Parents looking for free summer activities can rely on 123 Andrés to provide some lively, educational entertainment this month.
123 Andrés, a Grammy Award-winning duo made up of husband and wife Christina Sanabria and Andrés Salguero, will bring five interactive and family-friendly shows to the Chicago area starting Sunday. Their music — presented in Spanish and English — is ideal for all ages and language skills levels.
They are also the authors of three bilingual books published by Scholastic. A fourth book will be coming late 2025, they told the Sun-Times.
With more than 6 million YouTube subscribers and over 100,000 copies of their books sold, and regular visits to local schools across the country, 123 Andrés has quickly brought visibility to the importance of bilingual education via music and dance.
“Our job is to continue bringing joy, and that becomes particularly special during difficult times,” Salguero said. “Immigrant communities are being targeted, so we continue doing our part … we go and perform at schools and we make these children feel celebrated.”
Alongside award-winning musician Pierce Freelon, they also are co-hosts of PBS’ “Jamming on the Job” podcast. It’s an educational series, currenently in its second season, that dives deep into various professions, such as marine biology and costume design — one topic per episode.
Ultimately, the podcast is meant to help young kids develop skills like flexibility, critical thinking and problem-solving that are useful in all jobs, Sanabria said.
“A 123 Andrés show is interactive, immersive. It’s multi-generational. This is not a kids’ show where grown-ups are off to the side, checking their email. We hope that grown-ups are a part of it. We’re going to be asking for the audience’s ideas and help,” Sanabria said.
Storytelling is an important element of the performance, too. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for silly dance moves, clapping, stomping and jumping about. Children will learn about colors and numbers, be asked to make predictions about what happens next, and participate in call-and-response exchanges.
And it’s not just a show for people who speak Spanish and want their kids to continue learning. Non-Spanish speakers who are immersing themselves in the culture and language for the very first time will also be supported: “You won’t be lost,” Sanabria assures.
“A lot of our music is not just to encourage learning Spanish or English, but to learn in those languages,” Sanabria said. Their songs try to incorporate a variety of vocabulary, as well. For example, kids from Puerto Rico and Mexico living in the same U.S. city might use different words for “straw” or “tire,” and 123 Andrés’ music wants to honor those unique regional differences within Spanish.
“I think it’s super cool that kids growing up … in the U.S. have that great appreciation, not only for being bilingual, but being bi-cultural. Part of that means a recognition of the diversity within our Latino culture,” Sanabria said.
The couple met in Kansas City while Salguero was studying in a doctoral music program. He was an international student from Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. Sanabria, born in Kansas City, had been working as a public school teacher in Philadelphia. She’d often visit her parents back home, who are Spanish-speaking immigrants from Colombia.
It was on one of those trips back home that she met Salguero, who shares her passion for education and music. The two have been married for 14 years.
“[That] reflects the reality of so many of the families that we see at concerts,” Sanabria said.
Sanabria wasn’t originally part of 123 Andrés, but was brought on board a few years in thanks to encouragement from her husband. He heard her sing a riff on “Santa Baby,” and just knew she had to be a part of it, especially with her teaching background and love for theater, dance and music.
“He thought he was going to be a college professor in music, and I thought I was going to be a classroom teacher,” Sanabria said. “And we kind of did a little detour and combined that.”
In addition to the show at Fitzgeralds, free concerts will be presented at the following locations: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on June 9 at the Mount Prospect Public Libary, 10 S. Emerson St.; at 6 p.m. on June 9 at the Des Plaines Public Library, 1501 Ellinwood St.; and at 7 p.m. on June 10 at the Elgin Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave.