GUESAVE AND THE BAND

Sunday, October 18th, Mazatlan:

I said that yesterday was a special day for me. It was. There is a small town in the Central Sinaloa called Guesave. This is a special place for me, though I had never been there. It is the birthplace and home of the late and great Valentin Elizalde. Elizalde was the founder and lead singer of “La Banda Guesavena”. He was, to me, one of the greatest Mexican singers of his time. The Banda Guesavena sounds like a combination of Tia Juana Brass (with a lot more Brass), German style Oompah, great drummer and clarinet, and this wonderful singer of traditional Mexican and regional songs. I had chanced across some videos of “Valentin Elizalde and his Banda Guesavena” The ladies in the audience would line up, come onto the stage, and each would dance with him a few turns while he sang without ever missing a beat. You could sense the adulation of the crowd. I liked his music, and his stage presence so much, I read upon the man.

He was born to wealth, but was very much a man of the people, generous, charitable and caring. He was assassinated at the age of around mid thirties (I’m not sure of the age) by Sinaloan drug lords while returning from a performance. He was and is much revered around here.

It seemed logical to me that there would be a memorial to him in Guesave. I pulled off the highway thinking to perhaps visit the site, have a serious moment to pay my respect, and maybe leave some flowers. I asked someone, and quickly found the site. As I approached, I heard (could it be?) It was. “La Banda Guesavena.” This deliriously happy music that I love so much. What are the chances I would drive 3000 miles, and step out of the car at that exact moment. I was beside myself, “Loco de Alegria”,

I got to talk to the band members, and shake hands with a few of the family. I listened to the music for a while then left, A very happy traveller. The older gentleman who seemed to be the de facto leader of the band told me that they were only doing instrumental now and there was not to be another lead singer. He was that much loved, revered, and respected that he could not be replaced. That teared me up. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog and check for photos.

As for today, I’m still stuck in Mazatlan waiting for a mechanic to look at Yota. I have an appointment for 9 AM tomorrow. It’s lovely here, met a few interesting folks, but I would like to be on my way. I’m gonna go out for a bite to eat and my 1 beer. See you later.

Guy