This Dallas-based DJ inspired England's new World Cup tradition
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For three weeks, AT&T Stadium has given over half a million people a crash course on unfamiliar cultures — including the Netherlands' Orange Army, Japan's Samurai Blue, Norway's Viking Row and Argentina's Messi mania.
- Setting the vibes is 25-year-old Jesus Salazar, a Dallas-based DJ who hasn't fully processed the significance of entertaining the biggest crowds of his career.
Why it matters: When languages and loyalties differ, music can unite.
The intrigue: Soccer was Salazar's first love. He grew up playing the sport, has watched every World Cup in his lifetime and is a loyal FC Barcelona supporter.
- Going by the name DJ Chuy, he also DJs at other sporting events, including Carolina Panthers games and SMU football games. He says the World Cup is the largest audience he has ever entertained.
- "I could cry — that's how much this means to me," Salazar told Axios in the middle of his shift on Monday.
How it works: To curate playlists for each match, Salazar's team takes song requests from the national teams, speaks to people they know from those countries and watches YouTube videos of league matches from the countries to identify popular songs.
- Their final playlists include music from each side, and songs that both sides can relate to. Shakira songs, David Guetta's "Titanium" and the "Macarena" are always a hit.
- Rosalía was on the list for Monday's Spain-Portugal match.
Fun fact: One of Salazar's impromptu song choices last month inspired a new tradition for England's players and fans.
- Salazar says his team initially planned to play the Beatles' "Hey Jude," referencing England's Jude Bellingham, if England defeated Croatia in their group stage debut. But, after Harry Kane scored two goals in England's victory, Salazar decided to give the England captain his own moment and play "Wonderwall," the 1995 hit by British band Oasis, after the match.
- "That was probably one of my favorite-ever moments in an England shirt and especially at a major tournament," Kane said on a podcast later.
- England's fans and players now belt the song after each win. Kane temporarily lost his voice from all of the singing after England advanced to the quarterfinals on Sunday.
The bottom line: "It doesn't matter where a song comes from, the origin or anything else — music travels far and fast," Salazar says.
- "It makes me a better person to know that I can connect with people in that way."