I remember when I was down in Puerto Vallarta of the street performers on the Malecon, during the day as well as at night. Plenty of them.
On the evening before I flew home, I had gathered up an appreciable amount of coin change, and while I did keep some of it for souvenirs, I didn’t want to change it out, but I also didn’t want to carry that much foreign currency home.
So I took one more walk down the Malecon.
As I caught the street performers, I started dropping the coins. Two stood out.
One of them was tapping on what was essentially an upside-down kettle drum lid. It was convex, and he tapped on the bends and “dents” in the lid in a manner that created a very calming, beautiful sound for all those who walked by. It wasn’t the first evening I saw him, but this time, I had my change.
He didn’t get coin – he got paper money. He deserved it. And he was quite thankful of my contribution, and let me know as he played.
The other one was a saxophonist. He had his case opened in front of him as he played, at the South end of the Malecon, not far from the Hotels. Yes, he earned some paper as well, and I dropped it in right at the right time of his tune, as I also learned music on a Saxophone. No words from him, as he continued to play, but I could tell by the look in his eye that my efforts were not unnoticed.
As I returned to the hotel with no more coins in my pocket, I had the biggest grin on my face. The one week stay in Puerto Vallarta was coming to an end, and while my breakfast at Andele’s before heading to the “Aeropuerto” the next morning would tie things up, that one last stroll down the Malecon was one of the more memorable moments during my Puerto Vallarta trip in December of 2021.
Yeah, one of the great things about downtown Puerto Vallarta are the buskers. They certainly add something quite wonderful to the atmosphere. There's a street in the historic center of Guadalajara quite superb for that as well.
Now the historic center of Mexico City is something else entirely. It is filled with organ grinders. And those antique machines are loud! Day 1 it is the coolest thing ever, music overlaying everything no matter where you go. Day 3, you wish that there was a greater variety of songs available. Day 10 you try to decide if you want to go for a walk in the streets or hang yourself in your hotel bathroom. Nevertheless, we always tip the guys doing it, it can't be easy work.
The first time I performed magic was busking at a Renaissance Faire. The big one that used to be held in Agoura, California. I was a college student, and had never performed on the street before so I didn’t know what to expect, but if it paid for my gas money I was fine. So Woah! I was surprised to find I could actually pay my rent after a weekend -if I did it right! We learned all the ins and outs and nuances of the business in one short day. We had a great product, but the key to our success was connecting to our audience so they’d stop and watch. Then you had to learn to pass the hat or you’d starve. I remember one guy giving me about $1000 in hashish. 😵💫 Those we’re the good old days!
That is awesome to know! I've often wondered how much money one can make busking as it seems that so many walk past without ever stopping to watch or listen. I imagine though that given your long term success as a magician, that your show was quite a lot better than most!
It was the renaissance fair and not the streets of San Francisco so giving to buskers is part of the Renaissance Faire atmosphere. But yes, even considering that element we did very, very well. I made more money on a weekend than I did lifeguarding all summer. 😂
But if you’re not good, and standing on the wrong street corner in San Francisco you’ll probably only make a little change because people feel sorry for you. One step better than being homeless. On the other hand you could be somebody like my friend Robert Shields from the famous mime couple Shields and Yarnell who made a substantial living busking on the streets of San Francisco. It’s where they were discovered for their TV shows. Your analogy of comparing it to Substack is a perfect one. I totally get that! Thank you Cameron!
Thank you Charlotte. I really do think that many of the challenges, and the skills of busking directly relate to what we writers do here at Substack. We've got to position ourselves so that we can be seen. We've got to practice our craft well. And as you've mentioned, we have to learn how to pass the hat.
Hey, really well done! I suspected early on that you didn’t really busk as a musician, but I was already feeling the analogy to writing even before you made it explicit. Feels exactly right to me.
Thank you very much! I'm glad that you enjoyed the piece. I do fear that if I ever took a guitar out into the street and began playing people would rightly throw rocks to drive me away. So it's really good that I have this outlet for expression!
I remember when I was down in Puerto Vallarta of the street performers on the Malecon, during the day as well as at night. Plenty of them.
On the evening before I flew home, I had gathered up an appreciable amount of coin change, and while I did keep some of it for souvenirs, I didn’t want to change it out, but I also didn’t want to carry that much foreign currency home.
