This is the second of a two-part “sub-series” in a series of columns celebrating the 25th anniversary of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago and its many accomplishments. The ILCC is currently engaged in a fundraising campaign to raise the funds necessary to help the organization increase its free citywide programming as well as create new multi-disciplinary programming and fund the infrastructure that will make these programs possible.
With the hiring in January, 2022 of Mateo Mulcahy, former Director of Community Projects and Events at the Old Town School of Folk Music, as the ILCC’s Deputy Executive Director and music and dance curator, the Chicago Latino Music began to take shape.
He walked through the ILCC’s doors with guns a-blazing. Not only did he add the ILCC as a co-presenter to the many World Music Wednesdays concerts he had already scheduled at the Old Town School of Folk Music for the year before his departure. Under his leadership, the ILCC presented and co-presented concerts featuring such high profile artists as Alex Cuba (the musical guest of the ILCC’s fundraising dinner on November 14), Los Van Van, Chilean singer-songwriter Pascuala Ilabaca, and São Paulo musician and educator Paulo Padilha.
The 2022 Chicago latino Music Series wrapped up the year with an equally eclectic lineup which included: a Zapotec folk dance troupe (Galguez Laxá) and a Zapotec rock group (Dizá) as part of the city of Chicago’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations; explores the influences of Middle Eastern music on Andalusia, Spain (The Andalusian Trail and flamenco guitarist Juan Carmona); presented 16-year-old guitar prodigy Juan Ausiàs Parejo from Valencia; and celebrated the tradition of las tunas (that dates back to 13th century Spain and Portugal when students went about singing and playing music out of the pure need to survive and pay their school fees) with La Tuna de Oro de Guanajuato.
The following year, produced 33 music concerts in 18 venues, featuring some big names including: Olga Cerpa, one of the most important female voices in the Canary Islands, and her group Mestisay at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center in the West side neighborhood of Hermosa; Juan de Marco González and his Afro-Cuban All Stars at Dominican University’s Lund Auditorium in the suburb of River Forest; Argentinian rocker Kevin Johansen and graphic designer and illustrator Liniers collaborating on a multimedia show at the Old Town School of Folk Music, the Afro-Peruvian folk-electronica group Novalima as part of that year’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Chop Shop, a music venue/restaurant/butcher shop located in the Wicker Park neighborhood; and son jarocho legends Mono Blanco at Instituto Cervantes.
When it comes to big names, however, the ILCC took a big gamble by joining forces with national events producer Backstage Productions to present the Chicago debut of samba superstar Zeca Pagondinho on June 14 at The Vic Theater. Born Jessé Gomes da Silva Filho in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Zeca started his career as a child in the 1970s and became a regular performer in samba gatherings, where he perfected a samba style known as Pagode. This new style triggered a samba revival in the 1980s, when Zeca became known as its true face. It was in the most important of these pagodes, the one that gathered the bloco carnavalesco Cacique de Ramos, that he became acquainted with another samba legend, Beth Carvalho, who became his madrinha, or protector. Does that name ring a bell?
Last year, the ILCC launched the inaugural season of the Levitt VIBE Belmont Cragin Music Series at Riis Park, in the far northwest mostly Latino community of Belmont Cragin. Supported in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which partners with changemakers and nonprofits across the country to activate underused outdoor spaces through the power of free, live music, the series featured a mix of local, national, and international artists (some making their Chicago debut) from across the Latino diaspora for 10 consecutive weeks from mid-June to mid-August,. Artists included: the cumbia-punk-queer group Kumbia Queers; Montreal-based Haitian musician Wesli; singer-songwriter Sara Curruchich, the first indigenous Guatemalan singer and songwriter to sing in Kaqchikel; and Chicago’s ESSO Afrojam Funkbeat.
