This weekend was the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival.
What a fun night on the beach!
How much can I say to describe what a fun experience this was to be on the beach with the waves just crashing on shore while we stood in a crowd of 15,000 with some good friends eating our quiches and cookies and “water” while listening to Earth, Wind and Fire play.
Oh, there is this…
…there are 3 nights of shows that each start a 7pm on Mamitas beach and are free admission.
…we just show up on the beach with beach blankets, beach chairs, a variety of beverages and some friends, (and umbrellas) and enjoy the show.
…the weather would be clear and skies starry until a cloud would roll by and we would all put up our umbrellas for 2 minutes and then put them away as soon as the cloud passed. Lost count of how many times we did this.
…first up was Celso Pina -imagine a fusion of salsa, reggae, latin, african with an accordion thrown in. Very cool! Then a traditional jazz dude. I like jazz but sometimes my attention span is too short to really enjoy it. Especially since the first group was such fun dance music and we were really waiting to see the final act.
…the final act –EARTH WIND AND FIRE– came on at 11. We are not late night people but we figured to stay and it was worth the wait.
…Austin said we came to see Earth, Wind and Fire but also ended up with the element of water. Rain. A little rain did not get in the way of a good time, just made us a little extra damp and sandy.
…we weren’t sure what to expect as far as crowds and figured we’d set up our chairs and stuff a little way back to hear the music be able to get up and dance and just have some room. Within a half hour I realized the crowds would be tight. Our chairs gave us a little extra space (and it was nice to have a spot to sit) as the crowds pressed in. It was a mellow crowd, but I have never seen this many people here in Playa in one place. Nighttime in Playa is completely different than the rest of the day -and we are not ever around for that.
…we started off with plenty of space and ended up packed pretty tight.
…if you can tell from the video our distance from the stage, keep in mind that 2/3 of the people were behind us. Mucho gente.
…I think everyone we know from here was at the beach -kept bumping into people and seeing everyone’s posts on instagram.
…glad we have a car that can hold 10 people and all the beach chairs and picnic food.
…can I just say again that we are ON the beach! Not nearby. The ocean is 50 feet to the right of the stage.
[youtube Qy97BXbG-TM]
[youtube rc3c2VsI17A]
And here is a snippet from our informal pre-concert party at the ‘Casa de Coolest Chicas.’ 😉
[youtube tdV-FiqHTEY]
