We’re teaming up with bluesman Rambling Dan Frechette for a night of Latin Blues at the Bella Vista. Dan called us up with some tunes he’s written that need a Latin groove, and we love how he sings with his heart and soul, and of course, throws in some of that famous blues grit. Blues guitar and rumba? Move over Ry Cooder, Winnipeg’s taking over!

Click here to hear a Rambling Dan tune.

It’s not a joke – we’re really playing @ Juss Jazz on April 1st. Wear a costume and we’ll share our roti with you.

Join us for a night of dancing, tambores (drums), and drink or two at Juss Jazz. There’s Latin music every Sunday night at Juss Jazz, featuring Winnipeg’s top Latin musicians, including Rodrigo Muñoz, Scott Senior, Amber Epp, Victor López, Marco Castillo, and the Mariachi Ghost.

Email Don to reserve your seats at this private house concert. djmetz@gmail.com

Best Guacamole Ever

1 avocado

1/2 tomato, cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

1 sprinkle of lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

The instructions are really easy: Just pit the avocado, mash it up, add in the rest of the ingredients, stir well. You can also add in red onion and/or chili pepper flakes. Try guacamole on bread – “pan con palta” – for a tasty treat. Enjoy!

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Bring Trio Bembe a taste of your delicious guacamole at their next gig.

The next time you go to see Trio Bembe, you’ll hear songs in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. It’s funny how some words sound really similar and some are VERY different!

In English and Spanish, tacos are, well, tacos. In Portuguese, tacos mean golf clubs!

Portuguese “morar” = to live, Spanish “morir” = to die

Portuguese “aspirador” (sounds like aspirator) = vacuum cleaner

Cuban Spanish: “Qué volá asere?”. Literal translation: “What’s flying, monkey?”, Slang for “What’s up?”

Brazilian Portuguese: “Legal” (pronounced “leh-gaow”) means “cool!”

Spanish “futból” (fute-bowl) and Portuguese “futebol” (foo-chee-bowl) = soccer. And please, never start an argument with a Brazilian about who’s going to win the next World Cup.

Spanish “mosca” = fly, Portguese “moça” = young girl

And our favorite: Portuguese: “Biquini fio dental” = dental string bikini!

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Find out where you can hear Trio Bembe perform in Spanish or Portuguese.

Gabriel recently played atJuss Jazz as part of Trio Bembe’s Latin Music Showcase. The show went over so well that there is now a regular Latin Night at Juss Jazz on Sundays, from 8 – 11 pm. You can catch Gabriel with Mariachi Ghost this Sunday, Jan 15.

TB: Who are you, what do you play, and who do you play with?
GF: My name is Gabriel Fields, I am a stringed instrument nerd and I play “jarana” (a Mexican rhythm guitar, pronounced ha-rana), guitar, and “guitarra vozarrona” (a big Mexican bass melody guitar also known as “Leona”). I currently play with the band Mariachi Ghost and from time to time accompany spoken word artist T’ai Pu.

TB: Why are you always going to Mexico? What’s down there anyway?

GF: The people, the music and the food! I went down there a few years ago for a semester abroad when I was in university and I fell in love with the place. When I had the chance to travel again, a couple years later, nostalgia and my burgeoning obsession with Mexican “son” (regional folk music styles) called me back. On this second trip I discovered and got sucked into the wonderful world of Son Jarocho music and the culture of Fandangos in southern rural Veracruz. I was welcomed into a community of musicians passionate about living and preserving their traditions, traditions which often involve playing music together till the early hours of the morning… Having been bitten by the Son Jarocho bug, or el “bicho”, as they say in Spanish, when I go back, I had to be part of that community and to play this music that makes me incredibly happy.

TB: What do you like to eat in Mexico? How is it made?

GF: Everything! But if I had to chose, I would say “Tacos al Pastor”. They (and pretty much all tacos in general for that matter) are nothing like the tacos we are used to; no lettuce, no ground beef, no taco spice. These tacos are made with pork, the meat is covered in a red sauce or “adobo” and is cooked on a spit in the same way kebabs or shawarma are prepared. At the top of the spit, generally there’s half a cut pineapple. The meat is then shaven off and served with onions and cilantro on a small corn tortilla, and if you want they’ll slice off some of the pineapple too, I always do. Then you can choose from a number of salsas and condiments. I always squeeze lime juice on mine, I almost always go for the green salsas and “pico de gallo”, also, if they’re available, I like put some marinated radish slices on them. I generally get 4 or 5 but I have eaten up to 8 in one sitting. They’re delicious and cheap, I just wish Canadian food safety laws would permit “Taco al pastor” stands…just one more reason to go back to Mexico!

TB: How did you come to play with the Mariachi Ghost, and what project are you working on with them now?

