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After winning Qatar's heart, these Mexican food vloggers hope to connect with Dubai

With over a millions followers on Instagram Roberto believes that food has the ability to bring the world together and make it a better place

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Andres, Israel, Roberto and Andres Jr at Souq Waqif in Doha. Photo: Rituraj Borkakoty

By Rituraj Borkakoty in Doha

Published: Fri 9 Dec 2022, 6:59 PM

It’s not unusual to see people exchange high-fives with absolute strangers at Souq Waqif in Doha.

This traditional marketplace in the heart of the Qatari capital has been reverberating every night with the noise of every fan since the start of the World Cup.

But what drew my attention on Thursday night was a Qatari national who was offering a helping hand to a Spanish-speaking young man.

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The Spanish-speaking young man turned out to be a Mexican national.

The Mexican was looking dapper in a ‘kandura’, but he was struggling to place his headpiece when the Qatari came to his rescue with a few delicate touches.

In the alley punctuated by food stalls serving delicious kebabs, soon there was a melee of people, all vying for the best position to take the perfect picture of the Qatari and the Mexican together.

Without saying much, the Qatari national and his friends waved goodbye to the Mexican and left the scene.

As it turned out, the Mexican named Roberto Morales is not an ordinary football fan.

With 1.3 million followers on Instagram, Roberto is among the biggest Mexican food vloggers.

For the past one month, Roberto has been in Qatar with his father Andres, brother Andres Jr and colleague, Israel, winning hearts of every football fan with their unique food videos.

“It’s a great experience to be here in Qatar during the World Cup, cooking, getting to know different flavours, different cultures and different people,” Roberto told this reporter.

With a guest list at his shows that includes names like Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, and Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez, Roberto is certainly on top of his game.

But here in Qatar, he is enjoying meeting ordinary people, carrying a grill in his backpack and cooking food anywhere, in the streets and in the desert.

And he loves to treat the football fans to a slice of Mexican Tacos.

“It’s a challenge to cook in public places and to relate to people of other cultures. But so far, it’s been a great opportunity. We have learned a lot of things. I really think now that food can bring the world together,” he said.

Assisted by his father Andres, brother Andres Jr and colleague Israel, Morales has even created food contests for football fans during the Qatar World Cup.

Their most memorable act was before the groups stages match between Mexico and Argentina.

“We did Taco from Mexico and Chimichurri from Argentina. We did it here at Souq Waqif. And both sets of fans, the Mexico fans and the Argentina fans, came together for the show,” he said.

“So that I think was the most beautiful thing we have learned from this experience. That we have the responsibility in some way of bringing people together and creating experiences and connections through cooking and through food.”

The family now plans to do similar food experiments in Dubai.

“We will be visiting Dubai for a few days after the World Cup. Dubai has always been a place that has attracted us,” said Andres, Roberto’s father.

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And, of course, Roberto, the star of the show, is itching to reach Dubai.

“We want to send a hug and a good handshake to all my friends in Dubai, we will be in Dubai in a few days. It will be great to meet you,” he said.

“And I want to share the message to all of you that food can bring people together.”

Rituraj Borkakoty in Doha

Published: Fri 9 Dec 2022, 6:59 PM

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