By Marcia Blondin***On Wednesday, October 28, the Palm Cabaret kicked off its 27th season with the Monaco Band, with Daniel Celis headlining on guitar and lead vocals. His gorgeous, uber-talented onstage partner, Gina Ibarra, soared in flawless harmonies 
and solos. The show, Rewind, featured songs from the ’60s to the 2000s, with seamless segues tying together more than 70 chart-topping songs of the past 50 years. There were maybe two songs I did not know! Singing along was encouraged, and often it felt like a robust Mormon Tabernacle Choir had invaded the cabaret!
Over the last three or four years, Monaco Band has become incredibly popular around town as a great dance band, and entertained at last year’s Vallarta Garden Club Gala and the Peacock Gala at our world-famous Botanical Garden. Their repertoire is enormous, and everyone in the band is lovable and extraordinarily talented. Rewind will take patrons back in time every Wednesday at 5 PM duri
ng the season. The show is huge in scope; the energy never slows down, even during the ballads we grew up with. This is the finest show Daniel Celis has produced thus far. Enjoy, sing, chair-dance, and leave the Palm Cabaret uplifted from hearing the best songs of our lives.
Immediately following Rewind was Sargento: The Biggest Broadway Singalong on Earth. This much-anticipated show grew out of Sargento Dan‘s biweekly singalong at Garbo’s Bar here in Vallarta. It has grown from a cleverly-executed lounge act to spectacular stand-up comedy/improvisation with props that’ll knock your proverbial socks off, and I will not give anything away. This show needs to be seen by everyone who loves to sing or hear songs sung well. The lyrics are displayed on LED screens flanking the stage and Sar
gento Dan.
Sargento’s sidekick is Richard Carnegie, who proves to be a perfect foil in this gay romp through Broadway classics. Oklahoma! was the first Broadway song Sargento ever sang in public, and the gusto behind it opened his Palm debut. The rest of the show unraveled at lightning speed, accompanied by uncontrolled laughter at the zany brilliance of Sargento’s mind. From quirky props to cross-dressing studded with innuendo, join Sargento Dan every Wednesday at 7 PM at The Palm Cabaret and Bar.
If these two new shows at Vallarta’s longest-running entertainment venue are any indication of what’s to come, buckle up, Vallarta—it’s going to be a helluva great ride!
