Recuerda, eres más valiente de lo que crees, más fuerte de lo que pareces y más inteligente de lo que piensas.

Purple combines the stability of the blue color and the energy of the red. Through the ages, purple has always been associated with royalty, nobility and prestige. The color purple can symbolize mystery, magic, power and luxury. Purple color meaning is often used to portray rich powerful kings, leaders, magicians and even sorcerers. Purple combined with gold can be flashy and portray wealth and extravagance. Bright purple and pink are good as feminine designs and is popular among teenage girls. Light purple together with the color yellow is commonly used in advertisements for children’s products. It gives the impression of something that is fun and easy to deal with. (http://www.color-meanings.com/purple-color-meaning-the-color-purple/)

I absolutely LOVE purple.....you might not believe it....since I tend to wear black on black on black....with the occasional black. Yet, purple is my favorite color. So one late June night I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful group. They perform as a trio of guitars, with incredible sounds.....and happened to be dressed in beautiful, sparkling outfits in purple. 

They came on stage and instantly lit up the crowd at a local venue. They mesmerized with their fast fingers....they sang wonderfully and playing one song after the other without much discourse and delay. IT was AMAZING.

If you have never heard them play in person I tell you to go....even if you don't listen to Mexican Regional music....even if you have no clue what to expect.....you will not be disappointed. In fact, I guarantee you will want more. 

I have no idea what it means to play an instrument with passion, or what it feels like to hit notes....or to feel it inside. I have heard of people describe those feelings in this way: "to fully understand that type of passion, one would need to understand the intensity of what the instrument means....almost and parallel to making love to the instrument. Becoming one."

I had heard this, but I had never experienced that magic....that was until I saw Hijos del Barron perform live and in front of me. 

They played and it was effortless.....the guitar and each member were one. Together they filled the room with incredible music, they connected. I can't explain it better than the above description of making love to their guitars. It was beautiful, it was so breathtaking, it was hypnotizing. 

I admit, I was in a trance....a deep daze of music ecstasy. Song after song their music continued to play, and the atmosphere inside the venue continued to draw each and every one of us in. By sheer luck, the venue was intimate and small enough that each individual inside could connect with the musicians and their majestic music.

Once their show was over, I had the pleasure of meeting with them in their van. They were so courteous, so gentleman like. Their soft spoken mannerisms. Their genuine answers. 

I wished I could have had more time to have further discussions, but the interview was over as quickly as it began. 

I walked away mesmerized and with a deeper understanding of music, the incredible performers I had just had the fortune of seeing. 

I stayed up this night and watched the footage. Realizing that I could never replicate the feeling, sound and atmosphere I had experienced that night. I leave you with this photo....I was blissful and enchanted.....by three guitars and the most incredible musicians/performers I had ever experienced in my life. 

Si algo tengo bueno es que los nervios los llevo por dentro y la gente sólo ve en mí tranquilidad y seguridad.~Megan Maxwell

I had been wanting to do an interview with a singer or group that allowed me to have more than just a quick 15 minute before they hit the stage moment.

I had been calling record companies, managers and for obvious reasons and time constraints couldn't set anything up.

However, December 2014 I scored a coffee interview with Luis Billhey. I was SO nervous....but So anxious at the same time. I set up an interview at a quiet and quaint coffee shop in Downtown Phoenix. 

 A fellow comrade kindly referred me to this cafe and I was ever so grateful. It was perfect, it was quiet, calm and gave an aura of intimacy for my much wanted face to face no time constraints interview.

Mr. Billhey is a handsome young man with an infectious smile. I waited patiently, and nervously for his arrival. I got a text that he was running late, internally I was dreading a cancellation, or a no show. However, he arrived and I was able to relax a bit. He didn't fail to impress. Like most of his colleagues, he smelled delicious, was wearing an outfit that has become a staple for this genre......and had that soft spoken manner.

We talked about personal interests, he was very accommodating. Perhaps it had to do with the relaxed setting, or the atmosphere. I felt like I had known him forever, we had endless moments to reflect on many topics. Which was ever so helpful. Unfortunately, the cafe closed at 7:00 pm. But, he willingly kept the conversation going. We were able to move ourselves to the park outside the cafe and continue talking.

I was curious to know a lot of things; it happen to be that at that moment I was hungry for the knowledge of every aspect of the genre. I wanted to know so many things, yet I also was reluctant to ask. But Luis made asking so easy. Of course none of my interviews asked any personal questions pertaining to the drug cartel. I am not focused on that, and don't feel the need to know about it. So we never touched that topic, but boy did we discuss everything, I even threw in some social injustice issues his way, I was blissful!!! 

I did enjoy listening to Luis talk about his obstacles, and triumphs in getting to where he is at.

I was mesmerized by his hard work, and how much passion he has. Because of the relaxed setting I hadn't taped anything. almost 3 hours into our wonderful and carefree platica I found out the camera was stuck or wouldn't film for me. 

After a good 20 minutes of me apologizing, and googling ways to make the camera work, I had to apologize over and over for not checking my equipment. I was devastated, had I NOT vowed to never have this happen again???? How had I allowed myself to have equipment that was faulty?! 

Although I was panicked, Luis was ever the gentleman, and calmly said that he had enjoyed our conversation, and we could meet again to do the film portion. I was so thankful, I told him that I was so embarrassed to have made this trip and waste his time, but he said no worries and that was that. 

We decided to go grab a drink, and continue with our talk. Luis happens to be a good looking guy, with that infectious smile. Another quality of his was his easy going personality.

Talking to him felt like I was talking to a close friend. He loves soccer, and plays with friends weekly. He loves to sing, and does it with gusto. He is always readily accessible to his fans, and above all he never forgets to be humble. Now, don't think I didn't ask him hard questions, I did, I asked him why not go for another genre, he does occasional love songs, but he also understood that this genre was popular and profitable. 

Luis gave me so much to think about, from his personal experiences, to examples he presented to me. My head was spinning. I was taking it all in. I was seeing stars, I was mad that I wasn't writing it all down. I was enthralled in the many issues he spoke about or touched on. 

I was so lucky to have been able to interact with Luis, to have him give me so much time, to take time to teach me things I hadn't considered. 

I graciously thanked him for his time, and for allowing me to redo his interview once I had proper working equipment at a later time. 

I drove home with ideas swirling in my brain......with concepts that hadn't occurred to me till then. 

I am lucky to call him a friend, and to occasionally send a "hello", "how are you" text. 

To the next coffee date my friend.........