Canciones para ti (Songs for You): Una celebración del Día de los Muertos | November 1, 2025 | 7:00 PM | Union Colony Civic Center

With Guest Conductor Diego Barbosa-Vásquez

Program Notes by Bailey Dorsey

GPO Guest Conductor Diego Barbosa-Vásquez is General Director of the Performing Arts Laboratory and Music Director of The Americas Chamber Orchestra. The International Press references him as a “Musical Genius” and “synonymous of energy, knowledge, and confidence of high artistic quality.” Due to his outstanding international career, Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez was named by ProColombia as Ambassador of Colombia Country Brand in 2017.

Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez was Music & Artistic Director of the Collaborative Arts Opera Summer Camp (Los Angeles, CA), Music Director of the World Music Symphony Orchestra in California, Music and Artistic Director of Huila Philharmonic, Chief Conductor of E&P® Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Huila Conservatory and Rock Symphony Orchestra. Also, Diego was chief Conductor of E&P Choirs of Cajicá, Colina, and Aparecida; Choral Conductor at “Tocar y Luchar Cafam-Colombia” and Head of the Virrey Solís-E&P Conservatory.

The Colombian maestro has been Assistant, Cover & Fellow Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (2023), Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as IU Conducting Fellow (2022-2023), Cincinnati Symphony and May Festival (Cincinnati, OH) as Juanjo Mena Apprentice (2021, 2023), Nashville Symphony Orchestra as Giancarlo Guerrero Apprentice (2022), Indiana Opera and Ballet Theater (2020 - 2022), APU Symphony Orchestra (2017-2018), and APU Opera Theater 2017-2018).

Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez has won international recognition as Guest Conductor for the 70th anniversary of UNICEF concert and through international conducting competitions in Belgium and Italy. Diego has been Principal Guest Conductor of the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of El Salvador (2014 - 2020), Guest Conductor of the Wabash Valley Youth Symphony, OCSA Symphony Orchestra, Caldas Symphony Orchestra, and Choir and Founding Orchestra of Esperanza Azteca Program.

As a performer, Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez was Principal Viola at Caldas Symphony Orchestra, Juan N. Corpas Symphony Orchestra, Colombia Joven Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Acordanza, Orchestra of the “Art and Opera for All Foundation,” Unimúsica Symphony Orchestra, Bogotá Symphony Orchestra FOSBO, and scholarship holder and Co-Founder Member of the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia (FJC). Also, at only 17 years old, was invited to play with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia as Viola Youth outstanding talent.

Furthermore, Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez is an outstanding scholar recognized for his major contributions to the Orchestra, Opera, and Performance Arts field. He is an affiliated scholar of the prestigious Ostrom Workshop (Economic Nobel Prize Winners Scholars) where he leads advanced international practical research in Opera and Performing Arts Sustainability. There, he collaborates with different performing arts leaders and multiple minds and experts in different fields, to clarify the clues and strategies to secure Opera and Arts Sustainability in the mid, and long-term from the local, regional, national, and international perspectives. Maestro Barbosa-Vasquez is regularly invited at prestigious conferences, including being a Panelist in the prestigious Closing Plenary of the League of American Orchestras 2023 Conference in Pittsburgh for his major contributions to the field; a special guest lecturer at the 11th European Orchestra Festival of (EOFed) and WFAO General Assembly (2018 - Norway); and a special guest lecturer at the WFAO General Assembly (2019 - Singapore). He is a Professional Member (as an Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet Conductor) of the League of American Orchestras and Opera America.

Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez holds a Doctor in Music Degree (Graduating with Honors) with Major in Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet Conducting and Minors in Music Theory and Arts Administration from the prestigious Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.

Natacha Cóndor

Natacha Cóndor is a versatile Ecuadorian mezzo-soprano with extensive experience in Latin American popular music and a growing presence in opera. Recent highlights include La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), and Dido (Dido and Aeneas) with Lamont Opera Theatre, as well as Wowkle (La Fanciulla del West) with Central City Opera. She has also appeared as Flora (La Traviata), El Gato (El Gato con Botas), and Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Her awards include the Marcia Ragonetti Exceptional Mezzo Award, and the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Award (2025), and First Place in the Ann Logan Craft Voice Competition and Outstanding Young Artist Award from Central City Opera (2024). In 2025 she will perform the role of Frida in Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World with Central City Opera’s Education Department.

