Mexico at the Ritmo y Color Festival
The Mexican electronic group 3BALLMTY gave a stellar show on July 6 at the Harbourfront Centre's Ritmo y Color Festival.
Their performance on the outdoor WestJet stage drew an audience of over 3,000 people, surpassing the organizers' expectations. The crowd was mainly made up of young people from around the world who are fans of tribal music.
3BALLMTY's young DJs, DJ Erick Rincón, DJ Sheeqo Beat and DJ Otto, captivated the audience with their blend of cumbia, banda (a form of brass-based traditional Mexican music), pop and techno, inspiring many to dance and sing along.
In the spring, the band won in two categories at the 2013 Billboard Latin music awards and in 2012 they won the Latin Grammy for Best New Artist.
The organizers of the Ritmo y Color Festival thanked the Consulate General for its assistance in bringing 3BALLMTY to the Harbourfront Centre. The group's performance drew the festival's largest crowd.
The son jarocho group Los Vega, from Veracruz, also received enthusiastic applause.
Last year, Los Vega received the National Arts and Sciences prize in the category of Arts and Popular Traditions. At the Harbourfront Centre, the group's originality and skill gave the traditional son jarocho music a new energy which many in the audience praised as a new sound. Even though their lyrics were exclusively in Spanish, Los Vega's music delighted the crowd of several hundred.
Los Vega also gave a music workshop entitled "Fandango" with the Toronto group "Café con Pan," where dozens of people tapped their feet along to the son jarocho and enjoyed the musical atmosphere.
Deputy Consul Santiago Mateos, representing the Consulate General at the festival, spoke with the Mexican musicians and thanked them for their excellent performances.