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September 15 is one of the most important dates in the Mexican calendar; this year, it marked the 205th Independence Day for the country, with celebrations in the Zócalo public square in Mexico City.
Multiple NEXO line array systems were deployed around a special 4-sided concert stage, with the full sound reinforcement specification running to 436 NEXO cabinets in total.
Zócalo is one of the largest public plazas in the world. With live music, mass singing and fireworks, the event is attended by 40,000 spectators.
The demanding job of providing sound reinforcement for the event was shared between five audio rental companies with a strong tradition of cooperation.
Sound designer Sergio Zenteno coordinated the pooling of equipment inventories from Tecnoson Espectaculos, ROA, Star, Backline and Concepto 3, to create a unique system that used 12x NEXO line arrays around the four-sided main stage to deliver 360° coverage.
Three sides of the stage used NEXO’s modular line array, the STM Series, as the main PA. The fourth, the Catedral side, deployed a NEXO GEO D system.
- 18x STM M46/B112 per side + 2x M28 per side, with 36x S118
- 12x STM M46/B112 per side + 2x M28 per side, with 24x S118
- 12x STM M46/B112 per side + 2x M28 per side, with 24x S118
- 16x GEO D per side, with 8x CD18 per side
Below the STM arrays of main and bass cabinets were NEXO’s latest addition to the STM Series, the M28 omnipurpose module, here used as a downfill. STM subs were groundstacked 3 high.
Additionally, there were four arrays of 12 x GEO S8 for frontfill at the corners of the stage, serving as front coverage 45° outside of the main arrays.
With the main arrays set at 17.5° off the horizontal axis, the systems achieved full 360° coverage.
The stage monitoring system used 52 pieces of NEXO PS15, with additional PS15s for for frontfill. Even the classic Alpha eF and eM/B1-18 cabinets were in action for sidefill.
STM’s modular design, teamed with NEXO’s standardised Universal Amp Racks (NUAR), makes it easy for PA rental companies to share hardware resources and collaborate on very large-scale concerts and events.
