Effie, Renne, and Magic with Miss Uchawi

Francesca Bavaro (Effie Passero) celebrated her birthday early (November 09), as she is leaving Vallarta soon to cut her first solo album in Nashville, tentatively titled Francesca. Afterward, she will join her band, Postmodern Jukebox for a North American Tour. Her next solo performance in town will be in March of next year. So, she was saying goodbye for a while, with much gratitude to the jam-packed-to-the-rafters crowd at La Catrina Cantina.

We were treated to a medley of love-gone-wrong-songs she wrote, still smarting from open wounds and threatening to do a PowerPoint presentation naming names next time! She is inadvertently hilarious.

She looked absolutely fabulous in red tulle and sky-high glittery heels and took some time away from the piano to sing a couple of my faves to tracks – Never Enough from The Greatest Showman and Nessun Dorma from Turandot. I will keep you apprised of where she is as we watch her star rise higher and higher, right where she belongs.

We couldn’t stay for cake and the promised stripper (ahem) as we had a date at Act2PV for the remarkable Renee Armand with the brilliant Mark Hartman on piano and back-up vocals.

Renee is one of those beguiling singers who reaches into your heart early in a performance and settles in comfortably, lulling the audience into an ether-filled space where she will let you sit with her for a while. The connection is one-on-one and heart-to-heart, captivating. I have never heard Mark Hartman, pianist and musical director, play more delicately. A repeat performance with these two HAS to happen this season – it was enchantment.

Speaking of witchery, it is alive and well and performing at The Palm Cabaret and Bar. Miss Uchawi, Queen of Magic, from Las Vegas, premiered her first show in Mexico last night.

Oh, people. You gotta see this girl work a room.

The problem with writing about magic is it doesn’t matter what words I use; even if I could carefully and perfectly put into words what I saw, you wouldn’t be any further ahead, and you wouldn’t believe me anyway!

Miss Uchawi started out slowly, seemingly feeling her way through her act, hesitating here and there just long enough to make you wonder what the hell was going on. Without hesitation, I can tell you exactly what was going on – magic. That’s it, that’s all. No trickery. No. Just magic.

Get to The Palm and see her, and hurry before she disappears in a puff of smoke.