00:04It's one of Mexico's best known orchestral sounds, and here in Doha, it's being performed thousands of kilometers from where
00:12it was born, by musicians from around the world.
00:16We are closer than we all think. The music really is our international language.
00:29Mexican conductor Enrique Arturo Demecki is leading the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra through Huapango, a piece that holds a special place
00:38in Mexican culture.
00:41The one we call Huapango, that is the anchor piece, that resembles the most.
00:49That piece, for us, the Mexicans, we think it's like our second national anthem, because it has all this flair,
00:59the melody, it has a drive, and something that really makes you feel wonderful.
01:14And it's just one part of a musical journey across Mexico.
01:19Sounds of Mexico brings together works from across the country, highlighting the range and diversity of Mexican music.
01:27The program we are performing this time, it has a variety of rhythms and melodies from different regions of Mexico,
01:35from the Gulf and the Caribbean, and then to the center of Mexico, and then to the Pacific, and then
01:43to the north.
01:44So it's going to show a little bit of the differences that exist in all these regions.
01:50Some of those sounds have their roots in Mariachi and other Mexican traditions, but here, they're being interpreted by a
01:58symphony orchestra with a very international makeup.
02:02The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra brings together musicians from around the world.
02:06This performance highlights Mexico's orchestral traditions as part of the 2026th Year of Culture, inviting audiences in Qatar to experience
02:14cultural exchange through music.
02:18More than 28 nationalities are represented in the orchestra, and for this Colombian tubo player, rehearsing this program brings back
02:26some very early memories.
02:29When I was a little, little, little child, three, four years, I still remember my father listening to Mariachi bands.
02:38And tomorrow evening, we will play some of the Mariachi songs made for orchestra.
02:45So for me, it's like a small traveling through our Latin American deep tradition.
02:55But playing the notes is only part of it.
02:58Diamechi grew up with these rhythms.
03:00And Diaz, since having a Mexican conductor in front of the orchestra, helps the musicians understand how the music is
03:06supposed to feel.
03:07For players coming from very different musical traditions, it means learning to find the same rhythm together.
03:16We have Koreans, Germans, Austrians, Americans, Latin Americans, people from all around the world.
03:24And we sit together, and we have only one mission, and it's to play music together.
03:35Today, we are just trying to think exactly in the same way, to breathe in the same way.
03:43And that international mix is part of a wider exchange.
03:47Sounds of Mexico is part of the Qatar-Mexico 2026 Year of Culture, with Qatari and Arab culture presented in
03:54Mexico, and Mexican culture brought to audiences here in Doha.
04:14That connection was there in rehearsal, too, with the orchestra playing both the Mexican and Qatari national anthems.
04:21But for Diamechi, music can make those connections without needing words at all.
04:27It comes from your soul, and it comes from your spirit.
04:30It's just a little touch of difference.
04:34And perhaps that's the simplest idea behind this concert.
04:37Musicians from more than two dozen countries, learning the rhythms of another,
04:42and giving an audience in Doha a chance to hear Mexico a little differently.
04:47Music by Benólogos
04:50Music by Benólogos
04:58Music by Benólogos
