The most important annual ceremony in Mexico, Grito de Independencia (Independence Day) was back at the Zócalo main square in the centre of Mexico City in 2022 after two years of being held remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to official sources, more than 160,000 people celebrated the holiday out on the streets again.
Norteño band Los Tigres del Norte, known throughout Latam countries, headlined the event with a show that lasted for more than three hours. Production work for the show was handled by KW, using Martin Audio systems for the third consecutive year.
For the presidential protocol, four hangs of Martin Audio MLA line arrays, one pair with 11 MLA plus an MLD Downfill, and a further pair of outhangs with eight cabinets and an MLD (providing 120°H x 20°V dispersion) were deployed.The main hangs covered a distance of 150m and the lateral clusters 130m.
For monitors and side fill were Martin Audio’s Blackline F10+ and WPM series – servicing both the Mexican Army Chorus and the speech delivered by the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. For the chorus’ monitoring the four Blackline F10+were fed from iK42 amplifiers and for the presidential monitoring, four WPM per side, in stereo format, were set in the presidential box.
An independent system was set up for Los Tigres del Norte comprising 32 WPL for PA (16 per side), with 32 further WPL for out fill (16 per side) and 24 SXH218 subwoofers, plus 24 MLX set in a gradient. Eight WPM (four stacks of two) provided front fill. The main system covered the first 135m, while four delay towers comprising eight MLA each were set at 90m to cover the back of the Zócalo and surrounding streets. Two further delay towers were placed 200m from the PA, with 12 WPC elements.
‘In this way, and with the help of the iK42’s internal DSP processing and the internal DSP of the MLX, it was possible to make a configuration where the stage area and all the low frequency energy was removed from the side of the attendees,’ says Proactive Latam audio design engineer, Carlos Aldama.
The band’s FOH sound engineer Gabriel Martínez admitted that, having been a fan of MLA, he was also pleasantly surprised by the performance of WPL: ‘Martin Audio is always a guarantee,’ he says. ‘I was impressed by the sound pressure we had at almost 100m and the audio design for the show in general. I had already worked with WPL previously in Orizaba and Morelia, but the difference in adjustment and alignment here gave an additional image as if it were another system.’
The two systems could not be used simultaneously, since the main stages were adjacent to each other. For the ceremonial presentation, the PA was placed at the National Palace, while for the concert it was placed in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral, with the sound directed towards the Government building.
‘For Proactive Latam, representing Martin Audio, it was important to be chosen again, and recognised for our commitment of support,’ says company founder and CEO, Berenice Gutiérrez. ‘In addition, we were honoured to be trusted, not only by the production manager of Los Tigres del Norte, Luis Antonio V, but also by the MD of KW to create an audio design that would allow them to be comfortable. We should also give a special mention to KW for their overall production coordination, which was a huge challenge.’
‘Returning to the traditional format again this year we were able to integrate two areas, to serve both the Government protocol and the concert,’ says Oscar Tovar, Proactive Technical Sales Engineer. ‘It was a big challenge but fortunately everything went as planned, since this is the most important event in the country.’
‘The incredible result we delivered with Martin Audio, was down to the precision with which the Display 3 software functions, since the results obtained were practically identical to the prediction,’ adds Carlos Aldama. ‘The intelligibility of the equipment was amazing.’
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