As a kid, I vividly remember my home being filled with music that emanated from my father’s trusty silver boombox. Sounds of La Tremenda 1010am radio station played as we mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, and especially when we invited family over for a carnita asada.
My dad began collecting music at a young age, first with vinyl and 8-tracks, and later through cassette tapes. On long road trips back to Mexico, I was in charge of shuffling through his large shoebox from artists like Ramon Ayala, Los Tigres Del Norte, Rigo Tovar, Selena, and many other legendary artists. Those songs were engrained in my brain as fond memories, and to this day I still sit outside with my dad on warm evenings listening to the Mexican and Tejano classics.
So when the lineup to Besame Mucho in Austin was announced, I was overjoyed to see so many nostalgic artists on the bill. I purchased our tickets as soon as they went on sale.
Besame Mucho is a new festival that was introduced in December 2022 in Los Angeles. It features four stages which include genres like banda, pop, rock en Español, and las clasicas. The ambitious line-up specifically geared for a Spanish language audience was a novelty for a U.S.-based festival, but it wasn’t an entirely new concept. Other festivals in Mexico and several Latin American countries have been featuring similar lineups with multi genre and multi generational stages for over a decade.
The specific spark that makes Besame Mucho stand out lies in the fact that festival attendees saw this as an opportunity to introduce their older family members to the modern festival experience. The line-ups feature many bands that originated in the ’60s and ’70s, with many hitting the height of their popularity in the ’80s and ’90s. This is the music we grew up with.
After seeing the success of the first two Besame festivals that were held at Dodgers Stadium, the organizers announced a Texas edition. Tickets for Besame Mucho in Austin sold out within the first two hours, featuring bands such as Grupo Frontera, Juanes, Banda MS, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Cafe Tacvba, Kumbia Kings and Elvis Crespo.
My father has been retired for almost seven years now, and I’ve been trying my best to include him on my travels and adventures ever since. We have driven cross country a few times, visited Europe, Canada, and Latin America, and he has accompanied me as an assistant or simply as my +1 for many of my photo gigs and media events. So it was only natural that I wanted to include him on my journey to Besame Mucho.
Our day began with an early wake up call prior to embarking on the drive to Austin. We stopped for coffee, tacos, and a big bowl of menudo on our way out of town. It was a lovely cool morning and we beat the morning traffic on I-10 and Highway 71, before finally arriving at the Circuit Of The Americas around noon.
As we walked into the festival, I could see my father’s eyes light up. He loves to people-watch and make new friends everywhere he goes. We listened to a few minutes of Banda Arkangel R-15 on the Beso Stage as we made our way to the Las Clasicas Stage where we would spend the majority of our day.
First up was Los Terricolas and Los Freddys, two bands that lean heavily on love ballads accompanied by the electric piano and lyrics of love and heartbreak. It was amazing to see so many people my father’s age hanging out with their children and grandchildren, all singing along and dancing to the lovely music.
My dad found “his spot” strategically placed between the bar, the restrooms, and the ADA viewing platform. He unfolded his camping chair, tied his sweater to the railing for shade, and said “Yo aqui me quedo” (I’m staying right here). After we enjoyed some beers together, I found my way toward the photo pit and press lounge, where I encountered guitarist Chris Perez, who was at the festival playing with the band Metal. I had interviewed him 10 years prior, and it was cool to reconnect with him even if only for a few minutes.
Most of the opening acts during the day played quick 30-minute sets, so I would walk back after shooting photos to check on my dad periodically. I stopped to hear some music from the Rockero Stage on my way to buy pizza and tacos, but could not commit to venturing all the way into the crowd or else I would miss out seeing my bands on the main stage.
I watched Eliseo Robles, Los Cadetes de Linares, and Pesado play their hits, singing along to lyrics that I didn’t know were locked deep in my brain. Some of these songs I haven’t heard or played in 20 years, but somehow I knew every word and note. Bobby Pulido hit the stage next, and he had the entire crowd singing “Desvelado” with him. It was simply magical.
The festival did encounter some technical difficulties throughout the day. The microphones during Alicia Villarreal’s set were not functioning properly, causing many in the crowd to boo the sound guy. “Esto no se hace a una vieja!” shouted a visibly frustrated Villarreal. (You don’t do this to a woman!)
The sound held up okay for Ramon Ayala and Bronco, but I was told that the speakers behind the soundboard were not working at all during most of Grupo Frontera’s set, causing more disappointed festival attendees. Hopefully these sound issues can be fixed for future iterations of the festival.
Overall, the Austin edition of Besame Mucho was a success. There were some logistic issues with the parking and shuttles and long lines for will call, but nevertheless the festival ran fairly smoothly.
Here are some of my highlights from my notes from the day:
Eliseo Robles sings “Tragos Amargos” – the crowd goes wild.
Ramon Ayala sings “Tragos Amargos”…. Twice. Same reaction each time.
I hear the first shouts of “Otra! Otra!” after Los Cadetes sing “Una Pagina Mas” and “No Hay Novedad”
Pesado singing “A Chillar Otra Parte”, “Hojala Que Te Mueras”, and “Cielo Azul, Cielo Nublado” was definitely one of my personal highlights. I sing each song with all my heart!
Lorenzo De Monteclaro sings “Pideme La Luna”. Amazing.
Liberacion…. “Como Estas Tu”. All time great song.
Despite the microphone issues, Alicia Villarreal performed amazingly.
Wow…. I have so many memories of Bronco, especially watching their creative animated music videos. So many classics, but “Los Castigados” will always be my favorite.
No other band has captured my attention and my heart in the last year more than Grupo Frontera. Me queda 1%!!!
Los Tigres Del Norte. The GOATs. Although I was tired and left after a few songs, I heard they played for two hours.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
