blog, was the next phase in the spark of my love of Banda music.