Mesmerising Tunes of the Desert | Manchester
The first day on an almost ten-day trip to Finland which me and my partner embarked on late in August last year. But first, we headed to Manchester for a concert by Hermanos Guitérrez, an instrumental duo who are brothers who play music inspired by deserts in Mexico.
Date: 23 Aug 24
Location: Manchester
15:00 All aboard
I finished work quite late on the day of travel. I worked through lunch in hopes of finishing as early as possible. Not only that, I hadn’t really packed the day before which turned out to be a big mistake.
With just under an hour to spare, I started packing my backpack assisted by my Partner. This then meant we had to take a cab instead of taking the metro as we normally would have.
The cab came almost moments after I booked it. We then made it to the platform with enough time to spare. We waited outside the train which hadn’t finished its prep since it came into Newcastle.
Caption: My partner standing in front of our train
With less than ten minutes left to departure, the train doors opened and we settled into our seats for an hour, and a half train journey to Manchester. Thankfully the train departed on time, and we were scheduled to reach Manchester on time. I spent the train journey mostly playing The Legend of Zelda.
We reached Manchester Victoria train station just after 5pm. The overnight accommodation was only a 10-minute walk from the station. We slowly made our way there.
17:00 Settling into our accommodation
We were greeted by our host at the base of a massive 20-storey building. His flat was on the 17th floor and only one of the lifts worked. So we slowly made our way to the flat as well!
We had a toilet to ourselves and a room which overlooked the centre of Manchester through large glass windows. The room was cosy with a comfortable double bed. It came stocked with everything you would typically find in a hotel like a hair dryer, kettle and various coffees and teas.
Caption: The hotel room with a striking view of Manchester
We were informed by the host of the various restaurants in the area. He also told us that there was an Italian festival not far from where we were staying. He mentioned the name of the place and gestured toward the general location of the event.
Once we were freshened up, we decided to head towards the Italian event, but we hadn’t paid enough attention to where it was. So we had to figure it out ourselves. We recall seeing something from our widows and decided to head in that general direction.
18:00 I need a hot dog
After some searching we managed to figure out where the Italian event was. It was a fenced off area where there was a stage with a female singer clad in a striking red skirt accompanied by a band singing songs, the first song I heard was I Need A Hero from Shrek 2. They also sang some other songs that were quite recognisable. There were lots of spots serving wine and Italian beer.
We were also spoilt for choice when it came to authentic Italian food cooked by Italians. We tried arancini which is a cheese filled fritter. It was my first time trying it. It was super delicious, especially since we were handed the arancini straight from the hob. I’m sure it would’ve paired well with a full-bodied red wine.
Caption: Top to bottom, arancini and the singer clad in red
We then headed towards the concert, hoping to get dinner on our way. Brook was craving a hot dog so we headed to a diner style restaurant located in a mall. It looked very cool with lots of pink and a design language suggesting that we were in an old-timey diner in America.
Unfortunately the queue for the food was quite long, and we only had enough time to get to the venue directly if we wanted to make it in time for when the doors would open.
I was starting to fear for my life as a hungry partner is typically a hangry partner. Luckily, we spotted a Co-op and we headed in hoping for a sandwich. Much to our surprise, the Co-op sold hot dogs! Not only that, we were lucky enough to snatch the last available hot dog, so we felt #blessed indeed.
19:00 Tunes from the desert
We then headed to the venue and were one of the first people there. We then proceeded to wait for another 10 minutes for the official opening of the doors at New Century Hall in Manchester.
Once the doors were opened, we made our way upstairs to a large hall where the concert was to be held. There was a DJ on the stage playing some dance music. There was an elevated platform on the stage where two chairs and a few guitars were placed facing us.
The venue was pretty trippy with lights that changed colour to create a wave effect. As we were one of the first few people to enter the concert hall, we managed to stand right against the barriers at the front.
Just after an hour and a half of waiting, we saw the DJ exit the stage and the duo, Alejandro and Estevan Guitérrez arrived on stage. They were wearing their signature cowboy attire. They proceeded to serenade us with their beautiful music that transported us to the soundscape of the desert.
Caption: Top to bottom, my partner and I at the venue and various images at the concert of the Guitérrez brothers
Partway through the concert, Alejandro may have felt quite hot, and so he took off his shirt much to the delight of the ladies and some of the men in the audience.
Initially, they played music from their older albums. They recalled how some trips to Mexico was the inspiration for the album. I especially liked how they tap their guitar strings to produce a unique sound that drums like footsteps on the desert sand.
Partway through the concert, Estevan remarked at how their latest album, Sonido Cósmico was their take to transport their music to outer space. The tuning of the guitar transformed from sounding like the backdrop of an old western movie to a calming melody of floating in space.
They thanked us for coming and exited the stage, and the crowd started chanting ‘Encore! Encore!’. After a brief wait, they returned to stage, and mesmerised us with some of their most popular songs to end the concert on a high.
21:00 We have touched down
We were transported back from outer space, through the desert, into the quiet streets of Manchester. Thankfully, our accommodation was not too far from the venue, so we walked there. The sights of Manchester at night were quite beautiful, especially after a concert to remember.
Caption: The view of Manchester from our accommodation window
We headed to bed soon after reaching, as we had an early train up to Edinburgh the next day. From there, the plan was to catch a flight to Helsinki the next day. We set our alarms to 07:00 as our train was at 08:30.
Although we had a relatively short visit to Manchester, we still really enjoyed immersing ourselves in what the city had to offer. And listening to Hermanos Guitérrez left us with a memory to treasure for a lifetime.
This was our first day in our holiday to Finland. Stay tuned to hear more from this series!
#Manchester #UK