Saturday, January 31, 2026 · Puerto Peñasco, Sonora

la güipa

Omar Tarola (left) said that he came to Puerto Peñasco from Guaymas to perform music. Here, he and Alfredo “Lalo” Dominguez perform the regional standard, “Arboles de la barranca” on Jan. 31 in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.

Alfredo “Lalo” Dominguez was the first musician to participate in this project when he posed for a photograph with his accordion and was then interviewed in April of 2025. At that time, accompanied by a guitarist and a drummer, Dominguez performed for tourists and locals a la güipa on the malecón in Puerto Peńasco.

La güipa (pronounced la WEE-puh) is the term roaming musicians-for-hire in Mexico use to describe their work. The Spanish verb guipar means “to discover, to find.” When musicians traverse tourist areas such as beaches and the malecón in search of work, they’re en la güipa. Weekends and beach holidays like Semana Santa are the busiest times for musicians working this way. They wander amongst the crowds and stop to perform for groups of families and friends who hire them for a song or two or for blocks of time.

You bring your crew and cooler, and they bring the party.