¡Viva México! Mexican Festival – Day Two | RSVP Needed

Thursday, September 15 – Friday September 16, 2022, the University of Minnesota School of Music will host the ¡Viva México! Festival to celebrate the vibrant and expanding role of Mexican art and culture in the Twin Cities, and to showcase the achievements of Mexican and Mexican-American musicians and artists. The festival coincides with the celebration of Mexican Independence Day on September 16. Organized by students and alumni of the School of Music with strong connections to Latin American countries, the festival is centered around four main events: two concerts featuring Mexican piano and chamber music, an introduction to Indigenous Mexican art and culture by scholar/advocate Osiris Gómez, and a discussion on contemporary Mexican visual art with leading Mexican-American artist Luis Fitch. A concluding concert, "Serenata Méxicana," will feature new arrangements of traditional Yucatecan songs. Mexican street food will be available for purchase, with a DJ and setlist of recent Mexican popular music. Events are free and open to the public, with pre-registration required. 

Events with a * need a RSVP to participate.
RSVP here. 

A Celebration of Mexican Music*
Friday, September 16, 11 AM
Ultan Recital Hall

“A Celebration of Mexican Music” will showcase winners of the New Voices Competition. This competition was open to all current University of Minnesota students who submitted a recording of a performance written by a Mexican or Mexican-American composer. 

Introduction by Regent James Farnsworth. 

Mexico’s Indigenous Voices and Soundscapes*
Friday, September 16, 11:45 AM
Ultan Recital Hall

Gifted scholar and beloved teacher Professor Osiris Gómez surveys the literature, music, art, and philosophy of Mexican Indigenous communities. Gómez invites the audience to hear, see, feel, and understand Mexico as another living entity which in remote times and still to this day is worshiped and protected by Indigenous philosophies of life.  

Welcome by Karen Diver, Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs.
Moderated by Professor Vicente M. Diaz, Chair, Department of American Indian Studies.

Outdoor Festival*
Friday, September 16, 12 – 3 PM
Patio outside Ted Mann Concert Hall & Ferguson Hall (Rain location: Ted Mann Lobby)

This outdoor event will feature Mexican street food for purchase from Gorditas El Durango, a new restaurant featuring old family recipes from Durango, Mexico.  

A Conversation with Alejandra Peña-Gutiérrez and Luis Fitch*
Friday, September 16, 1 – 2 PM
Patio outside Ted Mann Concert Hall & Ferguson Hall (Rain location: Ted Mann Lobby)
        
Alejandra Peña-Gutiérrez (Director of the Weisman Art Museum) and Mexican artist 
Luis Fitch will discuss contemporary Mexican art.
Welcome by Provost Rachel T.A. Croson with an introduction by Mexican Consul Iván Roberto Sierra Medel.

Serenata Méxicana*
Friday, September 16, 2 PM
Patio outside Ted Mann Concert Hall 

Welcome by Dr. Mercedes Ramírez Fernández, Vice President for Equity and Diversity.
Inés Guanchez, Minnesota Public Radio, emcee.

This concert will feature original arrangements of songs that are typically only performed in Yucatán by a traditional trio of guitar, bass-guitar, and voice. These new interpretations are arranged for piano, harp, violin, and cello, offering a fresh variation on traditional sounds seldom heard in Minnesota. Performers are School of Music students from Mexico, of Mexican heritage, and from Costa Rica.