International Salsa Magazine

Venezuela – Guinness Record the largest orchestra in the world

On November 13, 2021, there was a dynamic event in Caracas, Venezuela where 12,000 Venezuelan musicians (from 12 to 70 years old) performed in the courtyard of honor of the Caracas military academy, where they performed Tchaikovsky’s Slavic March conducted by The 34-year-old maestro Andrés Ascanio was such a shocking and glorious event that Saturday the 20th received the Guinness record for “The largest orchestra in the world” … “I can confirm that this attempt has been successful, congratulations, Guinness World Record as the largest orchestra, you are officially amazing, “said the official in charge of giving the verdict on a screen during a ceremony at the headquarters of” El Sistema “, as it is commonly known.

The ambassador of the Russian Federation in Venezuela, Sergey Mélik-Bagdarárov, expressed his greatest appreciation for this achievement: “For me as the Ambassador of Russia it is a great honor to attend this historical event, which previously belonged to Russia and now is its victory. , we share his victory ”.

This time the ensemble of Petare, with the theme Amalia, by Francisco Armando Agen uirre, under the direction of Andrés David Ascanio, made a show of its musical interpretation.
Also, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra performed Danzón number 2, by Arturo Márquez, also under the direction of Andrés David Ascanio.
In addition, there was a performance by the Alma Llanera Orchestra, which was present with La Fuga con pajarillo, by Aldemaro Romero.

The brand was reached by the System of Children’s and Youth Orchestras of Venezuela, a state program founded in 1975 by the late teacher of teachers José Antonio Abreu that has given thousands of children of popular classes access to music education, by displacing Russia that He had imposed it in 2019 with more than 8,000 musicians.
“It is a feat, not only for the System, but for the country,” said Eduardo Méndez, director of this program made up of one million members throughout the country, to applause.

For Venezuela this is a great triumph, since you have several Guinness awards, including natural beauties such as Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, or the so-called “Catatumbo Lightning”, the site with the highest number of electrical storms. of the planet. There is also the highest cable car in the world, the largest arepa and ham bread, typical Venezuelan foods, and even the five crowns in the Miss World are a record in this country. “El Sistema”, which has been replicated by dozens of countries, is the cradle of emblems such as Gustavo Dudamel, the musical director of the Paris Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who sent his congratulations through a video posted on social networks .

At the ceremony for the unveiling of the certificate of this new record, there was the Minister of Communication and Information, Freddy Ñáñez, who excitedly indicated that “music is the purest expression of the soul, it is capable of saying everything, of giving everything, thus You will know how difficult it is for me to try to speak in this temple where there are almost all the words, but it is not a speech that I come to give you today, it is something simpler, I come to sing the only word that is not left in any place, the a word that without having the 7 musical notes is also capable of producing symphonies in the soul of human beings ”.

Karina Bernales
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