Cultural festival in Wittenberg: youth choirs from Mexico enchant!

Cultural festival in Wittenberg: youth choirs from Mexico enchant!

A very special musical highlight was recently celebrated in Wittenberg: the Großenhain youth choir hosted the Mexican Coro Juvenil Domus Artis. This concert tour presented the “Songs For A Better World” project, which brought the history and culture of Mexico to life in an impressive way. With around 70 guests in the Katharinensaal, the event was a complete success. In advertising for the encounter, the choirs also performed on the market square.

Visitors could look forward to a colorful mix of music and information. The evening was not only a musical journey, but also a look into the cultural diversity of Mexico, as the show shows City parish of Wittenberg. In addition to songs about a better world, stories about the Aztecs, Maya and Toltecs as well as European influences were presented. There were particularly exciting articles on Mexican holidays, how people deal with death and their joy in life.

Culinary and exchange

A highlight of the event was undoubtedly the break during which Mexican delicacies were served. Here the guests had the opportunity to talk and exchange ideas about the different cultures and customs. The evening was rounded off with, among other things, a Brazilian solo from Wittenberg and a joint dance by the German and Mexican singers.

This exchange and encounter between cultures is also the focus of the Großenhain youth choir's trip to Mexico. For the seventh time, the young singers performed together with the Coro Juvenil Domus Artis from Chetumal. The trip took the choir members through the Mexican states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo for 16 days and was sponsored by the German Choir Youth. After a long journey that spanned six hours by bus, twelve hours by plane and four more hours by bus, the participants were accommodated in a hotel with a pool in the colonial old town of Merida, as reported on the Website of the Großenhain high school.

Cultural experiences and exciting concerts

The first performances were not only well attended, but also very emotionally moving. It all started with 450 listeners and a Spanish-speaking presenter. As a highlight, you could even watch and marvel at flamingos in the lagoon. Significant sites such as the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza were also visited while the singers refreshed themselves in a cenote. The encounters were crowned by several concerts in various locations, including Izamal, where the concert was secretly streamed and the audience increased tenfold. Such encounters not only promote cultural exchange, but the participants also learned how important family togetherness is, because the singing often took place in the circle of families of the partner choir.

An important topic of the exchange is everyday school life in Mexico. Compulsory schooling begins here at the age of 6 and the school system is divided into three levels: Primaria, Secundaria and Preparatoria. The compulsory subjects cover a wide range, from mathematics and English to psychology and logic. The lunch break is also a very family affair, as lunch is often eaten at home with the host families experiment reported.

The entire program was not only an immersive musical journey but also a valuable experience that involved everyone. A reunion of the choirs is already planned for June in Germany. And this shows once again how music connects people worldwide and builds bridges between cultures.