¡Adoro la música!

As we raced west across the Phoenix desert, radial tires melting on the hot asphalt of I-10 toward California, the radio pickin's were sparse. Country here, static there, and...what's this? And why do I suddenly crave a margarita?

We had stumbled upon Mexican music. (Forgive me if using the term "Mexican music" is just plain lazy. At the time I didn't know there was Norteño or Banda or Duranguense. The only thing I had ever been familiar with was the music that played in the background at my local Mexican restaurant.) We were so enthralled by the sounds we were hearing that we kept listening to Mexican radio stations throughout our entire vacation. Never mind that neither Jim nor I spoke Spanish and we couldn't understand a thing. Mexican music, no matter what the lyrics spoke of, was colorful and unexpected. Listening to it was a treat for my ears.

Back in the Midwest, the first thing I did during our drive home from the airport was search for a Mexican radio station. No such luck in St. Louis. Next I tried streaming internet radio. I picked up a couple of stations out of Santa Fe, Mexico City and Highland Park, Illinois (?!). They will do in a pinch.

Ah, but my accidental discovery! (I tend to find things that I'm looking for in places I never expected to find them.) Thanks to MySpace, I am now addicted to the Mexican Institute of Sound. Mexican electronica...who knew?