00:04It's one of Mexico's best known orchestral sounds and here in Doha it's being performed thousands
00:11of kilometers from where it was born by musicians from around the world. We are closer than we all
00:19think. The music really is our international language. Mexican conductor Enrique Arturo Demecki
00:32is leading the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra through Wapango, a piece that holds a special
00:38place in Mexican culture. The one we call Wapango, that is the anchor piece that resembles
00:48the most. That piece for us, the Mexicans, we think is like our second national anthem
00:57because it has all this flair, the melody, it has a drive and something that really makes
01:03you feel wonderful.
01:14And it's just one part of a musical journey across Mexico. Sounds of Mexico brings together
01:21works 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
01:33different regions of Mexico, from the Gulf and the Caribbean and then to the center of
01:40Mexico and then to the Pacific and then to the north. So it's going to show a little bit
01:46of the differences that exist in all these regions. Some of those sounds have their roots in mariachi
01:53and other Mexican traditions, but here they're being interpreted by a symphony orchestra with a
01:59very international makeup. The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra brings together musicians from around
02:06the world. This performance highlights Mexico's orchestral traditions as 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. And 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, I still remember my father listening
02:36mariachi bands and tomorrow evening we will play some of the mariachi songs made it for orchestra. So for me,
02:46it's like a small traveling through our Latin American deep tradition.
02:55But playing the notes is only part of it. The Ameki grew up with these rhythms. And Diaz is having
03:01a
03:01Mexican conductor in front of the orchestra helps the musicians understand how the music is supposed
03:06to feel. For players coming from very different musical traditions, it means learning to find the same rhythm
03:13together.
03:16We have Koreans, Germans, Austrians, Americans, Latin Americans, people from all around the world. And we sit together. And we
03:29have only one mission. And it's to play music together. Today, we are just trying to think exactly in the
03:40same way. To breathe in the same way.
03:43And that international mix is part of a wider exchange. Sounds of Mexico is part of the Qatar-Mexico
03:502026 year of culture. With Qatari and Arab culture presented in Mexico, and Mexican culture brought to
03:57audiences here in Doha.
03:59The exchange in the culture is important for both countries. We present the both countries' culture for us as
04:08Arab countries. We show them our musical heritage. So today, we present the people through the music.
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. It's just a little touch of difference.
04:34And perhaps that's the simplest idea behind this concert. Musicians from more than two dozen countries
04:40learning the rhythms of another, and giving an audience in Doha a chance to hear Mexico a little differently.
04:47Music.
04:50Music.
