The ILCC also presents Barcelona-based Argentinian pianist Cristian “Poyo” Moya’s solo concert Dos orillas (Two Shores) at the Epiphany Center for the Arts (The Sanctuary) on Friday, June 16
CHICAGO (May 17, 2023) – The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC) presents the Chicago debut of samba superstar Zeca Pagondinho on Wednesday, June 14 at The Vic Theater, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Doors open at 7 pm and the show starts at 8 pm; admission is $55 General Admission Floor ($45 for ILCC members) and $65 seating ($55 for ILCC members). The embodiment of Rio’s free easy-going spirit, Pagodinho celebrates, backed up by a 10-member band, 40 years in the music business while taking audiences on a trip to the heart of Brazilian culture.
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. His first album, Zeca Pagodinho (1986) sold a million copies in Brazil; he has released over 15 albums since then (his last one, Mais Feliz, was released in 2019, a year before the COVID-19 Pandemic stopped all artistic activities around the globe) and three DVDs. He has won four Latin Grammy Awards in the Samba/Pagode category for Zeca Pagodinho ao Vivo (2000), Agua da Minha Sede (2001), Deixa a Vida Me Levar (2002) and Acústico MTV 2 Gafieira (2007). His songs have been performed by such Brazilian superstars as Carvalho and Alcione.
“This concert is a dream come true for me,” said Mateo Mulcahy, deputy executive director of the International Latino Cultural Center and producer of the Chicago Latino Music Series. “I have long wanted to bring Zeca to Chicago; there’s no better way to present this remarkable and exciting showman than with this 40-year retrospective of his career. The spirit of Carnival will take over The Vic that night. I recommend attendees to stay hydrated since they will be dancing their socks off!”
A MUSICAL JOURNEY THROUGH LATIN AMERICA AND EUROPE
The International Latino Cultural Center announced a second concert today as well.
Barcelona-based Argentinian pianist Cristian Poyo Moya will take audiences on a musical journey through the American continent and back to Europe with his solo performance Dos orillas (Two Shores) on Friday, June 16 at the Epiphany Center for the Arts (The Sanctuary), 201 S. Ashland Ave. The program will include tangos, Argentinian folklore, Peruvian waltzes, Brazilian chorinhos and even Ragtime, blues and swing. The show, also part of the Chicago Latino Music Series, starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $20 (general) and $15 (ILCC members).
Born into a musical family in Rosario, Argentina, Moya studied classical piano at Rosario’s National Music Academy and finished his fellowship on modern piano at Barcelona’s Aula de Liceu. He has accompanied such R&B and blues musicians as The Platters vocalist Andy Moss, Patrick Hazell and Bob Margolin, Muddy Waters’ guitarist. He currently performs alongside his own group, The Poyo Moya Trio and is the pianist for Exilio New Tango and The Rocking Stones (a Rolling Stones tribute band). He has performed throughout Spain in such venues as Teatro Real de Madrid, Centro de Bellas Artes de Madrid, Ateneu Barcelonés, Sevilla’s Teatro La Alameda, Sala Monpou del SGAE in Barcelona and Jamboree Jazz Club Barcelona.
For ticket information for both concerts, visit latinoculturalcenter.org.
ABOUT THE ILCC
The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago is a Pan-Latino, nonprofit, multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to developing, promoting, and increasing awareness of Latino cultures among Latinos and other communities by presenting a wide variety of art forms and education including film, music, dance, visual arts, comedy, theater and culinary arts.
The Center prides itself for its outstanding multidisciplinary local and international cultural programming which spans Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
Born out of the Chicago Latino Film Festival, The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago also produces other programs, including the Chicago Latino Music Series (formerly known as the Latino Music Festival), which is celebrating its 17th edition this year; Film in the Parks, also in its 17th season; the monthly Reel Film Club, already in its 14th year; and many others. All in all, the audience has grown from 500 people in 1985 for the first Chicago Latino Film Festival to more than 70,000 (Latinos and non-Latinos) who enjoy the year-round multidisciplinary cross-cultural exchanges offered by the Center.
