Yo-Yo Ma: 'We build bridges, not walls.'

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Yo-Yo Ma played Bach at the border between Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

World-renown cellist Yo-Yo Ma brought Bach to the U.S.-Mexico border recently to celebrate the peaceful coexistence of two cities on opposite sides of the border.

"As you all know, as you did and do and will do, in culture, we build bridges, not walls," he said. After his performance, he gestured to the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, connecting the cities of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. 

Ma played the opening notes of J.S. Bach's "Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello" in a park near the bridge.

"I’ve lived my life at the borders. Between cultures. Between disciplines. Between musics. Between generations," said Ma.

Ma's visit to the border was part of his Bach Project, which uses the composer's 300-year-old music to explore connections between cultures.

Later, Ma told interviewers, “I want to see for myself,” he said, explaining his motivations, “and what I discover is two fabulous communities of people that are giving to one another [and] that care for one another.”

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