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“Navidad Latinoamericana en Concierto” is a free concert bringing traditional Christmas music from all over the Latin world to Edinburg and Brownsville this weekend.
The first concert is taking place on 5 p.m. Saturday at the UTRGV Performing Arts Center at 1201 West University Drive in Edinburg with the next concert taking place at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Brownsville ISD Administration Building Auditorium at 708 Palm Boulevard in Brownsville.
Assistant Professor of Flute at the UTRGV School of Music Nicaulis Alliey said the concert is free and open to everyone in the public.
“The only limit is the capacity of the theaters,” Alliey said.
The concert features traditional Christmas music from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.
Alliey said she expects people to feel happy, excited and feel a sense of home.
“I can foresee that for many (of the attendees) that will be like being home for Christmas,” she said. “There will be some songs that might be unknown to them but many songs will be known to them. I can expect people to want to dance, sing along and get excited. Cheer up in a way that we share in Latin American countries, feeling that return to home in a way inside.”
The ensemble performing the concert has a range of seasoned Latin American musicians from Chicago, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Rio Grande Valley.
Featured in the ensemble is Francy Acosta on vocals, Jose Luis Posada and Ney Alliey on the guitar and cuatro, Miguel Gonzalez as bassist, Javier Saume on percussion and Alliey playing the flute.
With the musicians having a background of playing together, this is the first concert with traditional Latin American Christmas music.
With each musician coming from Latin America or having origins from there, Alliey said it is a dream come true to perform their country’s music through the concert.
“By bringing part of what and who we are of our identity and sharing that with a community … it’s a dream come true because we always wanted to do it … after we had to leave our countries,” Alliey said.
The event is sponsored by the UTRGV School of Music, B3 Institute and Center for Latin-American Arts, Revival of Cultural Arts Brownsville, Brownsville ISD and the Music of the Americans Project.
