Rare and precious

I have a thing for the tuba or basso players here in Oaxaca. They are the best I have ever heard and remember, I'm a conservatory trained (Go NEC!) pro musician/conductor/producer and have hung with some heavy hitters over the years.  Why tuba? Well, there are no bass players in most of the bands and the tuba takes its place. These players have a personalities unlike any others.  They are like lead guitarists, some serious egos at work.  They totally rule and display such amazing virtuosity at times, that I've had to rethink how the instrument can and should be played.  This ain't no oom-pah music.
  
And almost all the players are male with some serious body heft and the traditional moustache that most brass player seem to have.  So you can imagine my delight when I spotted this young lady from Santa Maria Comalito playing in a concert in the Tlacolula's zocalo last Sunday. 

It was a sweet little performance as the band, mostly made up of kids, played some Oaxacan traditional numbers, like Offenbach's "Can Can" and "New York, New York."  They actually were quite good and the crowd loved them.  Me, too.

I wish I could have talked to her, but she was too busy kickin' butt and taking names. 
And here are some of players in whose footsteps she is following. A video of some of Oxaca's finest.