The 10th annual Maya Jazz Festival is a 3 day event that starts in the last week of November. It is considered to be one of the top 10 Jazz music festivals where many  jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock, Sergio Mendes, Yellowjackets and Fourplay have performed over the years. As  there are no admission charges it is probably  the best bargain in the world of live entertainment as well. The photo above shows the stage on Mamita Beach which is located in Playa del Carmen.  All shows start around 7 pm and continue until at least  11 pm each day.

This years festival featured several jazz all stars including Wayne Shorter, Pancho Sanchez, John Scofield and Level 42. Considering the whole line-up of musicians appearing this year, Wayne Shorter is arguably the most accomplished. He is a 6 time grammy award winner, saxophonist and composer. His professional career started with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers around 1957, followed by a stint with the Miles Davis Jazz Qunintet beginning in 1964.  About 5 years later Wayne co-founded the Jazz Fusion group, Weather Report, which produced many high quality albums in diverse styles. This band finally broke-up in 1985 but Wayne has continued to record and lead groups in the jazz fusion style, winning his last grammy in 2004 for the album titled “Alegria”.

Due to  the long-standing  Spanish occupation of Mexico,  the culture of this country was heavily influenced by their traditions such as bull fighting which has been a popular pastime for over 400 years. The Spanish style of bullfighting starts with Picadores circling the bull on horseback while jabbing it with lances, followed by  Banderilleros who enter the ring on foot and attack the bull with barbed darts. Finally,  the Matador takes control  performing precise moves to  please the crowd and attract the bull eventually using his  sword to slay the animal.

Another style of bullfighting that is also practiced in Mexico originated in Portugal and differs from the Spanish style in several ways. The Portuguese style involves 2 stages beginning with the Cavaleiros who fights the bull on horseback and stabs the bull 3 or 4 times with a javelin to weaken the animal.  The next stage of the fight involves a suicide squad of 8 men known as Forcadors who challenge the bull without any protection or weapons. This begins with a front man who provokes the bull into a charge. If all goes well the front man performs what’s known as a face catch to secure the animal’s head while the other Forcadors rush in to secure the bull until he is subdued.  Herein lies another difference between the 2 styles of bullfighting, the bull is not slain by the Forcadors but released. The matador’s  purpose, however,  is to slay the bull in the ring.