Pilsen’s Latin-American Guitar Festival: A Space for Dialogue and Classical Music

Written by Rocío Santos on October 3, 2019

This weekend, the Latin-American Guitar Festival Chicago (LAGF) celebrates its ninth edition as the only community-driven festival promoting the richness and diversity of classical music from Latin-America with three days of free performances open to the general public at Pilsen’s Citlalin Gallery Theater.

The LAGF has featured many local and international talent from México, Perú, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba and other countries. As a platform, it has become a space for dialogue and exchange between the immigrant community of Chicago and the musicians who offer mesmerizing interpretations of icons such as Manuel Ponce, Leo Brouwer, Astor Piazzolla, Antonio Lauro, among other great composers. This year, the festival spotlights guitarist Iván Resendiz (México) and Liel Amdour (Canada) on Thursday, An Tran (Vietnam) on Friday, and Alberto Daniel Quintanilla (México) closes the celebration on Saturday.

Escucha la conversación en español (broadcasted on Sunday, September 29, 2019) with Iván Resendiz, founder of the festival and classical guitarist, and Gustavo Sanchez, director of Citlalin Gallery. Interview by Domingos en Vocalo’s Rocío Santos.

“Esta visión de Chicago, es la versión real, es el Chicago que no se ve, el Chicago de la gente que vive diario aquí, que enfrenta una hostilidad en el trabajo y que ha dejado todo atrás (…). Al final se crea un conocimiento mutuo, los artistas aprenden mucho, aprenden más, y es una cosa que hemos valorado mucho: el que el artista se reeduque” — Iván Resendiz.