Restaurant troubadours

Tamarindo has a pleasant tradition of troubadours who walk from restaurant to restaurant and sing songs. This practice finds its origin in the ranching tradition of the area, where some cowboys would sing after the end of the day. That explains the western, cowboy clothes and hats of the musicians.

The musicians walk from restaurant to restaurant and will sing at a table if the customers give them a head nod or indicate their receptivity to hearing a song. They will take requests. Of course, customers should give them a tip after indicating that they would like a song. If customers do not want to be obligated to tip them, then a simple quick shake of the head no will cause them to nod politely and move on to another table so find customers who would like to be serenaded. There is no obligation or pressure.

It doesn't matter what restaurant you are in. You will usually encounter the musicians once during our dinner in virtually every restaurant in town, as they make the rounds from place to place. It is not as common for them to play at lunch time. This photo was taken at lunch at the Nibbana Restaurant, which was the subject of my post yesterday. Our waiter took the photo, which is why the photo includes me along with my wife and two sons.