Last night I was invited to the Far West Rodeo club in Monterrey, Mexico for some live music. The MXN$150 (~US$12) cover included free drinks, so I had some cheap beer and come cheap pineapple juice with rum.

The music varied a little, including some Salsa and Cumbia, but mostly Tejano. As wikipedia points out, Tejano music is kind of a broad term for music which formed out of the combination of northern Mexican and southern U.S. influences. This was especially clear to me while listening to the band play a partly-Spanish, partly-English rendition of the Johnny Cash song Ring of Fire.

This was my first attempt to dance to the Tejano rythm, but I guess I did alright. It’s pretty simple. Too simple, really, for my taste. But I enjoyed watching others dance to the Tejano music, and to the Tejano-Cumbia rythms. I know a little Cumbia, but not enough to really hold my own yet. And watching the other couples dance last night, while entertaining, wasn’t especially educationally, as the vast majority were dancing holding beers or cigarettes. And in my opinion, you can’t really dance without both hands free.

I think we’ll hit up a salsa club here in Monterrey later this week. I’m hoping!