A Tri-Cities performance has new meaning for visiting musicians. Here’s why
Miguel Angel Alatorre Álvarez has not been able to sleep his first few nights in America.
His home of Colima, Mexico, is in disarray. His family and friends are living through a series of lethal earthquakes that have toppled everyday life and infrastructure.
The first magnitude 7.6 quake struck Monday on his flight over. Then, at midnight Thursday, his wife called him saying there was another 6.9 magnitude shake that killed two people.
“It’s been real difficult because of the distance and not being able to connect very quickly,” the conductor said in Spanish through interpreter Gabriel Portugal.
Alatorre Álvarez, along with fellow Colima musicians and players with the Mid-Columbia Symphony continued planning for a free Saturday, Sept. 24, evening performance at Peanuts Park in downtown Pasco and dedicate donations to relief operations in the stricken Mexican state.
Organizers are hoping to raise thousands for their sister state. It’s estimated about 20% of Pasco residents have ties to or are from Colima, Mexico.
The performance featured more than 75 musicians including Pasco’s world-renowned tenor José Iñiguez.
The concert, made possible by the Colima-Pasco Friendship & Collaboration Association (COPA), was originally supposed to be a culminating event for a visit by four officials with the state of Colima.
But the earthquake changed things last minute.
During the three days that lead up to the performance, Alatorre Álvarez and Colima singer Mariana del Rocío Corona Delgado will serve as step-in diplomats in tours around the Tri-Cities focused on the region’s industry, education and culture.
“Both artists have families in Colima who’ve been affected by the earthquake, but they felt strongly about remaining in Pasco and representing the Colima government,” said Portugal, COPA’s president.
On Thursday, the duo toured Columbia Basin College, Pasco High School and the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center.
Alatorre Álvarez said he’s looking forward to establishing links with the city and sharing his region’s love of music with the Tri-Cities.
COPA and the two governments’ collaboration has been praised by Colima Gov. Indira Vizcaíno Silva.
