Up-and-coming musical director Vladimir Gomez—who may be more up than coming—has masterminded a recorded collaboration among his Zapopan Chamber Orchestra (OCZ), two iconic figures in popular Mexican music, Jalisco’s revered Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, and a host of distinguished local and international musical entities.
The fruit of Gomez’s efforts is a just-released album, “Del Pulmón al Alma” (from the lungs to the soul), available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. As the title hints, the production was spurred by the depredations of the pandemic, especially on the lungs, but also on the ability of orchestras, bands and choirs to practice in their accustomed manner.
“All the orchestras in the world stopped,” said Gomez, who was born in Guadalajara, studied here, in Mexico City and in Barcelona, and founded OCZ six years ago. “I wondered ‘What can I do?’ So I told everyone [including collaborators in Buenos Aires, Argentina] ‘If you can play this line, it will be a pleasure to put it together.’”
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