UIC hosts Latin American Music Festival April 11-13

Mariachi ensembles, international musicians, student choirs, DJs and leading Latino scholars from throughout Chicago all will add to the sights and sounds of the Latin American Music Festival, April 11-13, at University of Illinois Chicago and nearby locations.

All performances are free and, unless otherwise stated, open to the public during the three-day event from the UIC School of Theatre and Music.

Highlights include days devoted to mariachi and choral music and performances by acclaimed Latin American artists and DJs. Registration is required to attend performances.

On Thursday, April 11, is the Mariachi Festival, which will welcome community and high-school mariachi ensembles to participate in workshops with guest mariachi artists. The day’s events will culminate in an afternoon concert with UIC Mariachi Fuego and Mariachi de la Universidad Veracruzana at the Student Center East, in the Illinois Room. The concert is open to the public; register here.

On Friday, April 12, high-school choirs will participate in the School of Theatre and Music’s annual Choral Festival, with the theme this year of Singing Together, Learning Together, Belonging Together. That event for students will include a performance of commissioned work from ¡Cantaré! Chicago, an educational program designed to bring composers from Mexico directly into Chicago classrooms. In the evening will be a concert, open to the public, at 7:30 p.m. at Notre Dame de Chicago Church featuring Indiana University’s Latin American Music Center’s Chamber Ensemble, Tonos del Sur and a pre-lecture with Chilean scholar Paul Feller. Registration is required for the evening concert; register here.

On Saturday, April 13, the Illinois Room at Student Center East will be the site of an all-day block party, with food trucks outside along Halsted Street and an artisan market on the center’s East Terrace. Two monumental works by Mexico City sculptor Emanuel Arturo Zarate Ortiz, in the vein of Mexican alebrijes — sculptures of fantastical creatures — will be on display, too. You can register online to attend the block party. The block party invites the community to sing, dance and enjoy performances on multiple stages from international and Chicago-area artists and DJs.

Visit the Latin American Music Festival website for more details and to register.