The Los Amigos Big Band entertains a a sold out crowd at Quatro Sentido.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic. The 20-piece Los Amigos Big Band entertained an oversold afternoon crowd in Quatro Sentitido’s vast rooftop space in its debut as a big music venue without a hitch.  The band, led by Paul Silverman,  set up for the Christy Philipson-produced concert with the lake and mountains in a stunning backdrop.

The restaurant staffed up for the 100+ Covid-spaced crowd and got people checked in and guided to their reserved tables and served drinks with smooth efficiency.  Snacks and dinners were available from the menu and rolled out of the kitchen as if an overflow crowd was an everyday routine. Quatro Sentido has been hosting a smaller version of the band on Thursdays for some time, so this was not a completely new experience, although the audience size was much larger than the Thursday crowds.

Cristy Carter Cauldwell MC’s and belts with the with the Los Amigos Big Band at Quatro Sentido debut big band concert.

The band, comprised of 20 Mexican and Expat artists, plus 4 outstanding vocalists–Christy Carter Caldwell, Andrea Pérez Romero, Wanda White, and Lorenzo Elmo Adam, was founded by local musician and entrepreneur Christine Philipson. She brought in a professional sound setup with a full control board, microphones for each of the 20 musician and for the vocalists, all tuned and monitored by a skilled sound engineer who delivered clear, high quality sound at precisely the right level.

Quatro Sentido added extra sunroofs to keep the band and the audience cool while leaving the airiness and sunny feeling of their rooftop location. Because of the spaciousness of the venue couples could dance  without coming within the Covid distance of the tables.

 Los Amigos delivered 2 sets with a 25-minute break.  The highly polished music was mostly jazz standards with a little swing and Mexican classics.  The band delivered instrumentals as well as music for the 4 vocalists, with hot guitar, drum and trumpet solos and section breakdowns  that demonstrated the high level of skill of every member of the band.  A mobile radio microphone enabled the vocalists to move freely around the stage. 

Andrea Perez Romero rocks with the Los Amigos Big Band at Quatro Sentido debut big band concert.

Given the success of the first concert, Philipson is envisioning more concerts or even musical reviews at Quatro Sentido or even visiting talent.  Her idea may strike a spark with local audiences; as one person said, at the concert what a great way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.