So I took one more walk down the Malecon.
As I caught the street performers, I started dropping the coins. Two stood out.
One of them was tapping on what was essentially an upside-down kettle drum lid. It was convex, and he tapped on the bends and “dents” in the lid in a manner that created a very calming, beautiful sound for all those who walked by. It wasn’t the first evening I saw him, but this time, I had my change.
He didn’t get coin – he got paper money. He deserved it. And he was quite thankful of my contribution, and let me know as he played.
The other one was a saxophonist. He had his case opened in front of him as he played, at the South end of the Malecon, not far from the Hotels. Yes, he earned some paper as well, and I dropped it in right at the right time of his tune, as I also learned music on a Saxophone. No words from him, as he continued to play, but I could tell by the look in his eye that my efforts were not unnoticed.
As I returned to the hotel with no more coins in my pocket, I had the biggest grin on my face. The one week stay in Puerto Vallarta was coming to an end, and while my breakfast at Andele’s before heading to the “Aeropuerto” the next morning would tie things up, that one last stroll down the Malecon was one of the more memorable moments during my Puerto Vallarta trip in December of 2021.
Yeah, one of the great things about downtown Puerto Vallarta are the buskers. They certainly add something quite wonderful to the atmosphere. There's a street in the historic center of Guadalajara quite superb for that as well.
Now the historic center of Mexico City is something else entirely. It is filled with organ grinders. And those antique machines are loud! Day 1 it is the coolest thing ever, music overlaying everything no matter where you go. Day 3, you wish that there was a greater variety of songs available. Day 10 you try to decide if you want to go for a walk in the streets or hang yourself in your hotel bathroom. Nevertheless, we always tip the guys doing it, it can't be easy work.
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2024/0607/organ-grinders-mexico-city
Read about New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, and what he thought about Organ grinders back in the mid 1930’s.
I remember encountering that story after a CDMX trip and looking up Organ Grinders. I just read it again on your recommendation:
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/the-sudden-demise-of-new-yorks-organ-grinders/
Sometimes I am amazed that we continue to call this 'the land of the free.' Every petty tyrant does his or her best to twist society to their liking.
The first time I performed magic was busking at a Renaissance Faire. The big one that used to be held in Agoura, California. I was a college student, and had never performed on the street before so I didn’t know what to expect, but if it paid for my gas money I was fine. So Woah! I was surprised to find I could actually pay my rent after a weekend -if I did it right! We learned all the ins and outs and nuances of the business in one short day. We had a great product, but the key to our success was connecting to our audience so they’d stop and watch. Then you had to learn to pass the hat or you’d starve. I remember one guy giving me about $1000 in hashish. 😵💫 Those we’re the good old days!
That is awesome to know! I've often wondered how much money one can make busking as it seems that so many walk past without ever stopping to watch or listen. I imagine though that given your long term success as a magician, that your show was quite a lot better than most!
It was the renaissance fair and not the streets of San Francisco so giving to buskers is part of the Renaissance Faire atmosphere. But yes, even considering that element we did very, very well. I made more money on a weekend than I did lifeguarding all summer. 😂
But if you’re not good, and standing on the wrong street corner in San Francisco you’ll probably only make a little change because people feel sorry for you. One step better than being homeless. On the other hand you could be somebody like my friend Robert Shields from the famous mime couple Shields and Yarnell who made a substantial living busking on the streets of San Francisco. It’s where they were discovered for their TV shows. Your analogy of comparing it to Substack is a perfect one. I totally get that! Thank you Cameron!
Thank you Charlotte. I really do think that many of the challenges, and the skills of busking directly relate to what we writers do here at Substack. We've got to position ourselves so that we can be seen. We've got to practice our craft well. And as you've mentioned, we have to learn how to pass the hat.
Hey, really well done! I suspected early on that you didn’t really busk as a musician, but I was already feeling the analogy to writing even before you made it explicit. Feels exactly right to me.
Thank you very much! I'm glad that you enjoyed the piece. I do fear that if I ever took a guitar out into the street and began playing people would rightly throw rocks to drive me away. So it's really good that I have this outlet for expression!
Me too brother!