The Mexican Folk Dance Company “Tierra Mestiza” performed at the Katara Amphitheatre on January 24 and 25 as part of the 4th Cultural Diversity Festival. The participation of Mexico was on the sidelines of the 6th Global Public Diplomacy Network General Assembly held from January 20 to 22. The artistic group delighted a quite diverse audience at one of the most impressive venues in the Middle East.
In tune with the diversity spirit of the Festival, the 13 dancers and one senior singer (Soledad Huerta) embodied dances and rhythms of four different regions of Mexico: Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa and Veracruz.
In this occasion, the diversity was also shown in the different colourful costumes used, the performers are from 15 to 55 years old. After two decades of hard work, Tierra Mestiza, results in a rich, varied and profound interpretation of the Mexican artistic expression. The combination of religious myths and scenes of everyday life, love and tragedy, are transmitted by an excellent choreography and movement to achieve a complete mosaic of Mexico’s diversity and cultural richness.
The Ambassador of Mexico, Graciela Gómez García, gave an opening speech in both evenings. She highlighted the relevance of building bridges among cultures and described dance and music as an effective universal language that reaches the souls of people. She endorsed the efforts of Qatar to become a global hub for the peaceful encounter of civilisations.
In October 2000, Tierra Mestiza emerged in Tultitlán, Mexico, as an independent group under the leadership of the current Director, Carolina Ordaz Ortiz, having several years of artistic experience with the passage of time. They have performed in festivals in 20 countries, in four continents. They are the first Mexican cultural group ever coming to Qatar, being 2007 the year they came for the first time, out of four. As for the Cultural Diversity Festival, it is the third time they are invited, and everything points to many more to come.
Besides Mexico, 13 other countries are also part of the Festival: Turkey, Portugal, Philippines, Hungary, Singapore, Poland, Korea, Taiwan, Swede, Mozambique, Nigeria and Lithuania. The cultural presentations will run throughout the year.
