Ten years ago today, September 16 2010, I spent the night in a high security hotel on the plaza next to the Ángel de la Independencia in Mexico City, where that evening we performed with Alondra de la Parra and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Americas (POA), in a televised concert celebrating Mexico’s 200th year of independence that featured Natalia Lafourcade, Ely Guerra, Lo Blondo (Denisse), as well as my debut as an arranger of Mexican music for orchestra. In this decade I’ve created over forty arrangements of Mexican music, leading to some unforgettable collaborations. These have been INCREDIBLE years and I’m so grateful to Alondra for trusting me with this work, and sharing with me the beautiful music of her country, a gift that has transformed my own compositions, performances, and taste buds.

My latest arrangements of Mexican music were released today as part of this beautiful COVID-times collaboration between the San Francisco Bay Area collective Los Cenzontles and the San Francisco Symphony that has been cooking for the past month. This short film, part of the “Currents” series, includes three of my arrangements — two songs from Mexico and one from Argentina. I hope you will enjoy it —— thank you, friends! Viva Mexico!! I especially want to thank Eugene Rodriguez of Los Cenzontles for being such a wonderful and giving collaborator and band leader.

||> See a playlist videos of Ljova’s new music released during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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