Month: October 2023

Have you ever experienced Mexican culture? It’s very fun, cheerful, inclusive, and meaningful. There are many cultures but in my opinion Mexican culture tops all of them. 

It’s unique and has a lot to its culture, for example there are Mayas, Aztecs, Zapotecs, Otomis, Nahuas, and many more. There are so many cities in Mexico. Mexico is very popular. It’s the tenth most populated country in the world with over 128 million people. 

Mexico has several ethics groups. For example, mestizo makes up 62% of its population. Mexico has a lot of beautiful indigenous groups. They are all unique and have different beliefs. I grew up around Mexican culture and I think I did have a really good childhood. I feel like Mexican culture has a really good impact especially around kids because I think everything is just so family oriented. For example the candy, the holidays, the language and the food.  

People should learn more about the culture because its land of vibrancy and amusing history. On top of that, the people are so inclusive and heartwarming. The country has the richest culture. It has ancient roots and modern innovations making it unique and a place people can’t resist visiting. Other reasons why Mexico has such a beautiful background is because of its surreal beaches, mouth watering food, and adventurous activities that keep the adrenaline rushing and beautiful language. 

Mexican culture is very unique, from its food, holidays, traditions, music, dance and much more. Their celebrations have much more meaning, for example, Christmas has a deeper meaning than just opening presents and it’s more than that its ties in with religion. Christmas is the day Jesus was born and back then it was a day to spend with family and now it’s just something materialistic. 

Another holiday that we celebrate is la rosca. It’s like a big cake and you cut it open, the inside of the bread is a baby and it symbolizes baby jesus and whoever gets it needs to make food for the next celebration. Anyways these are just some of the examples of the holidays in Mexican culture. In my opinion Mexican culture is really beautiful. Although it has to do a lot with religion when celebrating it, you don’t have to see it as that. We are very inclusive and respect one another’s beliefs. 

One more beautiful thing about Mexican culture is the language. Every culture has their own language but us Mexicans have Spanish and Spanish indigenous, and believe it or not there are still a lot of people that speak it. It’s crazy because today it’s a global language with almost 500 million native speakers. Spanish is the official language for about 20 countries.  

In conclusion Mexican culture is one of the best cultures out there. Don’t knock it till you try it. Anyone can experience Mexican culture. We are really inclusive and we just like to have fun. We have amazing food love to eat. Although we may be nosey, it’s just very fun and enjoyable having a Mexican family and being part of Mexican culture. Every celebration or everything that has to do with Mexican culture has a background meaning behind it, and that’s the beautiful part of it.

As a musician in Sacramento, it can be a great place for veteran musicians and beginners alike. 

However, when I was starting out playing music I had some experiences with guitar shops that were not so great. Let’s just say they were not super kind experiences. First things first, as I discuss these shops, I’d like to make it clear that it’s not to promote or discourage future business for these shops. 

The first music shop that is my personal favorite is Kline Music at 2200 Sutterville Rd, Sacramento, CA 95818. 

First, they have really great selections for Fender guitars specifically Jackson guitars. They are super kind and have helpful assistants. Especially, when I bought my first Fender Mustang at a good price of $400, which is somewhat of a hard deal to come by. But as of recently, I have had some experiences with their new employers that left me honestly heartbroken. I understand that they are locally owned businesses and they don’t have the same privileges as chain stores like Guitar Center. 

One occasion when I was paying a visit inside the shop, I was playing a decent player series Fender Stratocaster and to top it all off I was playing at a low volume, like 3 on a practice amplifier. This tall gentleman approached me and told me that I needed to part ways from the guitar area due to me clogging up the store. Even though it wasn’t a busy day and there weren’t any guitar students inside. I was kicked out for just playing their instruments.

I still do not know what I did wrong, and I am actually old friends with one of the employees. It still baffles me. So Kline Music is a great one-stop shop music store, but when you want to know what you’re getting yourself into with purchasing an expensive guitar and would like to play it, make sure you make it quick and don’t bother asking to plug in an amplifier. 

Alright so the next guitar store I would like to critique is Guitar Workshop, and this one I won’t be so nice about. One day during my practice session on my guitar, my tremolo broke and needed to be fixed along with a simple set-up for my Kurt Cobain signature Fender Jaguar. Once called Kline Music and was informed that they do not work on electrics and only do wood repairs for acoustic guitars. So I decided to visit Guitar Workshop, located in the Sacramento area of 3248 on J Street. It is dead empty. 

I walk up to the counter and there is a man sitting up front and saying hello. I ask for help, but he ignores me and continues working on this other guitar. So I walk around the shop and browse. Then he finally asked me what I wanted, so I asked him how much it would cost for a set-up on my Fender Jaguar and a repair on the tremolo system and how long it would take. He tells me it’ll be around $300 and around 4 months in total for the set-up. I was in shock. I politely said, “Okay thank you very much for your time.” He gave me a discourteous look back and then I left. 

According to many reviews on Google, I am not the only one who came across this kind of behavior. Some reviews include: 

“Uninformed staff will typically oversell or recommend items you don’t need (No, I do not need a new Bartolini preamp, thanks for not listening though). Turnaround time is awful. Don’t ask any basic questions, there’s always passive-aggressive responses. Even if you ask for a price, they will give you a spiel before telling you.”

To leave this article on a brighter note, probably one of the best music shops ever, in existence, maybe even in the whole county, I am proud to say is Watermelon Music Located on 1970 Lake Blvd suite #1 in Davis. And let me tell you this, they are genuinely the kindest people I have ever met. 

They were so nice to me, once they even did a free restring on my electric and they were all like “Dude don’t worry about it.” Everyone in the music store is not only so kind but also super knowledgeable, approachable, and relatable. They want to know what you look for in an instrument. They offer some great offers on some Fenders, Yamahas, Paul Reed Smith’s, and many rare kinds of guitars. The store also always has events happening and I was even fortunate enough to play a gig there with my band, Seawater, once. It was one of the best performances we had in a long time. 

However if you don’t live near Davis and don’t think it is worth the drive all the way over. I humbly recommend “Music Go Round” at 9163 E Stockton Blvd #310, Elk Grove. I’ll tell you about my smooth experience there. Once I was at a jam session with a buddy of mine and the drumset skin on the kick drum batter head side ripped from the Jammage. So we drove to Music Go Round and right away the guys there were really cool about the tone of each layer in the skin of the drums. They were really diverse when it came to talking about music genres. Metal is one of the genres we spent nearly an hour talking about. It was a fun visit and my buddy got a good deal with the new drum skin so it was a smooth transaction. 

In conclusion, this review wasn’t to bash any of the businesses mentioned, it was to spread the word. I recommend sticking to the ones that are a must-visit. I hope this article was helpful and I hope it doesn’t offend anyone that likes these stores. Thanks for reading!