Just like in 2015 when the Mexican government paid $14 million for a rewrite of Spectre that portrayed the country positively, Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration is once again trying to pay its way toward a positive image. This time, Enrique de la Madrid Cordero, the Secretaría de Turismo, announced that Mexico invested $47.4 million on Luzia, a Cirque du Soleil show inspired on Mexico’s history, music, and culture, according to Animal Politico.
Over the next seven years, the show will travel to 450 cities across the world and will potentially bring in tourists – at least that’s the plan. Madrid Cordero said this is the first Cirque show inspired on Mexican culture. It premiered worldwide on Wednesday in the Port of Montreal, and Madrid Cordero believes Mexico will recoup its money in five years.
The cast of Luzia includes 45 actors from 15 countries, including five from Mexico. And one notable thing about the show is that Nortec Collective presents Bostich + Fussible – known for their fusion of norteña and electronic music – created the show’s soundtrack. Though Nortec Collective created a sound that was unlike anything heard in Mexico up to that point, Bostich + Fussible decided to call it quits after their 2014 album, Motel Baja. So for fans, this is a chance to listen to more stuff from the duo.
Of course, people are split on how they feel about the show. Plenty have criticized the government for investing money on this project instead of on more pressing matters, but not everything on Twitter is negative. Check out a few reactions below and then check out images from the show above:
https://twitter.com/fjgils/status/728716159487492096
https://twitter.com/Cesarsecca/status/728723289955282945