BreakAway promotes the power of music—to wash away your worries, to touch the spirits, and for daily entertainment. Live music offers one of the finest pleasures on the planet. Which is one more reason to warm up in Mexico; authentic music happens everywhere there—like this troubadour busking for spare change on the malecon in Mazatlan.

If you’re traveling with children, their eyes will pop when a brassy mariachi band blasts over the dinner table. On the romantic side, nylon-string guitarists serenade and soothe diners and sweethearts. But my favorite memory? A wandering trio harmonizing  Guantanamera with 3 sizes of guitars, tableside, on a candle-lit beach at (what is now) the charming Petit Lafitte resort near Playa del Carmen.

Whenever I hear that song, my mind goes back to that sublime scene. Music makes memories…the most precious thing in life.