Banda Music

Nothing says "Welcome to Mexico" quite like moving into a neighborhood where two banda groups practice and throw parties. Banda is a type of music that originated here in the state of Sinaloa during the late 1930's, and exploded in popularity during the 1990's. The groups usually consist of 12-20 members. There are generally 2 singers and the rest are brass, percussion and woodwinds. Let me assure you, they play with alot of heart, soul and most importantly, lungs! Me, being the former band geek that I was, can really appreciate this music. It is most definately lively! We have one group on the same side of the street, two doors down and another across the street and catty corner from us. Trust me, when they get wound up, they may as well be playing at the foot of our bed! The nights that they practice is not too bad, they usually wrap up around midnight or so. The nights they have parties is a whole other matter. The latest I recall that one band played was until 10 am the next morning. I found this clip on YouTube of Banda el Recodo, considered to be one of the best, to give you an idea of the sound.

The "Colonial Pearl"

David, Mom and I made another road trip to a neighboring village. This time we chose El Quelite (founded in 1564) about 40 minutes north of Mazatlan on highway 15. It is a pueblita consisiting of brightly colored houses, rolling cobblestone streets and flowers so vibrant it almost hurt to look at them. There is a famous song called “Que bonito es El Quelite” (How beautiful is El Quelite), this song is very well known in all of Latin American. Anyways, for a small place there seems to be alot of activity; the largest game cock farm in Northern Mexico, charrerias and ulama games are held often, there are 17th century paintings in the church, cheese factory, a very good bakery, couple of inns, etc. We had a good lunch at El Meson de Los Laurenos. This place is a resturant and hotel and is owned and run by Dr. Marcos Osuna Tirado. He is a talkative fellow, and will happily sit with you and answer any questions you may have. He was born and raised in what is now the hotel, and he only left long enough to attend medical school. He has made making El Quelite a tourist destination, while keeping it a traditional colonial village, his lifes work. For his efforts, it was named one of the 10 most beautiful colonial villages of Mexico.

Jalapeno Chicken

Here's another popular request for my peeps:

Jalapeno Chicken

6 chicken breasts

1/2 cup lime juice

1/4 cup honey

2 TB cilantro

3 jalapeno peppers (diced)

2 TB soy sauce

3 cloves garlic (chopped)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients(except chicken of course) and process until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup marinade and pour remaining over chicken breasts. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours. Drain chicken and grill, turn and brush with marinade as needed.

Buen Provencho!