Two to tango to Latin American culture

A troupe from Peru will join the cultural exchanges between China and the Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Other than playing at concerts, his future tour of that part of the Americas will include lectures to young adults on music.

During a past visit to Venezuela, Lang had collaborated with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and the two remain good friends.

Dudamel's project, which uses classical music to help change the lives of young Venezuelans living in poverty, crime and despair, deeply touched Lang, he says.

"Those children become confident and become better people because of music. I am so impressed by Dudamel's efforts. I hope that I can do a similar project in China," Lang says.

Other performers in the series include the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra and the Colombia Symphony Orchestra,which will perform together in Chile, Colombia and Peru in October.

Chinese conductor Zhang Guoyong will lead the Buenos Aires Philharmonic in a show in Argentina, too.

For Zhang Yu, president of the CAEG, introducing the colorful cultural elements of Latin America to Chinese audiences has been a longtime dream.

He started to learn Spanish at Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1978 and worked at a Culture Ministry unit for Latin American exchange programs a few years later.