Saturday, October 5, 2024

En Breve: May the 4th concert, Dos Hombres mezcal and Mexican divers

Star Wars symphonic concert in Mexico City for May the 4th

On Thursday, Mexico City will hold a free symphonic concert to celebrate Star Wars Day, just a few months after Mexico City’s first Star Wars Parade. 

“‘Patience you must master, young padawan, May the 4th be with you…’ See you there!” the National Youth Institute (INJUVE) announced on Twitter. 

While Star Wars Day’s origins go back to informal celebrations by fans of the movies, its annual date stems from a story published by the London Evening News on May 4, 1979, in which members of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom congratulated Margaret Thatcher on her newly-won position as Prime Minister.

“May the 4th Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations,” the article said, a pun on “May the Force be with you,” the line made famous by “Star Wars,” which had premiered only two years earlier. Some years later, fans would use the pun when choosing a date for Star Wars Day.

This is the second edition of the Star Wars symphonic concert. The music will be performed by the INJUVE Symphony Orchestra and conducted by César Uriel Hernández, the orchestra’s artistic director. It will be held at 7 p.m. in the Venustiano Carranza borough.

From TV meth cooks to real-life mezcal producers

The leading actors of Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston, spoke to Jetset magazine about Dos Hombres, the mezcal brand they launched in 2019.  

The duo told Jetset that before starting their business, they deeply studied the spirit’s tradition and embarked on frequent trips south of the border where they discovered Gregorio Velasco, “the tercer hombre” behind their brand.  

A third generation maestro mezcalero (master mezcal maker), Velasco brought to life the actors’ vision of bringing mezcal to the public. “This is all self-funded by Bryan and [me] from the very beginning,” Paul told Jetset, saying they wanted “to create an accessible and perfect mezcal.” 

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul
The two Breaking Bad stars enjoying their mezcal. (Dos Hombres/Instagram)

The actors talked about Velasco with the utmost respect. “Every time we go down to Mexico and visit our maestro… he teaches us something different,” Cranston said. However, the actor said that Velasco has kept – and will continue to keep – the Dos Hombres recipe tightly hidden. “We don’t even know it,” Cranston said.

When asked about the company’s goal, Cranston said that he and Paul want to “share the joy” and do things that are “beneficial for people,” both in Mexico and the United States. For the duo, the business is not about the money. “We have never gone after a money plateau,” Cranston said

However, Paul admits they want to keep building their brand. “We want to keep educating people on what mezcal is, and swing for that number one spot.” 

Luis Miguel announces 2023 tour

After much anticipation from his fans, Luis Miguel has finally announced dates for his 2023 tour, the singer’s first since 2019.

Mexican pop star Luis Miguel
The Mexican pop star will be touring cities throughout Latin America and the United States this year. (Wikimedia Commons)

The 43-date tour through Latin America and the United States will kick off Aug. 3 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Luis Miguel will then move on to Chile and other parts of Latin America before heading to the U.S., where he will tour major cities like Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami and Los Angeles. He will wrap up the trek on Dec. 17 in Guadalajara.

In Mexico, “El Sol de México” (“The Sun of Mexico”) will visit at least 11 states, including Mexico City, where he will sing on November 21, 22 and 24 at the Mexico City Arena, which comes as a surprise, as he had always performed at the National Auditorium. However, no information has been released as to when tickets will be available for sale in the country.

In the United States, tickets are already available through Ticketmaster. And in Argentina, tickets sold out just two hours after their release, CNN reported. 

Luis Miguel is one of Latin music’s biggest stars. Among his many records is that set by  his 2010 “Luis Miguel Tour” as the longest and highest-grossing tour that any Latino artist has ever made. He is also the first Mexican artist to surpass 8 billion streams on Spotify. 

Divers raise money to attend the World Aquatics Diving World Cup

The Mexican Swimming Federation’s (FMN) withdrawal of financial support has led Mexican divers to raise money on social media to attend the 2023 World Aquatics High Diving World Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

With the support of former Mexican diver Adriana Jiménez, the Mexican high diving team, made up of Jonathan Paredes, Sergio Guzmán, Diego Rizo, Yolotl Cabral and Alejandra Aguilar, launched a campaign on social networks to raise $200,000 pesos (US $11,000) to cover travel expenses to the World Cup. 

“We want to make an urgent call to Mexican society. The World Cup is just around the corner and we do not have any kind of financial support to be able to attend,” Paredes said in a video.

The amount raised would help the members of the Mexican national team to cover their food, air travel tickets and lodging expenses before May 20. The World Cup will take place on May 26 and 27.

“We have trained hard to represent our country with pride,” Paredes said. 

A new national cinema to open in Bosque de Chapultepec 

In addition to being Mexico City’s iconic park, the Bosque de Chapultepec is also a cultural center with museums, galleries and later this year, a new national cinema (cineteca).

Aerial image of Chapultepec park
An aerial view of the giant Bosque de Chapultepec in Mexico City. (Santiago Arau/Gob MX)

As part of the “Chapultepec: Nature and Culture” project, which has rehabilitated old spaces in the forest and opened new leisure spaces in collaboration with several artists, the new cineteca will show a range of national and international movies in eight auditoriums. The two largest will hold 400 viewers at a time, four will seat up to 200 and two smaller ones will seat 100. The existing national cinema – which is Mexico’s central film archive – is a Mexico City landmark located in Coyoacán’s colonia Xoco.

A wooded outdoor forum reminiscent of the cinema in Coyoacán is also part of the construction plan. The venue will also have cafeterias, restaurants, shops and bars, and be host to workshops and exhibitions.

Though initially planned for the end of 2021, the new cinema’s opening is now scheduled for the last quarter of 2023.  

The studio of Mexican architect Mauricio Rocha is in charge of its construction.

With reports from Jetset Magazine, Aristegui Noticias, Aristegui Noticias, Latinus, and Travesías Digital

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