ABC News recently covered explosion of Mexican genres in American popular music. To understand the music’s regional roots, they turned to Steven Loza, professor of Global Jazz Studies at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

The story has all the makings of a great opera. Two young lovers; one a great warrior, the other a princess. He goes to war, she awaits his return. A villain tricks the princess into believing her lover is dead. She dies of sorrow. The warrior returns, is grief-stricken, and stands vigil over her body.

Cornel West and Arturo O’Farrill will perform “Four Questions” with the UCLA Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and the UCLA Philharmonia under the direction of Neal Stulberg on Friday, May 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The concert features an extensive playbill, including the legendary Mariachi Los Camperos, directed by Jesús Guzmán, as well as a performance of Miguel Bernal Jiménez's Concertino para Órgano y Orquesta featuring UCLA organist Christoph Bull.