The musical talent on this little Caribbean island, Isla
Mujeres, is amazing. We recently asked a
few of the musicians that we know if they would be interested in being featured
in this week’s blog article. Some are
full-time residents, others live here in the winter months, and one well-known
musician was born on Isla. We started to
write the article from our point of view, and then decided that since the
musicians had sent us such great biographies …we’d use their words
instead. So here they are, in
alphabetical order by surname.
Willy
Chacon was born in Acapulco. He started playing guitar at age
11. He spent all his time learning American and British music. Willy formed his
first band in high school and played in various venues in Acapulco. In 1995, he moved to Isla Mujeres and started a
band featuring international and Caribbean music. He was a regular at Tonino's Restaurant, owned
by his cousin, Juan Basto. Other venues
include NaBalam and Sunset Grill. In
2000, he began playing at Faynes when it opened. In 2005, he moved to Michigan and continued to
play a variety of gigs and venues. In October 2015, Willy moved back to the
island and joined Toso Martinez's band “Los Que No Son.” He is currently adding a variety of music to
his repertoire ~ bossa nova, reggae, rhumba, and flamenco. On April 7, 2015, he was recognized with Toso
and inducted as part of "La Trova Islena." These musicians are
preserving our local cultural treasure of traditional Isla music. Currently,
Willy and Toso play together at Faynes with "Los Que No Son" and as a
duo at Parque de Los Suenos. In
addition, he works as both a chef and entertainer for Dinnertainment, owned by Javier and Marla Martinez.
Mike
Davanzo has been playing guitar and singing professionally with
a variety of bands since the age of sixteen in the New York area. He has also performed in 20 American states,
plus locations in Canada and Mexico. Mike
has worked with numerous old-time rock n' rollers, including Lou Christie, Jimmy
Clanton, Chubby Checker, Joey Dee and the Starlighters, Jay and the Americans,
The Belmonts, The Crystals, The Vanilla Fudge, The Rascals, and Tommy James and
the Shondells. Mike has been visiting
Isla Mujeres for 15 years and now spends the winter here.
He plays and sings rock n roll of the
'50s, '60s, and '70s during the November-March winter season at Miguel's Moonlight
and Parque de Los Suenos, with guest appearances at Marina Paraiso and other venues.
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| Miquel and his son at Barlito's |
Miguel
Angel Hernandez grew up in an artistic family in Mexico
City. At the age of twelve, he started learning
guitar, playing in a band with his uncles when he was a young teenager. By the time he entered high school, he had his
own rock band that performed at school functions and parties. By learning the harmonica, Miguel was able to
find work with a Mexico City blues band, entertaining at dance clubs. He also studied flute and guitar at the Escuela Libre de Música in Mexico City
for two years. By 1987, Miguel had
discovered Isla Mujeres and a Louisiana band that played blues in Cancun and also
on Isla at the Bad Bones Bar. Then he
switched to bass guitar for five years at the same island restaurant when it
was re-named Ya-Ya’s, and still later when the name was changed to Jax. In those years, there was only work for
musicians during the high season, the winter months, so to keep himself employed, Miguel traveled to Canada and Germany with other musicians. Today, the Isla Mujeres music scene is so busy that he is employed throughout the year as part of both The Sol Rockers and La
Banda Sin Nombre, as well as solo gigs.
Miguel says, “Music has been my love, and my life, and I am always available
to play for private parties and weddings.”
Javier
Martinez Cen was born and raised on Isla Mujeres. He writes: I can't remember when I picked up
an instrument for the very first time, but when I was eight years old, my fifth-grade teacher asked me to play Mexican songs for a school festival. I asked my dad to show me how, and it was
fantastic, people clapping and smiling. I knew then I wanted to be a rock star!
Year by year, learning more from my musical family (my dad
and his musician friends, The Vampers), I finally got my chance on the electric
guitar. I played everywhere I could, including
five government-sponsored international festivals. My favourite gigs were with La Trova Isleña, an association tasked
with preserving our cultural music. With
La Trova Isleña, I went to Cuba where
I learned to play percussion. A few years
later, I toured with my dear friends Sebastian and Miguel Hernandez through Germany
and the Netherlands. Later, I met my beautiful
wife, Marla Bainbridge, and we created a duo called Hammock for 2. We toured through Chicago, Minneapolis, and
Indianapolis, doing private performances. Fun!
Little by little, I started my cooking business with Marla,
where I can mix my two passions, cooking and music. Our Dinnertainment created the opportunity for my
restaurant, Javi’s Cantina, where I combine a taste of Isla Mujeres with
international flavours. I love what I do
there: cook and play my guitar!
My gigs are Javi’s Cantina, Faynes, Adelitas, Zama Beach Club, and wherever a customer asks me to play. La Banda Sin Nombre, my second
family, is the oldest band in town. Love
all of them, Julio, Yasser, Miguel, Javier, and my dad Toso, together play
anything we want. Music, music, and more
music!
Ryan
Rickman: Having started to play music at the age of eight, Ryan
has always loved performing on stage and being a musician. Once done with High school, he immediately got
a job with Club Med as the house musician, starting in the Bahamas and then landing
in Cancun in 2003. Lucky enough to find
Isla for the first time on a day trip, he fell in love with the Island and
continued to visit ever since. Having
started many of his own bands in California and always working as a musician,
Ryan has always been busy with music. Being in the right place at the right time in 2012, Ryan met Penny
Deming, the owner of El Patio, and he has been playing music for her
establishments ever since. His musical
selections include Smooth Island tunes, 70s, 80s, and 90s Soft Rock,
Country, California Reggae, Jazz, and lots of originals too! Never far from his side is his huge, but lovable
four-legged companion, O.G., who will steal your heart (and some of your food)
the second you meet him. He is part of
the show! Ryan loves Isla and is happy
to be a part of the community here, and being able to have the opportunity to
help Isla evolve, grow, and continue to stay the beautiful island that we all
love and some of us are so fortunate to call home!
Ken
Wanovich: My first trip to the island was in 1989, just after
hurricane Gilbert. The impact on Mexican
families made a huge impression on me. Now, twenty-seven years later, my wife
Debbie and I are regular visitors to the island in February and July, where I
play music as a soloist, and we work for our non-profit organization "Keys
4 Life." When we are on the island,
you'll find me playing music at Mamacita's, Chi's 'n Charlie's Beach Bar,
Caribbean Brisas, Sardinian Smiles, and Nash's Tapas Bar. It’s hard to put a title on my style, but
variety comes close: Classic Rock, Trop Rock, Oldies, Country, and Pop. Our
work with Keys 4 Life has allowed us to work with families in Guadalupana and
La Gloria, installing new cement floors over dirt, repairing and replacing leaky
roofs, bringing school supplies & clothing, supplying paint for the soccer
stadium and middle school, and recently, installing new whiteboards in each of
the thirteen classrooms at the middle school.
There are more folks out there making beautiful music,
folks that we weren’t able to connect with this time around, but we’ll do
another article featuring island musicians - soon. We hope you liked reading about some of
Isla’s great musicians.
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| Local musicians honoured by La Trova Isleña |
Get out there and enjoy the great tunes!
¡Hasta Pronto!
Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat
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