GF: My good friend and musical jam partner Jorge Requena was getting together a band to orchestrate some music he had written, inspired by a comic he was creating by the same name, for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and he asked me if I would play jarana. Five more musicians joined us, the show was a success and we became Mariachi Ghost. That was 2.5 years ago, we now play in different configurations;  the 8-piece Mariachi Ghost band with musicians and dancers plays original pieces fusing Mexican traditional music with rock, funk, and Latin rhythms. The quartet plays traditional Mexican Mariachi, Son Jarocho and Bolero tunes like what we played at Juss Jazz last weekend. We’re playing there again this Sunday (Jan 15th) and our next show as a full band will be on March 9th at the Park Theatre. It’s a double bill, Mariachi Ghost and Sandy Taronno (Qunizy).
TB: Explain Son Jarocho music to us (layman’s terms please!)

GF: Son Jarocho is the music of southern Veracruz in Mexico. It’s a vibrant musical tradition that spans over 300 years and is born from the mixture of Spanish, African and Indigenous cultures that region. Its maximum expression is the Fandango or Huapango, a celebration that brings together entire communities not just the musicians, singers, and dancers. The music is played on different handmade guitars (often carved out of single pieces of wood) native to southern Veracruz. The jarana is the backbone; it’s the rhythm guitar, and comes in many different sizes, from the deep voiced “tercera” to the bright sounding “mosquito”. The melody is played by the “guitarra de son” and the bass-like “guitarra vozarrona”, these instruments lead the music by declaring which “son” or tune is going to be played and setting the pace (In some parts of Veracruz the harp takes this role). The driving force and heart of the Fandango is the “tarima”, the raised wooden stage that is placed at the centre of the party. It acts as the main percussion instrument and is played by dancers stomping the rhythms on it with there feet; without dancers there can be no Fandango. Each “son” has its own dance steps and choreography and its own set of lyrics often involving call and response. Lyrics are not set; as long as they fit with the theme and structure of a “son”, singers are free to sing the verses that best express how they feel at that moment; the best singers will sometimes even improvise them. Son Jarocho has a raw energy and a warmth that needs to be experienced first hand (like this Sunday at Juss Jazz), but make sure to get in a late afternoon nap, because a good Fandango lasts till the early, and sometimes late, hours of the morning…

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Gabriel has his own roadie to carry all his different Mexican guitars to his shows.

*Bring 5 friends and get a free ticket to Amber’s Birthday Fiesta*

Trio Bembe had their first Latin Music Showcase at Juss Jazz in early January, and the event went over so well that Juss Jazz has decided to keep things going every Sunday night with Winnipeg’s favorite Latin groups, including Mariachi Ghost, Victor López & Son Urbano, Marco Castillo, and US! The dance floor gets packed, so come stake out your spot early!

Sunday, Feb 5, 8 – 11 pm

$5 cover

Trio Bembe plays Amber Epp’s hometown! Hopefully we’ll get some perogies before the show!

Tickets: $18 adult, $8 student

More info at steinbachartscouncil.ca

Trio Bembe is joining Juss Jazz to usher in a new Latin Night on Sundays at Winnipeg’s newest music venue. We’re starting things off with a bang by inviting two Latin groups to play with us in our first ever Latin Music Showcase! (Festejar = to party)

Mariachi Ghost

Notorious for face paint, jawbones, and impassioned Mexican singing, the Mariachi Ghost is one of the funnest parties around. You may have seen them at the Winnipeg Art Gallery last October, where they played for a standing-room-only crowd during Nuit Blanche. These are the guys who are always jamming at parties on the weekend, pulling out guitars that don’t really look like guitars, charming you with their smiles.

Rastamils

Scott met Franklin Fernando, the leader of this Jamaican Reggae band, at a gig. We all took a look at his YouTube video and were immediately swayed. With honest vocals and laid-back guitar-playing, Franklin and Rastamils are just what we need in the middle of a busy Winnipeg winter! Help us welcome this new band to the Winnipeg Latin scene.

New Trio Bembe songs!

We’re very excited to introduce some new Latin songs at the showcase on Sunday. One of them is based on a funny experience Amber Epp had last month. “I was invited to a friend’s house for a dinner party, and got the address over the phone – 456 Giesbrecht St. On the day of the party, I headed over, found the address, noticed all the cars parked in the driveway, and walked up to the house. The party was in Steinbach, where many people still leave their doors unlocked, so I walked in, took off my shoes, and headed up the stairs. The family greeted me, and I asked where the guest of honor was. ‘Who?’, they asked. ‘There’s no one here by that name.’ I walked into the wrong house! I had to borrow their phone to find the right address – 466 Giesbrecht!” So we adapted Amber’s story to fit Trio Bembe – we get hired to play at someone’s party, and go to the wrong house. At the end of the night, the hosts tell us “Thanks for coming, but you’re not getting paid!”

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Hear more funny stories at Trio Bembe’s Latin Music Showcase on Sunday, Jan 8, 8 pm. All the details on the gig section of the website.