Mexico City cantina, a mariachi temple, celebrates 90th year

1	In this Aug. 8, 2015 photo, mariachi Jose Jesus, left, passes the time waiting for clients by playing cards with a fellow musician outside Salon Tenampa restaurant and bar in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
2	To mark this year's anniversary, the restaurant has opened a small bar that overlooks the plaza, a traditional gathering spot for mariachi bands where musicians play cards or check their cellphones as they wait for potential customers.
3	The singer pumps the room full of his baritone voice, two trumpets cry out, and guitarists strum a steady, stringy beat while the guests drinking tequila whistle their loud approval.
4	It's a Wednesday evening in the mariachi temple known as Salon Tenampa.
5	In the chaos of sound, a grinning couple spins on the dance floor and the musicians sweat in their dark blue uniforms adorned with gold and silver.
6	Located in Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi, the Salon Tenampa has attracted visitors for 90 years from across Mexico and from around the world.
7	To mark this year's anniversary in November, the restaurant has opened a small bar that overlooks the plaza, a traditional gathering spot for mariachi bands where musicians sometimes play cards or check their cellphones as they wait for potential customers.
8	Norteno musicians in dark cowboy hats and white-clad jarocho groups playing music from the Gulf state of Veracruz are also found on the square.
9	Inside Tenampa, elaborately cut pastel-colored pieces of paper hang in rows from the ceiling like festive little flags.
10	Drunken patrons sing along with the mariachis or test their resolve with an electroshock machine called "los toques."
11	Behind the wood-trimmed bar, a plaque bears the name of the restaurant's founder, Juan I. Hernandez, and his portrait gazes down on bartenders in black aprons and patrons seated on black-leather stools.
12	Hernandez brought the traditions of tequila and mariachi to Mexico City from his native Jalisco state and they've filled the restaurant with partiers since 1925.
13	"This is considered to be the home of mariachi," and is among the oldest restaurants on the plaza, said Cesar Coronado Ferrer, a singer who has performed at Tenampa for 30 years.
14	The establishment's walls bear murals depicting mariachi legends such as Pedro Infante and Javier Solis.
15	"It's like a symbol of Mexico," he said, pointing out that UNESCO named mariachi music an "intangible cultural heritage" in 2011.
16	What makes the restaurant special, is "the history that we have," said Carlos Alwazan Perez, who has managed the restaurant for eight years.
17	"The people who have passed through here: the singers, the composers."
18	Behind the bar, Abraham Manilla mixes a popular "ponche de granada," a cocktail of pomegranate juice, red wine, tequila, and a dash of chopped nuts served in a clay mug.
19	"Here, visitors want the experience of classic Mexico in the music, the food, and the drinks," the bartender said.
20	"At least four songs were written here in the restaurant."
21	In this Aug. 12, 2015 photo, a jarocho band plays for patrons inside Salon Tenampa restaurant and bar in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
22	The local is famous for its tradition of mariachi music, but also jarocho music from the Gulf state of Veracruz, with players standing apart in their white guayabera shirts, pants, and hats.
23	The genre uses a harp and jarana, a small guitar-shaped instrument with eight strings.
24	In this Aug. 19, 2015 photo, Michelle Ramirez, left, sings to mariachi music with her friends Fernanda Camerena and Adrian Roman on the patio bar at the Salon Tenampa in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
25	With a longstanding tradition of tequila, mariachi music and dancing, the cantina is an iconic destination in Mexico City.
26	In this Aug. 21, 2015 photo, tequila fills the upstairs bar at the Tenampa Salon restaurant in Mexico City.
27	The original bar was constructed in 1925 when the restaurant was founded, and this year to celebrate its 90th anniversary, a terrace was opened with a view of Garibaldi Plaza.
28	In this Aug. 6, 2015 photo, a trio of musicians waits for clients to hire them in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
29	The downtown square is famous for open-air performances by strolling musicians.
30	In this Aug. 21, 2015 photo, a norteno musician with his accordion waits for customers in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
31	Northern Mexican music features the accordion as well as the bajo sexto, a 12 string instrument resembling a guitar.
32	In this Aug. 21, 2015 photo, a couple sits in the upstairs bar at the Tenampa Salon in Mexico City.
33	Located in Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi, the restaurant and bar has attracted visitors for 90 years from across Mexico and from around the world.
34	In this July 29, 2015 photo, 90-year-old mariachi Jose Jesus performs inside the Salon Tenampa bar and restaurant in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
35	The mural features late Mexican mariachi legends Pedro Infante, left, and Javier Solis.
36	In this Aug. 20, 2015 photo, Max Anya holds his electric shock machine called "Los toques" inside the Salon Tenampa bar and restaurant in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
37	Anya said the drunker the client is, the more willing he or she is willing to try his machine, for a fee, and can hold on longer to the contraption that emit volts of electricity.
38	The winner of the drinking game is the one who lets go last.
39	In this Aug. 20, 2015 photo, Mario Baes screams as he holds on to an electric shock machine called "Los toques" inside the Salon Tenampa bar and restaurant in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
40	In this Aug. 21, 2015 photo, mariachi Carlos Castaneda plucks his violin as he waits for customers at the Tenampa Salon restaurant and bar in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
41	Traditional mariachi groups usually have at least two violinists, and Castaneda plays alongside his brother, Oscar.
42	He added that mariachi music is a family tradition.
43	In this Aug. 6, 2015 photo, musicians wait to be hired in Garibaldi Plaza, a downtown square famous for open-air performances by strolling musicians in Mexico City.
44	"This is considered to be the home of mariachi," and among the oldest on the plaza, said Cesar Coronado Ferrer, a singer who has performed at the nearby Salon Tenampa for 30 years.
45	In this Aug. 20, 2015 photo, mariachi Jaime Gamez sings for paying customers Pedro Fuentes, left, and Manuel Cortez inside the Salon Tenampa bar and restaurant in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
46	The restaurant's founder brought the traditions of tequila and mariachi to Mexico City from his native Jalisco state and has filled the restaurant with partiers since 1925.
47	This Aug. 17, 2015 photo shows the decorative vest buttons and accessories on the three-piece suit of a mariachi musician inside the Salon Tenampa bar and restaurant in Garibaldi Plaza in Mexico City.
48	"It's like a symbol of Mexico," said the restaurant's founder, Juan I. Hernandez, pointing out that UNESCO named mariachi music an "intangible cultural heritage" in 2011.
49	In this Aug. 21, 2015 photo, a jarocho musician walks up the stairs to the terrace of the Tenampa Salon restaurant and bar in Mexico City.
50	"Here, visitors want the experience of classic Mexico in the music, the food, and the drinks," said bartender Abraham Manilla.