Fiesta is devoted to Latino concert music and presents artistically significant compositions from Latin America, Spain and Portugal to listeners. The creative force behind this series is Elbio Barilari, an acclaimed composer, musician, performer and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Uruguayan-born Barilari says, "Fiesta features the hottest Latin-American music from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries."
A 19th Century Brazilian Opera, Lo Schiavo by Carlos Gomes: Lo Schiavo is the love story of Americo, son of Count Rodrigo, who is forced to marry another. Elbio presents highlights from this rarely heard romantic opera.
Spanish Composer, Manuel Castillo: Among the composers that deserve recognition is the great Manuel Castilo. Fiesta showcases some of his works including the Symphony No. 3 “Poemas de Luz.”