A visit to Mexicali’s Sinapsis Café

Sinapsis Cafe

Right down the street from us, only two blocks away, is the Sinapsis Café. The place looked a bit young for us, but with the prodding of Matthew, we decided to pay it a visit.

We happened to go there on a Thursday, which is Karaoke night. Did Matthew sing? Yes, but only very quietly to Jim and me at the table. In spite of all his talent, Matthew can be a bit shy.

We had a fine young waiter, Alex, who spoke perfect English. His parents are from Mexicali, but Alex was born in El Centro, California, and is a U.S. citizen. He went to high school in Phoenix, and spent a couple of years in the U.S. navy – in a submarine. You never know what you will find in Mexicali.

Jim is a coffee addict, so Matthew and I joined him as we put in our order for three cappuccinos. In no time, Alex was back with the goods – three huge cappuccinos, served in generous king-sized cups. Jim took a slow sip, hesitated a bit, and said, “Yup, that’s good.” Now we knew we were in the right place.

The place is spotlessly clean. On Saturdays, Sinapsis Café has live music. The walls are lined with books, and no one pressures you to do anything but to relax and enjoy yourself.

We sat and listened to the singers. After a while, Alex brought us the Sinapsis Karaoke menu. It included not just songs in Spanish, but in English, as well. I decided to sing Yesterday, by the Beatles. Jim was a bit upset, and said, “C’mon MaryAnn, you don’t want to stand up in front of all these folks.”

“Go ahead, MaryAnn,” said Matthew, clapping his white gloves.

Normally, I listen to Jim, but it was like nothing for me to stand up and sing, which I did.

Inside the Sinapsis Cafe

The whole place was surprised to hear someone sing in English – especially someone my age. In Mexico, people my age don’t go to Karaoke places, let alone risk making a fool out of themselves by singing. It was so unusual, that I got a pretty good round of applause.

When I returned to the table, Matthew said, “MaryAnn, fantastic! You are just as good as Susan Boyle.”

“Susan Boyle?” I asked.

“Yes, Susan Boyle, the gal who wowed them on Britain’s Got Talent, you know the Simon Cowell show,” said Matthew.

“Guess you’re the Susan Boyle of Mexicali, whoever she is,” laughed Jim.

My performance over, we just sat and listened for the rest of the evening.

Finally, it was time to go home, so we asked Alex for the check. Whoa! It only came to 105 pesos for the three of us – that’s about $7.50, or around $2.50 apiece.

“Wow,” said Jim as we headed out the door, “we’re a-commin back to this place.”

“Next time, I sing too,” said Mathew.

Jim gave me a look.