The Outlaw Mariachi in Port Hueneme, California

It was a cold and windy day next to the beach in Port Hueneme, California. Mariachi rock band The OutLaw Mariachi pulled through on a Saturday to end their Cinco de Mayo extravaganza as well as kickstart Mother's Day a day early. If you haven't heard, The OutLaw Mariachi play cover songs to the style of mariachi music. it may sound farfetched at first, but a quick YouTube search will bring up lots of videos of their outrages performances. The opening band for the night was Buena Onda (Spanish for "Cool"), a local Latin Soul band. After warming up the audience, it was time for The OutLaw Mariachi to hit the stage. They came out and started their show with Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd). Right away, you could see how awesome it is watching them play classic rock songs in the style of mariachi. Every band member gave it their all. Whether it was the seductive dancing moves of singer Gunskull Ricky, the crotch thrusts of trumpet player Mavero Duran or the lightning-fast violin strokes of Belle Martele, each member was entertaining to watch. Up next on the setlist was The Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels Band) and it gave a chance for Martele and guitarist Wild Bill Woodcock to come up front to the stage and exchange solos. In between songs, The OutLaw Mariachi would often tease each other and tell jokes. One joke that's told early on in the show is Ricky telling the audience to drink alcohol because the more they drink, the better they will sound. A few more songs were played which included Fight For Your Right (Beastie Boys), What's Up? (4 Non Blondes), Canción del Mariachi as seen in the movie, Desperado and even a cover of The Mandalorian theme titled El Mando. Another one of their hilarious jokes came up where they talk to the audience where they say they can be found on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Christian Mingle, OnlyFans and Grindr. Duran outed himself saying he's old school and can be found on Craigslist. One of their best songs was next which was Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ricky jokingly calls out all the gringos in the audience and refers to this song as "the song of your people". One thing the band likes to do is find out who in the audience are first time OutLaw Mariachi virgins. When asked how many people were seeing them for the first time, almost everyone raised their hand. Nearing the end of the show, Ricky mysteriously disappeared from the stage and the mic was passed on to Belle Martele. It was her time to shine as she delivered a hypnotic performance of Oh! Darling by The Beatles. The Devil truly worships her. Once finished, the familiar pounding of a popular rock song started as a new member made his way to the stage. It was none other than the savior of the immigrants, Flash Reyes! Being that Reyes' outfit was that of Freddie Mercury, it only made sense for The OutLaw Mariachi to play some Queen songs. They played a medley of We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions and Crazy Little Thing Called Love. The show seemed to be over, but the crowd was requesting one more song. The OutLaw Mariachi can't say no to that so they performed a cumbia version of Holy Diver by Ronnie James Dio. By this time, the floor had been filled with people dancing along to this tune. The show sadly came to an end and so The OutLaw Mariachi came together on stage, bowed to the audience and left the stage. They're a very entertaining band live and even better people. If you ever see them coming to your area, be sure to go see them as you're guaranteed to have a night filled with debauchery and possibly mistakes will be made.

Photos and review by Misael Ruiz