Welcome to mariachi, the soul of Mexico!

Columns

Published: 03 Oct. 2022, 19:41

Welcome to mariachi, the soul of Mexico!

Bruno Figueroa
The author is Mexico’s ambassador to Korea.

Mexico and Korea have built a robust friendship for the future over the past sixty years. Formal relations were established in 1962, but the ties between our peoples go back more than a hundred years to the first Korean migration to Mexico in 1905. Furthermore, in 2022, we honored and remembered those forgotten soldiers of Mexican origin who bravely fought in the Korean War.

The relationship between the two countries has grown stronger, reflecting the maturity of our strategic partnership built in over the past six decades. The bilateral economic relation is the pillar of our partnership, as seen in the trade volume that surpassed $20 billion in 2021. In only three years, Korea has become Mexico’s third largest trade partner and one of our main foreign investors. Both governments restarted negotiations in March toward a free trade agreement.

The current relationship goes beyond the realm of economics, as it is being boosted daily at the level of citizens. Tens of thousands of young Mexican K-pop fans follow in social media what their idols do. In Korea, thousands also have a meal every day in one of the 250 restaurants that offer Mexican food. After the hardships of more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, people to people exchanges between the two countries are recovering.

Performers of Mariachi, a genre of Mexican music that’s been recognized as a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. They will present “The Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan” in Jeonju on Oct. 7 and 8. [[EMBASSY OF MEXICO IN KOREA] ]

Performers of Mariachi, a genre of Mexican music that's been recognized as a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. They will present "The Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán" in Jeonju on Oct. 7 and 8. [EMBASSY OF MEXICO IN KOREA]

Music transcends language and border and brings together people of diverse cultural backgrounds. Just as K-pop identifies Korea, mariachi conjures up the image of Mexico. Its music conveys the love of the Mexican countryside — and the beauty of the country. So intrinsic is the music to the soul of our nation that it was declared as an “intangible cultural heritage” by Unesco in 2011. In other words, mariachi is a fundamental element of the culture of the Mexican people through which values, cultural assets, history and indigenous languages are transmitted from generation to generation.

The first-ever presentation of the Mariachi Vargas de Tecatitlan in Jeonju on Oct. 7 and 8, thanks to the National Intangible Heritage Center of Korea is bound to deepen the knowledge of Mexican culture among the Korean people with an exceptional high-quality performance. The Mariachi Vargas, founded in 1898 in the Mexican town of Tecalitlán, state of Jalisco, has been sharing its music in Mexico and abroad for more than 125 years. It has been featured by some of the major names in the music in the Spanish-speaking world and is considered the best mariachi band in the world.

The promotion of mutual knowledge will be key to continue fostering a better understanding between our societies in the next sixty years. People to people exchanges go both ways. The participation of Korea as a guest country in the Cervantino Festival in October in Mexico will offer the chance to many Mexicans to have a better understanding of Korean traditional culture with the K-Intangible Heritage spectacle to take place in Guanajuato on Oct. 19. Hundreds of students, professors, businessmen, artists and tourists that go both ways help consolidate solid links that will sustain our friendship for many years to come. Cultural activities, such as the presentation of the Mariachi Vargas at the K-Intangible Heritage stage, will further deepen the appreciation and friendship between the peoples of Mexico and Korea.