Speaking of Chicago debuts, the ILCC joined forces with the Instituto Cervantes to bring two of the most exciting, innovative flamenco women performers as part of Cervantes’ annual Flamenco Festival in March of last year: María José Llergo and Las Migas. Llergo had already been the subject of a New York Times article that helped elevate her profile in the United States while Las Migas were celebrating their 20th anniversary with a new lineup and a Latin Grammy award in 2022 for their album Libres in their pockets. Las Migas would return to Chicago for an encore performance on November 15 at the Old Town School of Folk Music to present their brand new album Rumberas, a tribute to rumba in all its forms.
Another highlight of what turned out to be a hectic 2024 series was a program of two concerts the ILCC titled The Galicia/Portugal Connection, an exploration, through music, of the cultural ties that bind Portugal with Galicia, in the Northwest region of Spain. The series featured the return to Chicago, after ten years, of acclaimed Galician bagpipe player Carlos Núñez. Considered the “7th member of The Chieftains” and proclaimed the “Jimi Hendrix of bagpipes” by Billboard. The concert, produced in partnership with the Irish American Heritage Center and with community partner Instituto Cervantes, was held at the Irish American Heritage Center on October 15.
Then, on November 2, fado sensation Carminho kicked off her US tour at City Winery, to support the release of the EP Carminho at Electrical Audio, which was co-produced and engineered by the late Steve Albini in his Chicago studio, Electrical Audio. Albini is known for his work with some of the finest musicians including Nirvana, Page & Plant, and The Pixies, among others. The EP includes a duet with the iconic Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso.
Lessons learned from last year’s Levitt VIBE Belmont Cragin Music Series were applied this year to the Levitt VIBE Chicago Music Series. Instead of mid-afternoon, most concerts would start after 6 pm, guaranteeing a larger audience. Through social media, the ILCC reached out to neighborhood organizations and businesses to get out of the word. The concerts were still held on Saturdays from mid-June to mid-August but instead of taking place in one park, the series expanded to four: Riis Park and, on the south and southwest side, La Villita Park, Gage Park and Rainbow Beach. For the first time in its history, the ILCC featured Regional Mexican Music as part of its programming through this summer series with performances from local stalwarts La Ley del Norte, Banda el Recuerdo and Grupo Love Secreto. This year’s series also featured the Chicago debut of Las Karamba, an all-female ensemble based in Barcelona that brings together six musicians from Venezuela, Cuba, Catalonia, France, and Argentina who infuse traditional styles like Son, Cha-Cha-Cha, Salsa, and Timba with rap and urban influences.
Outside of the Levitt series, the ILCC was far more judicious and strategic when it came to the number of concerts produced this year, especially given this current administration’s attack on the arts Besides after-Levitt shows for Los Crema Paraíso and Dos Santos at Fitzgerald, a second show of Las Karamba at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center and multiple appearances by Los Gaiteros de Pueblo Santo at outdoor events and indoor venues during the summer, the ILCC also presented two kickass jazz shows at Constellation: Paquito D’Rivera, Fareed Haque and multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy on May 14, followed on June 6 by Puerto Rican trumpetist Charlie Sepúlveda and his band The Turnaround with Eligio “Prodigio” Claudio in the Puerto Rican cuatro.
What will the Chicago Latino Music Series look like in 2026 and beyond? Well, that’s where you, our dear reader and supporter, come in:
As part of its fundraising campaign commemorating its 25th anniversary, the International Latino Cultural Center will be hosting a dinner celebration at CineCity Studios, 2429 West 14th St. on Friday, November 14, featuring a solo performance from Grammy® and Latin Grammy® Award winning artist Alex Cuba and the very best in Latino cuisine. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information, visit the ILCC’s official fundraising dinner page.
Unable to make the event? Never fear, you can still be part of our campaign with your individual contribution. Every single bit helps our mission to preserve in the city of Chicago a space for Pan-Latino arts in all its glorious disciplines. For more information on individual giving visit our individual giving page.
The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago is a 501(3)(c) nonprofit cultural organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by the law.
