On Saturday, October 14 from 12-4pm at Kleinhans Music Hall, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (ZBPO), in partnership with the Hispanic Heritage Council of WNY, will present Festival Encanto Hispano.
This free festival will feature Hispanic musicians, performers, artists, and food vendors. The four-hour-long event is the precursor to the WNY debut of Aída Cuevas, the “Queen of Mariachi” – Mexico’s master of the mariachi art song, who will perform along with the BPO (learn more). The festivities and concert are part of BPO’s annual collaborative observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, with the Hispanic Heritage Council.
After the festival, Aída Cuevas will complete the celebration with a thrilling performance featuring the BPO and her mariachi band, conducted by BPO Assistant Conductor and Diversity Fellow Fernanda Lastra.
“Our partnership with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has been instrumental in bringing Hispanic artists from around the world to the Western New York community,” said Casimiro D. Rodriguez, President of the Hispanic Heritage Council of WNY. “We are proud to be collaborators with the BPO to continue to celebrate and share our Hispanic culture and arts with the community at large.”
Buffalo-based performers, artists, and vendors joining the festivities include:
- Amor and Heritage Dance, a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of diversity, kindness, self-confidence, and multiculturalism through danceAnaidelis Makes Crochet & Jewelry, showing handmade crocheted and beaded items
- Artesanía Boricua Familiar, offering jewelry, art on wood, and various handcrafted wooden pieces
- Buffalo Choro, a local musician collective led by guitarist Stephen Guerra educating and performing Brazilian Choro music
- Buffalo Tango Orkestra, performing Argentine Tango on the bandoneon (a type of accordion popular in Argentina and Uruguay), violins, cello, piano, double bass, and guitar, with singers
- El Batey Puerto Rican Center, whose mission is to celebrate, inspire, and connect children to their culture and each other, so that together they can reimagine and reshape their future
- El Buen Amigo & Latin American Cultural Association, Inc., a nonprofit offering fair trade arts, crafts, clothing, and jewelry directly from artisans and farmers in Latin America
- Gabriela’s Kitchen, a local food truck with Cuban cuisine, parked just outside of Kleinhans
- La Marimba de Buffalo, a musical group offering an original take on traditional music of Mexico and Central America performed on the marimba, with lilting tunes, danceable grooves, and improvisation
- Los Artistas del Barrio, a Latino/a/x arts collective representing various local artists with original art, prints, and artisanal jewelry
- Multinational Illumination Art, presenting traditional Puerto Rican Vejigante masks carved from coconuts, converted into lamps
For festival information, visit bpo.org/encanto.
For concert details and tickets, visit bpo.org/aida.
