Man I love Fridays! Ernie and I ended up skipping the show at KCPA, Ernie wasn't sure he wanted to go and I realized we'd forgotten to make sure Owen had his keys so we went and had our standard Friday lunch which was delightful as always. We headed home and hung out with the boys and I tried to decide what kind of appetizers I want to make for the Bottle Rockets (STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE PEOPLE). I came up with a few ideas but then vetoed them….I'm trying to this on the ultra cheap…so popcorn and roasted chickpeas it may be. We'll see….I've got days left to obsess over it!
We fed the boys dinner and headed out to the University Y to see Los Condenados Huastecos. Oh man. They were glorious. So soaring and joyous…utterly wonderful. Truly beautiful music….it really touched my heart.
Of course as we walked up the street to the Y my shoe evidently caught the edge of an uneven sidewalk and I went down hard and fast. You know how sometimes you think you can catch yourself? I didn't even have time to know what was happening. I landed on my knees and then continued to flat on my chest so my breath got knocked out of my for a second. Oof. There is no other word than oof. I shall have some impressive bruises and man oh man do I ache today but I'm fine. No blood…just scraped knees and palms so that it hurt when I clapped. Clap I did however because the music was so great.
I even got to see my beloved Ann and Bob dance. I wish I were more of a photographer because there was one point when they were looking at each other and laughing and they just looked so beautiful. I love my friends.
The group is made of up Juan Rivera on violin (who is also in the Sons De México), Carlos Garcia on jarana huasteca and Alex Chávez on the guitarra quinta huapanguera. What was particularly nice was that Alex gave introductions to many of the songs and talked about Son Hueteco music….it was fascinating and his words did really add to the whole experience. As always, it gives one pause to think about what music means to a culture and how special it is to share.
Afterwards I was feeling achy and stiff and kinda Friday night tired so we headed home. I gingerly curled up and Ernie fed me a fried egg sandwich. How does he make them taste so good? I went up to bed with Bob the cat and read and sipped a glass of wine while I listened to the rain. I don't play music on evenings when I can listen to the rain.
Eventually I realized that Leo was up far too late and Ernie had no doubt fallen asleep on the couch. I went down to the landing and hissed "Ernie" a couple of times, eventually getting louder and yelling, "ERNEST." Nothing. I sighed and yelled "LEO, go wake up your father." Then all of a sudden Ernie was all, "I'm awake, I've been awake, why are you yelling?" Leo and I just giggled and I told them both to come to bed. Man I love my boys.
This morning I woke up stiff and sore but happy.
If you get a chance to hear Los Condenados Huastecos you must do so….