“When we talk about a Silk Road experience we don’t mean a caravan traveling across the desert, but something much, much more. It’s about getting people to dream and to reimagine something they know or to discover something new.”
– Yo-Yo Ma, Grammy Award-winning cellist
[Not a valid template]Think about the rumble of mud terrain tires on pavement at 70 miles per hour. Hear it?
And the flap-flapping of your bikini top in the wind. You can’t hear the radio, but crank the volume anyway . . . “Just how far down do you want to go?”
Enjoy the wind and the rumble. It’s hot, too, almost 100 degrees on this fine May day, and it’s only 9:00 a.m. Summer is near, and most of the wildlife waits to come out after dusk; except the cold-blooded rattlesnakes who sunbathe in the open on these sizzling days. This moment is precisely why I bought a Jeep.
A different wildlife – my brother, Greg, and I – are headed across a quiet, cactus-and-tumbleweed-strewn strip of sand and rock through the Sonoran Desert that the map calls Highway 85. We’re not stopping until we hit the Mexican border where we’ll purchase a bag of fresh flour tortillas and a pair of cold Fantas to get us through until we locate a taco stand. This is our rock-n-roll road trip to see Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers in Puerto Peñasco (in Americano speak that incorrectly translates to Rocky Point), a little fishing village turned gringo getaway on the sea in Mexico. Twice a year the band puts together a pilgrimage of sorts: everyone who comes to this show must make a road trip into Mexico for a long night of music and drink. They call it “Circus Mexicus.”
Getting into Mexico is easy. Just wave at the sweaty black-eyed Federale guarding his country from intruders, say, “Buenos dias,” and then watch for kids running in the streets. Maybe a few will want to wash your windshield for a buck. It’s a part of the adventure.
Hey, I’ve got a question: why is there a gringo rock-n-roll show in Mexico?
It’s just their style, and the music reflects it: Mexican Moonshine! I fell under the spell when I stumbled over the line…
Or a little more recognizable to the general public, from 1996: Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people So meet me at the mission at midnight Well divvy up there Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people I got the pistol, so I keep the pesos Yeah, that seems fair!
It’s purely coincidental that I ever learned about RCPM – Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers. A friend handed us a CD the day my wife and I left for a road trip into Mexico where we kayaked on the Sea of Cortez. “This ought to be a good sound track for your trip,” he said. “Give it a listen. But I want it back.”