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Heroes and Liberators

October 19, 2025, 8:00 pm

Simón Bolívar (Painting: Ricardo Acevedo Bernal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The stories of heroes and liberators are set to music in this special episode of Fiesta. We will hear music inspired by the Mexican hero Emiliano Zapata and the first attempt of Brazilian independence, led by revolutionary Tiradentes. Compositions by Venezuelan super-star Gustavo Dudamel, Spanish composer Leonaro Balada, and Brazilian composer Guerra Peixe.

Playlist

¿Quien puede detener la lluvia?, El 25 de septiembre de 1828, María Teresa, from The Liberator, by Gustavo Dudamel
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Zapata – Images for Orchestra, by Leonardo Balada
Orquesta de Valencia; Orquesta Sinfónica de la Radio TV Española; Manuel Galduf, conductor

Museu da Inconfidência, by César Guerra Peixe
Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra; Neil Thomson, conductor

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Meet the Host

Composer, musician, and professor, Elbio Rodríguez Barilari was born in 1953 in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he studied at the Conservatório Universitario before continuing his education in Brazil at the Cursos Latinoamericanos de Música Contemporáne. Since settling in the United States in 1998, Barilari has lectured at the University of Chicago and the Instituto Cervantes. He is currently on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

As a composer, Barilari has received commissions from the Grant Park Music Festival, Concertante di Chicago, Chicago Park District, and Orquesta Filarmonica de Montevideo. In addition to works for orchestra, chamber ensembles and solo instruments, he has provided scores for more than forty plays in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

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Heroes and Liberators

Playlist