00:04It's one of Mexico's best-known orchestral sounds,
00:08and here in Doha, it's being performed thousands of kilometers
00:12from where it was born, by musicians from around the world.
00:16We are closer than we all think.
00:20The music really is our international language.
00:29Mexican conductor Enrique Arturo de Mecki
00:32is leading the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra through Huapango,
00:36a piece that holds a special place in Mexican culture.
00:41The one we call Huapango, that is the anchor piece,
00:47that resembles the most.
00:49That piece, for us, the Mexicans, we think it's like our second national anthem
00:56because it has all this flair, the melody, it has a drive,
01:02and something that really makes you feel wonderful.
01:15And it's just one part of a musical journey across Mexico.
01:19Sounds of Mexico brings together works from across the country,
01:23highlighting the range and diversity of Mexican music.
01:27The program we are performing this time,
01:30it has a variety of rhythms and melodies from different regions of Mexico,
01:35from the Gulf and the Caribbean,
01:39and then to the center of Mexico,
01:41and then to the Pacific, and then to the north.
01:44So it's going to show a little bit of the differences that exist in all these regions.
01:51Some of those sounds have their roots in mariachi and other Mexican traditions,
01:55but here they're being interpreted by a symphony orchestra
01:59with a very international makeup.
02:02The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra brings together musicians from around the world.
02:07This performance highlights Mexico's orchestral traditions
02:09as part of the 2026 Year of Culture,
02:12inviting audiences in Qatar to experience cultural exchange through music.
02:18More than 28 nationalities are represented in the orchestra,
02:21And for this Colombian tubo player,
02:24rehearsing this program brings back some very early memories.
02:29When I was a little, little, little child, three, four years,
02:34I still remember my father listening 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.
02:58The Ameki grew up with these rhythms.
03:00And Diaz's having a Mexican conductor in front of the orchestra
03:03helps the musicians understand how the music is supposed to feel.
03:07For players coming from very different musical traditions,
03:10it means learning to find the same rhythm together.
03:16We have Koreans, Germans, Austrians, Americans, Latin Americans,
03:23people from all around the world.
03:25And we sit together and we have only one mission,
03:32and it's to play music together.
03:35Today we are just trying to think exactly in the same way,
03:41to 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,
03:52with Qatari and Arab culture presented in Mexico,
03:55and Mexican culture brought to audiences here in Doha.
03:59The exchange in the culture is important for both countries.
04:02We present the both countries' culture for us as an Arab country.
04:09We show them our musical heritage.
04:11So today we present the people through the music.
04:14That connection was there in rehearsal, too,
04:17with the orchestra playing both the Mexican and Qatari national anthems.
04:21But for Diameki, 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.
04:38Musicians from more than two dozen countries
04:40learning the rhythms of another
04:42and giving an audience in Doha
04:44a chance to hear Mexico a little differently.
04:47Music
04:49Music
