Not Quite Mariachi

16 September 2007 | Email

Dear Kelly,

Have you ever seen the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that features a mariachi band? It’s pretty good, if you dig mariachis. This immortal guy, known only as “Q”, gets kicked out of the continuum of superpowered beings because of all the terrible things he’s done over the millenia, and the only place he can find refuge from all the people seeking revenge is the Starship Enterprise.

Well, Captain Picard—whose crew has been the butt of a lot of Q’s jokes over the years—is not happy to see him and throws him in the brig. Being noble, however, Picard must fight off the creatures going after Q, and his ability to connect with Picard gets Q his powers back. He then appears from thin air on the bridge of the Enterprise in full mariachi gear, bellowing out a beautiful trumpet solo as the band strums away behind him. He cries out, “I’m immortal again! Omnipotent again!”

There’s also the Monty Python sketch “The Cheese Shop”, which features a bouzouki player—not quite mariachi, but still really funny.

By the way, I noticed that your work address is 320 Porter Ave—do you work at D’Youville? I taught there in the English department for a couple years.

Be well and have fun,
Susannah