May 24, 2023

Title: POWER OF THREE

Constructor: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

HIP HOP TRIO (20A: Fugees, De La Soul or Naughty By Nature)

MEXICO TRILOGY (37A: Robert Rodriguez film series that follows El Mariachi)

MAJOR TRIAD (57A: C-E-G chord, in music notation)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer is a word referencing THREE of something. We have a TRIO, a TRILOGY, and a TRIAD.

Things I learned:

• MEXICO TRILOGY (37A: Robert Rodriguez film series that follows El Mariachi) The MEXICO TRILOGY refers to the Robert Rodriguez movies El Mariachi (1992), Desperado (1995), and Once Upon a Time in MEXICO (2003). Robert Rodriguez spent just $7,225 to film the first movie, which was intended for the Mexican home-video market. Columbia Pictures bought the distribution rights for the movie, and spent $200,000 to upgrade the movie for widespread distribution. El Mariachi was named by Guinness World Records as the lowest-budgeted movie to gross over $1 million at the box office. The second and third movies in the MEXICAN TRILOGY had significantly larger budgets. The role of El Mariachi was played by Carlos Gallardo in El Mariachi, and by Antonio Banderas in Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
• PALETA (50A: Frozen treat that might be studded with fresas) A PALETA is a Mexican take on an ice pop. "PALETA" roughly translates to "little stick." PALETAs are available in a wide variety of flavors. A PALETA could be studded with fresas (strawberries), but PALETAs also come in flavors such as passion-fruit coconut, spicy pineapple jalapeño, or cinnamon with goat's milk caramel. Yum!
• POEMS (10D: Yalie Kamara works) Yalie Kamara is currently the Poet Laureate of Cincinnati, Ohio. I enjoyed this Soapbox Cincinnati interview with Yalie Kamara in which she describes being poet laureate as "being an ambassador of poetry." The article includes her POEM, "Besaydoo," which I recommend reading. Currently living in Cincinnati, Yalie Kamara is a native of Oakland, California; her family is from Sierra Leone.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• HIP HOP TRIO (20A: Fugees, De La Soul or Naughty By Nature) I appreciate the elegance of providing THREE examples of HIP HOP TRIOs as a nod to today's theme. This is an example of an extra touch that could easily go unnoticed, and which I enjoy immensely. All THREE of the groups mentioned in the clue are Grammy Award-winning HIP HOP TRIOs.
• The HIP HOP TRIO the Fugees consisted of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. 
• The HIP HOP TRIO De La Soul consisted of Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, and Maseo. This TRIO is currently a duo, as Trugoy the Dove died in February of this year.
• The HIP HOP TRIO Naughty by Nature consists of Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee.
• OLE (31A: Copa Mundial cheer) "Copa Mundial" is Spanish for "World Cup," the international soccer competition held every four years.
• GRAM (42A: Unit of mass in European cookbooks) European cookbooks list ingredient amounts by weight rather than volume. Measuring ingredients by weight is more precise, as a cup of flour, say, might weigh anywhere from 96 GRAMs to 144 GRAMS, depending on who has scooped it up. Measuring the flour ensures that 120 GRAMs of flour is always added when the recipe calls for it. Thankfully, some American cookbooks are beginning to move toward using GRAMs instead of cups.
• MAJOR TRIAD (57A: C-E-G chord, in music notation) I dusted off my music theory knowledge to get this answer. A MAJOR TRIAD is a chord consisting of a root (C in this case), a MAJOR third (E in this example), and a perfect fifth (G here). If you don't understand these terms, just be thankful that musicians do, and enjoy listening.
• AQUINO (2D: Former Philippine president Corazon) Corazon AQUINO was the president of the Philippines from 1986-1992. She was the first female president of the Philippines, assuming office after the People Power Revolution ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power and restored democracy in the Philippines.
• ELOTE (6D: Corn on a stick with queso y crema) I have previously written about ELOTE. I've also eaten ELOTE, and it's delicious.
• PLEASING (11D: Delightful) and EAR CANDY (12D: Delightfully "sweet" music) It was PLEASING to me to see this delightful pair of answers side-by-side in the grid. I might even describe it as "eye CANDY." Also, isn't EAR CANDY a delightful phrase?
• SCREAM (34D: Slasher franchise starring Courteney Cox in every film) There are six movies in the SCREAM franchise. (We could consider this two sets of THREE for the purposes of today's theme...)  The films are creatively titled SCREAM (1996), SCREAM 2 (1997), SCREAM 3 (2000), SCREAM 4 (2011), SCREAM (2022), and SCREAM VI (2023). Only Courtney Cox, who portrays Gale Weathers, has appeared in all six movies. Roger L. Jackson had a voice role in all of the movies, providing the voice of Ghostface.
• ARIE (58D: "Songversation" artist India.___) Songversation is a 2013 album by India.ARIE. We saw INDIA.ARIE as a theme answer December 20, 2020.

Fitting to have THREE theme answers today demonstrating the POWER OF THREE. In addition to the answers I've highlighted, I also liked OUTRIGHT, TEA LIGHT (when I read the clue, I immediately visualized the [Little candle in a metal cup] though it took me a moment to come up with the answer!), METADATA, and EXCLUDED. Thank you, Enrique, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Wednesday.