Pathrycia Mendonça knows a thing or two about long journeys. The 26-year-old violinist, who recently touched down in London after a 12-hour flight, is about to take the stage for ten nights at Wembley Stadium with Coldplay. She’s not just any guest performer—she’s part of Venezuela’s renowned Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, and her story is one of grit, sacrifice, and dreams fulfilled.
For Mendonça, travel and dedication have always gone hand in hand. As a child growing up in Barquisimeto, a small Venezuelan town, she would embark on overnight bus rides—eight hours each way—to reach her violin lessons in Caracas. “I am from Barquisimeto, which is a small town, and it is eight hours on the bus, because it's so slow,” Mendonça recalled in an interview with BBC. “So when I started my classes, I would leave Barquisimeto at midnight to arrive in Caracas at dawn. I'd go to my classes then, at midday, I'd go back to my city with my mum. She was always with me, because I was a child. And I'd do it every week. For me, that was the key to being part of the orchestra here, now.”
Now, Mendonça faces a different challenge: leaving her ten-month-old daughter at home with her mother so she can fulfill a lifelong dream in London. Yet, she radiates energy and excitement, undeterred by jet lag or separation. “I don't know if I can say this, but I'm a crazy fan of Coldplay, so when they said, 'Do you want to come and play?' I was like, 'No way!'” she admitted, laughing. “When I listen to the band in my house, I always dreamt about playing Viva La Vida. It's so iconic, and it has strings all the way through. So this is a dream that came true. Totally a dream.”
Mendonça’s journey is emblematic of the transformative power of El Sistema, Venezuela’s ambitious music education program. Founded in 1975 by visionary musician José Antonio Abreu, El Sistema was designed as a response to the crime and poverty that plagued the country, offering free music education to children across Venezuela. Over the past five decades, more than three million children have passed through its doors, and its influence has spread to dozens of countries worldwide.
“El Sistema teaches you about the discipline of the community,” explained fellow violinist Humberto Jiminez, who, like Mendonça, endured long weekly journeys for his studies. “You have to learn when to be part of the team, and when to be a leader – and how to integrate all those differences into one intention.” Mendonça echoed this sentiment: “It gave me everything. My whole life, I think. It gives me motivation.”
El Sistema’s most celebrated alumnus is Gustavo Dudamel, a seven-time Grammy winner and one of the most dynamic conductors of his generation. At 44, Dudamel serves as the musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and artistic director of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. Next year, he will make history as the first Latin American to lead the New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. But for now, Dudamel is in London, summoned by Coldplay’s Chris Martin to lead the orchestra during the band’s record-breaking Wembley residency.
“Chris is very into social action through music,” Dudamel told BBC. “When he plays music, his will is to help, to heal and to transform – and that connects with our values. I think he wanted to give something to the orchestra. A gift, a very generous gift, of having all of us together, celebrating the power of music.”
The relationship between Dudamel and Martin goes back nearly two decades. Their first collaboration followed the Simón Bolívar Orchestra’s sensational BBC Proms debut in 2007, when their exuberant performance of Bernstein’s Mambo brought audiences to their feet. Since then, Dudamel has joined Coldplay for major events, including the 2016 Super Bowl half-time show, and their friendship has only deepened—Martin’s mother is even known to attend Dudamel’s rehearsals.
Dudamel’s vision extends far beyond the concert hall. Earlier this year, he led the LA Philharmonic to the Coachella Music Festival, performing Wagner and Beethoven alongside guest artists like Dave Grohl and LL Cool J. “You think, 'Maybe this is something crazy', but it was the most natural thing,” Dudamel recounted. He described the thrill of hearing the crowd chant the iconic “da-da-da-dum” from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony as if it were a rock anthem. “We live in a world of walls and borders – and that happens with music, too. But it's been one of my goals to break that down. I think young people are hungry for culture and for us, in the orchestra, [Coachella] was a historical moment of embracing another audience and that audience connecting with what we do.”
The Wembley shows promise more boundary-breaking moments. The orchestra’s repertoire includes Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, John Williams’ Star Wars theme, and Vivaldi’s Spring. Dudamel hopes the concerts will foster empathy and unity. “I want the audience to walk away embraced by love,” he said. “It's not naïve to say we're living in a crisis of empathy. Music is not about that. Music is about making harmony together. It's the best example of how to behave as a community.”
El Sistema’s 50th anniversary is being marked with a mini-residency at London’s Barbican and a new album, Odyssey, which weaves Latin American traditions into orchestral music. Yet, the organization is not without controversy. Some critics argue that El Sistema, which operates under the office of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, is entangled in politics. Maduro has faced accusations of repressing opposition groups and silencing dissent, sometimes violently. Dudamel himself has spoken out, calling for an end to “bloodshed” after an 18-year-old musician was killed during a protest in Caracas. Still, some have pressed him to break more definitively with the government, labeling his ongoing involvement as complicit.
Dudamel remains steadfast in his priorities. “In the super-politicised world that we live in right now, you have to say, you have to do, you have be against. It's difficult because everybody is screaming – but we need more of these programmes that motivate you to find the best of people. For me, the most important thing is that this new generation has the opportunities that I had.”
Over the next three weeks, nearly one million people are expected to see the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra perform at Wembley. For Mendonça, the significance is deeply personal. “It's the biggest number of people that I ever played. It's a lot,” she said, marveling at the scale. “It's a way to represent my country and, in my particular case, it's a way to give hope to all the children I've had the opportunity to teach. Sometimes, when you're growing up, you don't know why you are doing the things you do... But when you see someone close to you doing something like this, you say, 'If she can, why can't I?'”
As the lights go up at Wembley and the first notes ring out, Mendonça and her fellow musicians will be living proof of music’s power to transcend borders, inspire hope, and change lives—one performance at a time.
