The first time I saw her I thought I was dreaming. I’d had more than my share of alcohol when I arrived at a night spot called Bar Blu, and onstage saw a drop-dead gorgeous woman with cinnamon skin, encased in a little black dress with deep cleavage. She was playing “All of Me” on the trombone, and playing it well. In the entire history of jazz, how many women trombonists can you name? How many that look like this?

Pamela is from Venezuela, and she came to Mexico with her husband Moncho five or six years ago. She plays with an exuberant trio each Wednesday night at La Morena, a seafood restaurant on calle Michoacán in the Colonia Condesa. These days they are often booked to play at private parties, and at other restaurants and bars, but Pamela’s start in Mexico was not easy. In fact, she and Moncho spent their first New Year’s Eve here sleeping in the Parque Hundido, one of the city’s most beautiful parks.This was because she had fought with the manager of a discotheque, where she had been contracted to play. The manager – a woman – insisted that Pamela put on something besides the miniskirt she was wearing before going onstage. “No one tells me how to dress,” said Pamela. Three employees threw her out on the street.“It’s not the first tough moment we’ve had,” reflects Pamela. “Moncho and I love each other deeply, have two beautiful daughters and beautiful friends. I communicate with nature, the sun, the moon, the flowers, the universe, and I get over my problems quickly. That’s why we slept in the Parque Hundido,” she adds, laughing. “There’s a lot of nature there.”