El Grito de los Jaguares

Last Thursday, I went to one of the best concerts I've been to in a long time. I went to see Jaguares at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Blvd.

I am so grateful to my friend Alex, who works for Tower Records. I was supposed to go to USC with some friends to listen to classical music. But the night before, he called me up, and told me he had some tix to go see Jaguares. It was a no brainer. Although I enjoy all kinds of music, I couldn't pass up on seeing Jaguares on September 15th, the Mexican 4th of July! So I called my other friends, and they totally understood.

When I got to the Pantages the next day, the crowd was noticeably excited about the show. It was a cool feeling to be surrounded by so many Chicano rockero aficionados.

When Alex arrived, it turned out he had four free tickets and not two. And as luck would have it, I ran into Oscar and Eddie, some friends from the San Gabriel Valley. Funny how these things happen. So Alex and I decided to upgrade Oscar and Eddie, and what were we to do with the 2 extra tickets? It was too late to call up anyone we knew, the show was about to start. And people in LA take forever to get ready for any event. So Alex and I found this hot girl next to the Super Estrella stand (a popular Spanish radio station in LA, 107.1 FM), and just gave them to her. She was suspicious about receiving anything for free, but we eventually convinced her that the tix were legitimate, and that we were just being good samaritans. It's amazing how skeptical people have become. I guess no one wants to be taken to the cleaners, so much that they are willing to pass up on bonafide free stuff.

Once inside, we got some great seats, and just sat back and let the Jaguares do what they do best; not give political announcements about the Women of Ciudad Juarez, which they did, but play some good rock en espanol. Viva Mexico. Viva Los Angeles.