UNESCO Universal Forum of Cultures, 2007 Monterrey, Neuvo Leon, Mexico

On Tuesday 18th September, 29 members of the Stockbridge Pipe Band, including five dancers from the Jane Knox School of Highland Dance, Dunbar, travelled to Monterrey, Mexico to participate in the 2nd Universal Forum of Cultures. The Forum is an 80-day event supported by UNESCO and divided into four main themes: Cultural Diversity, Peace, Sustainable Development and Knowledge. Originally contracted to participate at the 5th International Folk Festival of San Luis Potosi, we were then asked by the CIOFF México Vice President, Arturo H. Cueto Juárez, to perform at this event as part of a program of International Music and Dance.

Monterrey is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. Also known as the "City of the Mountains" and "Sultana del Norte" (Sultan of the North), the city is a modern industrial and business center with a total population of 3.6 million.The city lies lies at 1,740 ft above sea level at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, which start abruptly south of the city.

Tuesday 18th September

The Band travelled out on the first leg of our journey to Paris over two flights, the first group leaving at 6:00am followed by the second group at 9:00am. The early birds were rewarded with a few hours in Paris, enough time to visit Notre dame Cathedral and have a quick alfresco café lunch, before heading back to the airport to join the other group. Then we all boarded the 11-hour flight to Mexico City, descending into the twinkling metropolis at about 10pm local time. The next leg of our journey was a 14-hour overnight coach drive north over the high desert plateau and up towards the US border-state of Nuevo León.

Wednesday 19th September

Travel weary but fuelled with anticipation we arrived at our 5-star Holiday Inn around 1:30 in the afternoon, where we were met by our young guides Deborah and Claudia. Our hotel was located in the Fundidora Park, a large urban industrial park containing refurbished foundry buildings, 120 hectares of landscape gardens, artificial lakes, and various exhibition halls and museums.

After lunch and a short siesta, we met to tune-up in the cool evening climate before a brief rehearsal in the Fundidora Park where we were informed that we would be performing for the Mexican President the following day. Our performance was to be brief as the President moved through the park on his way to officially open one of the museums recently completed, and the entire performance underwent several checks from the President’s security staff and officials. Once we received the thumbs up from security it was back to the Hotel for a few beers, after which a few members headed into town to see what Monterrey’s nightlife had to offer.

Thursday 20th September

After a delightful long lie, we pulled back the curtains to gaze at the spectacular view from the hotel of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range that surrounds the southern half of the city before heading down to the Forum’s main stage for a brief practice and sound check. Our main show was to be the following evening so we spent some time getting the mics and lighting set up for each set within our one hour show.

After a restful afternoon we kitted up ready for our debut for the President, and after a three-hour wait we were rewarded with a five-minute audience with him and his entourage of officials, dignitaries and security guards. Weary but not worn out, we played our way back through the park and exhibition halls to the hotel before changing and heading down to a local restaurant to experience the local speciality of cabrito al pastor; kid goat cooked on embers; a recipie based upon the cuisine of the Jewish founders of the city. This excellent meal was washed down with copious amounts of beer and umpteen different types of Tequila after which we took to the floor with our guides and companions and birled our way through a few ceilidh dances.

Friday 21st September

For the early part of the day, we explored the city and enjoyed the soaring temperatures before heading back to the hotel for lunch. After another wee siesta, we met to rehearse some of the more complex sets and the recently compiled drum fanfare. A quick shower and then we were kitted up for a 20-minute parade through the Fundidora Park, in part to advertise our show that evening. Our main concert was held downtown on a purpose-built fully rigged stage with seating for about 5000 spectators. Prior to coming to Mexico we had spent a lot of time rehearsing

a one hour show, complimenting traditional and typical pipe band sets with our highland dancers, adding backing guitars and congas and also choreographing specific sets around more contemporary dances. The show began at 8:30 just as the evening was beginning to cool, the pipes held their sound for the duration of the performance, the sound and lighting guys did an excellent job, despite the language difficulties and never having worked with a pipe band before, and the whole show went exactly as planned. Colourful, vibrant, with the dancers changing costumes throughout and the varied mix of sets; we really pulled the stops out for this show and it was great to see it all come together.

With the show over, and the next act onstage, we enjoyed the attention from the audience and posed for photos before packing everything up and heading back to the hotel. Most of us were pretty shattered and only managed a few beers before packing for tomorrow’s journey south but a few hardcore members took off into the night for a livelier end to this section of the trip!

Many thanks to Arturo H. Cueto Juárez for inviting us, organising our stay and ensuring we had the best time possible in Monterrey. We were the first group to perform at the beginning of this 80-day event but everything went exceptionally well and, despite being a small part of a massive event, we were made exceedingly welcome by everyone we met.

Many thanks as well to our guides, Deborah and Claudia who, through their faultless command of English, ensured we had everything we needed and took excellent care of us throughout our stay in Monterrey.