Miguel De Hoyos Guitar

Sunday, 26 August 2012, my two guests and I had the pleasure of enjoying a solo guitar and vocal performance by Miguel De Hoyos at Hotel la Mision.

Many music fans in northern Baja have heard the duo of Alex Depue(violin) and Miguel De Hoyos(guitar) and their “Twisted Strings” repertoire of classical, latin, rock and folk music arrangements. Tonight was my first to enjoy Miguel solo.

We timed our drive from dinner at Sano’s Restaurant/Ensenada to arrive exactly at 7PM, the advertised concert start time. Hotel La Mision is located at KM58.5, 30 minutes north of downtown Ensenada.

Amazingly, Miguel was on stage and tuning up, when we were seated by the welcoming staff. A musician performing at the appointed hour? In Mexico? QUE PASO???

I had no idea what a strong voice Miguel owns. His rendition of Los Panchos' “Sin Ti” found a few tears in the audience, including those singing along with him. Miguel’s peaceful and melodic voice occasionally allows his pipes to punch out some deeply emotional power.

His first set lasted from 7PM until 8:45. No 35 minute set followed by a 30 minute break that we usually experience from younger performers. Second set lasted until almost 11PM. Miguel is a true entrepreneur!

Miguel constantly asked for requests from the 2 dozen audience members. The audience was quick to respond. Miguel covered 97.9% of the requests and allowed the audience to sing out the 2 songs that were not readily available in his performance arsenal. This guy does not allow an ego to get in the way of engaging his audience and allowing the evening to flow freely.

The music fans were a 50/50 mix of Mexicans and Americans for this concert. I’m guessing that the room, including bar would seat about 70 with an additional 20 seats available on the west patio and another 70 or so on the south wing of the dining room.

One of my guests was off her normal dining schedule and only had a taste of food at Sano’s earlier. That allowed her the opportunity to order some carne asada tacos from Hoteln la Mision's kitchen.. “Very good tacos” was the report from the native from Jalisco. So it is good to know that you can dine while enjoying the music.

Also, room rates begin at around $50usd, so you can save the drive and enjoy an easy morning waking up to the waves, pelicans and dolphins.

I bought Miguel’s Sevilla Suite CD from his musical promoter, Nuria Holly Bocanegra, this evening. The CD includes Miguel’s own arrangement of the classic, “Concierto de Aranjuez”. He played it this evening and it is one of my all-time favorites.

Greeting and meeting Miguel this night for the first time, I mentioned how impressed I was with his and Alex DePue’s rendition of Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas” when I heard them live this February. Miguel thanked me by playing it as his second song of the night.



Within 2 bars of beginning “Classical Gas”, Miguel noticed the gorgeous sunset on Hotel la Mision’s west deck. He suggested a quick break from his act, so that the audience could enjoy a perfect Baja setting. Gotta love a musician who notices a bigger picture than himself for a great evening.

Miguel lives in Rosarito Beach and plays many weekends at Hotel La Mision. Check Hotel la Mision Facebook Page page for music dates, email hotel_lamisionbaja@hotmail.com or call 646-155-0333.

[Edited on 8-27-2012 by bajadock]