The Latino Arts Strings program along with Latino Arts Inc. is celebrating their annual Guitar Festival.
This is the 11th year they're hosting the event and it all started as a way for young guitarists to compete and meet professionals in the field.
Dinorah Márquez Abadiano is the director of the Latino Arts Strings program. Andrea Gonzalez Caballero is a classical guitarist, and she'll be the headliner at the event.
Márquez Abadiano says the festival has evolved to include more workshops and opportunities to get feedback from international performers.
"Every year we have a youth competition element to the festival, which is really wonderful. We have five states in the surrounding area that are being represented and we have almost 40 participants in the competition this year. So, it's really wonderful that it's growing every year. Among the judges, we have five countries represented, so that's really wonderful as well as it continues to be a very international competition," says Márquez Abadiano.
Gonzalez Caballero says she was seven years old when she first started to pick up the guitar. She says her mother was a guitar instructor, which fostered a natural interest in the instrument. Gonzalez Caballero also says she released an album last September and will be featuring many of those works during the festival.
"I'm very excited to discover the city [of Milwaukee], the cultural landscape and visit the Latino Arts because I know they are doing a great job and they have many interesting events," says Gonzalez Caballero.
The festival concert will take place on Saturday Feb. 3 at 7:00 pm and tickets are $10.
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