I MARRIED A DUG DUG
by MARGARET DE LA TORRE WILKEY
I was 18 years old when I first met Jorge de la Torre. In 1964, my friend Diane and I would go down from San Diego to Mike's Bar in Tijuana to dance on Friday nights and to hear The Tijuana Five. As we walked in this Friday night, there, sitting at a table, was this guy with wild looking hair and a different look then any one I had seen down there. It was amazing. Our eyes locked and I knew I was in for the ride of my life. I did not know at the time that Jorge was a singer in a band -- he did not perform that night, but was just in the audience like any one else. As my eyes finally focused on other things in the room, I saw the rest of people at his table and I was amazed to see this group of guys with long hair, and they seemed to be amazed themselves at what they were experiencing.
I was engaged at the time to an American who I obviously didn't love. He was from a very wealthy family in San Diego, the Ratners. He promised me the world if I would leave the Tijuana scene behind me, but to no avail. I was hooked. It was like an addiction -- you just kept wanting to go back and hear more, to experience this excitement that the bands created. I danced with my regular partner that night and for weeks after that, until I came in one night at a different time and day, and there on the stage was this guy that had the wild hair, along with all those other different looking guys. I was very puzzled at first, thinking, what are they doing?
Then the Dug Dug's started to play and I knew. The little one with the wild hair started to sing, and my heart jumped. He had the deepest voice I had ever heard, much like Joe Cocker. They were playing Beatles songs, and they sounded just like them, but with a twist. The whole place was watching, amazed at this great imitation of the most popular band of the time. They had a way about them to get you to relax and just have a good time. Maybe it was the way Jorge handled himself -- the way he got into the music, dancing and laughing while he was singing. Armando had the longest hair anyone had seen on a guy, and he handled himself with such ease and yet was dynamic at the same time. You could feel the excitement in the air whenever the Dug Dug's would play.
When we first met, Jorge didn't speak English and I didn't speak Spanish. It truly came down to the language of love. We still hadn't spoken face to face. Six months went by, until the night I went to Mike's Bar and the Dug Dug's weren't playing, the Tijuana Five were. The disappointment was overwhelming at first -- the Tijuana Five were good, but not as exciting as the Dug Dug's. But I remember that a slow dance was playing and out of nowhere came Jorge. He came over to me and motioned to dance. I fell into his arms and I never looked back. This new, tumultous life was just beginning. Times were changing, I was changing, and I knew in my heart my life was about to change.
The boys started at the bottom at Mike's Bar and worked their way up to the starring position, owing of course to their hard work and also the kindness of Mike Leon, the owner (who, sadly, was killed in a car accident 10 years ago). He was a wonderful man who watched over the boys and also the women. I think he was the one who put Tijuana on the map, as far as the music. Jorge and another one of the band members lived in the back of Mike's Bar in a little room, until they got on their feet.
By the spring of 1965, the audience for the Dug Dug's was growing, and every night the band was playing to a pretty full house. Armando was the one who made all the decisions on the future of the band, and the rest of the boys seemed to follow his lead with no problems. The Beatles were their main music, and one night, while the boys were playing at about midnight, into the club walked George Harrison and Ringo Starr! They sat in the audience and listened to the band play and danced with the girls who were at the club. (Unfortunately, I was stuck back in a hotel room waiting for Jorge, so I never got to enjoy this experience!) There were many celebrities who frequented Mike's Bar and listened to the bands. Vanilla Fudge were there a couple of times, as were many others. Mike's was the place to be seen in Tijuana.
One night, I traveled with the Dug Dug's to Ensenada, where they opened for Jose Feliciano. We all drove down there with great expectations and excitement. As the boys exited their cars, people were waiting for them, screaming and welcoming the boys with great fervor. I sat in the car looking at all this, feeling like this was the next step up in their rise to the top. They still had an air of innocence about them that was very attractive and addictive. The people loved the idea of a band playing in Baja that sounded like the Beatles and had the look to go with it. This led to several road trips around Ensenada, Baja, Tecate and Mexicali. They weren't making a lot of money, but were getting a lot of exposure. They were practicing more and more and spending a lot of time together trying to perfect their act, and they didn't sleep very much. I was invited to many of the practices and meetings they held at Armando's house, his mother always present. They would sit for hours laughing and enjoying themselves and g
oing over their plans for the future. I feel very privileged to have been let in on these fun meetings.
Armando was running the Dug Dug's, trying to take care of them all while also trying to run his own life. He was going with a girl named Norma, who was American, but since she had been going down to Tijuana so much, she spoke perfect Spanish. She was a wild cat -- if any girl even looked at Armando, she would go into a rage and actually get physical, not only with the girls, but also Armando! All the girls were scared of her. Armando and Norma lived together in an apartment in Tijuana, a half block from Mike's. Genaro Garcia was married and lived up in the hills of Tijuana. Drummer Jorge Lujan was living with his parents, who had moved here from Durango. And my Jorge was living in the back of the club. And at the time, I believe the other guitar player was yet another guy named Jorge!
Things between Jorge and I were getting very serious, and since we were both from different backgrounds, it made things that much more exciting. It all seemed like unforbidden love, within the context of being in Tijuana, going to clubs, listening to this great band, and acting somewhat like an adult. I was just head over heels in love with Jorge. We would go to the beaches in Tijuana and Rosarito during the day, and Jorge would swim and run around like a kid. He had not been raised near the ocean, so everything was just so new and exciting to him. We would hang out together on his days off, go to the beach, walk around Tijuana, and just hang out together. Sometimes he would drink, but just for fun, and not a lot. We spent many passionate hours together. I couldn't seem to get enough of him, and I knew he felt the same way about me.
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