Miguel Angel y su Orquesta La Selección

I was having a birthday dinner with family, friends, and my long term boyfriend when we had our experience tainted by Miguel Ángel y su Orquesta La Selección. We’d placed a reservation and were seated at the front of the restaurant near the stage, since we were a big group. As soon as the band started playing, however, the noise was so deafening that I had to lean in and shout to speak to the person right next to me.

After a while, I went up to the band during a break in their music and respectfully explained in Spanish that, while the music was great, it was way too loud for anyone at the front of the restaurant to speak to the rest of the members at their table, and we would greatly appreciate it if it could be turned down ever so slightly. In order to keep the interaction as polite as possible, I repeatedly emphasized how much we enjoyed the music itself, even though (as a born and raised Puerto Rican who is not very picky with her Spanish music and has heard and enjoyed many Latin bands in Boston) I honestly thought it was mediocre. Miguel Ángel, however, did not return this politeness, and instead plainly stated that they had to be this loud because there were no speakers in the back. I was prepared for this, as I’d taken a lap around the restaurant to before approaching the band to make sure that I wasn’t overstepping with my request. I explained that the music was extremely loud throughout the restaurant and was only at a normal volume you could talk over but still hear well at the very back; additionally, there were more than enough free tables at the front and middle of the restaurant for anyone who wanted to hear the music well to sit at.

Miguel Ángel simply repeated, once again, that there were no speakers near the back, without so much as a “sorry” or a smile (two things I had given him throughout my request, even though I didn’t feel very sorry at all as even the waiters had expressed their distaste for the noise levels to me). Not wanting to let the situation take up any more of my night, I simply smiled again and walked back to my table. As the band started playing again, the music felt louder, but I said assumed it was all in my head until, without me even saying anything, a few members of my party pointed out that it felt like Miguel Ángel had turned the volume UP.

So, in summary, not only were my table’s polite requests disrespectfully ignored, the band immaturely retaliated against us. When you’re performing at a restaurant, you serve an important role but are not the main event: you are the background music for people’s conversations, and you should act accordingly. A performer’s talent is just as important as their respect for the audience and the environment, and this group’s performance was not nearly good enough to make up for their egotistical, selfish behavior towards the restaurant’s patrons. My boyfriend was meeting my parents (who I was also seeing for the first time in many months) for the first time, and no one could even talk to one another because this band felt the need to break everyone’s eardrums for over two straight hours. I would STRONGLY discourage you from hiring them if you want your guests to feel respected and have a good time.