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."
Medieval and Renaissance Music from Spain, Portugal and the Americas: Fiesta features a treasure of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American music from the 12th to the 18th century including the mysterious “Codex Calixtinus".
Orchestral Music from Peru, Brazil and Spain: Host, Elbio Barilari shares musical examples inspired by culture from the Peruvian composer Ceso Garrido-Lecca, the Brazilian Camargo Guarnieri and the Catalonian-Spanish Enric Morera.
The Super Guitar Show: In this program host, Elbio Barilari shares some of his favorite pieces for classical guitar. Included are guitarists Abel Carlevaro, Eduardo Fernandez and Manuel Barrueco, with master composers Jose Ardevol, Federico Moreno Torroba and Heitor Villa-Lobos.