The Right Way to Start a Summer Day

Standing around the kitchen more asleep than awake at 7:00 am on a recent summer morning, waiting for the water for coffee to boil, the last thing my husband Wayne and I expected to hear was mariachi music. “What’s that?” we asked each other, not trusting our own ears.  

Following the sound out of doors, we located its source over our back fence.  A group of eight mariachi musicians was playing and singing “Las Mañanitas” (the little morning songs). “Las Mañanitas “ is a familiar tune in Hispanic culture, played for special occasions.  Someone must have been celebrating a birthday in the house next door. Guitars and brass instruments were making a full sound, sure to awake any late sleepers in the neighborhood.

It was an uncharacteristically humid morning in El Paso.  We felt like we were somewhere else in the world.  Memories of visits to Mexico and Spain came back to us as we sat on a wooden bench outside in our bathrobes, mugs of coffee in hand, listening to several more songs.  That’s “Malagueña Salerosa,” I observed, joining the mariachis in singing the parts that I knew.  After each selection, we applauded vigorously, not knowing if the musicians could hear us or not.

As the group started to leave, Wayne had a sudden inspiration.  He ran into our house, grabbed a $20 bill, and hurried to our back fence to catch the singers before they left in their cars.  One of the mariachis climbed up a muddy bank despite wearing white boots to take the money and our thanks.

We were just pouring ourselves a second cup of coffee when the doorbell rang.  Standing there were two of the musicians who introduced themselves, thanked us for the tip, and asked if we wanted another song.  On closer observation, we could see that the singers were quite young.  They were a group from a local high school, and even had a business card.  We declined the extra song, but we shook hands all around and thanked them again.

“Do you realize how early those teenagers must have gotten up this morning?”  we marveled.  

 “Would this great experience have happened in very many other places in the U.S.?”  we observed.

 “Las mañanitas.”  What a super way to start the day!

Click to hear Javier Solis sing Las mañanitas