Currently completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, Natacha continues to build her artistry with passion and dedication.

Alexis Haro, is an Ecuadorian tenor based in Denver, Colorado. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Denver – Lamont School of Music. His recent engagements include operatic roles such as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Lamont Opera Theatre), Ruiz in Il Trovatore (Boulder Opera), The Miller in Puss in Boots (Boulder Opera), Prince Charming in Cendrillon by Pauline Viardot (Loveland Opera Theatre), and the Tenor Soloist in Messiah with the Boulder Messiah Sing Along Chorale and Orchestra. Alexis has also performed as a touring artist with Central City Opera and with the Opera Colorado chorus.

Alexis is a voice teacher in his private studio in Denver.

Danse macabre (8’)

Saint-Saëns’ haunting “Danse macabre” (1874) is a tone poem—a genre that takes inspiration from poetry, art, or other non-musical sources. “Danse macabre” is about a French legend and was inspired by Henri Cazalis’ poetry. In this tale, Death appears at midnight on Halloween and plays the fiddle while skeletons dance on their graves until morning comes. The solo violin represents Death and uses scordatura tuning, meaning the strings are intentionally tuned differently than usual to create an unsettling sound.

La bruja (6’)

“La bruja” is a Mexican folk song about a blood-sucking witch. The song is from the perspective of a man who is taken hostage by la bruja in the darkness of night. “La bruja” is son jarocho, a genre originating in Veracruz, Mexico. While instrumentation varies, son jarocho ensembles often include a wooden harp called the arpa jarocha, guitar-like instruments such as the jarana jarocha and the requinto, and the quijada, an instrument made from a donkey’s jawbone.

La llorona (6’)

“La llorona” or “The Weeping Woman” is a Mexican folktale in which a distraught woman drowns her children before drowning herself. Overcome with guilt, she wanders the earth as a ghost, searching for her lost sons. Many interpret the song “La llorona” to be based on this folktale. Another theory suggests that this song is based on a letter written during the Mexican Revolution. In this alternative theory, a young couple is separated when the husband is drafted for the war. The husband writes a letter to his wife, which she only receives after he has already been killed in battle. Either way, “La llorona” is often performed in honor of Día de los Muertos, as both stories explore themes of death and love.

El triste (6’)

“El triste” or “The Sad One” was iconically performed in 1970 by the then–22-year-old José José at a music competition called Festival de la Canción Latina. The audience gave a standing ovation and demanded that José José win the competition, but he ultimately placed third. Nevertheless, “El triste” jump-started José José’s career and remains one of his most memorable ballads.

Montilla (10’)

“Montilla” is a traditional joropo, the national music and dance of Venezuela. More specifically, it is golpe tocuyano, a sub-genre of joropo that originates from West Central Venezuela. Golpe tocuyano is traditionally in 6/8 meter and features instruments including the cuatro, maracas, and tambora.

Un rinconcito en el cielo (6’)

“Un rinconcito en el cielo” translates to “A Little Corner in the Sky.” The song was written by Carlos Cardenas and was released in 1985 by Ramon Ayala y Los Bravos Del Norte. Ayala, often dubbed the “King of the Accordion,” began playing the instrument at age six. Since then, Ayala has become an influential Norteño artist, earning eight Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins.

Amor eterno (7’)

“Amor eterno” (1984) explores themes of love and loss. It was most famously sung by Rocío Dúrcal, a Spanish woman who boldly broke barriers by venturing into the male-dominated Mexican ranchera genre. “Amor eterno” was written by Juan Gabriel. Gabriel started his music career in the bars of Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez before launching his professional recording career in 1971. The song was written in remembrance of Gabriel’s mother after her passing.

Colombia tierra querida (8’)

“Colombia tierra querida” (1970) by Lucho Bermúdez is a tribute to Colombia and its people. The title translates to “Colombia, Beloved Land.” This is fitting, as Bermúdez was an advocate for Colombian music. He was inspired by folk music and was the first to transcribe traditional Colombian music for orchestra. Bermúdez helped bring traditional Colombian genres such as cumbia and porro to a wider audience.

La vida es un carnaval (8’)

Celia Cruz, also known as the “Queen of Salsa,” had a music career that spanned from the 1940s to the early 2000s. She is known for her signature shout, “¡Azúcar!" While her music career started in Cuba, she was exiled in 1960, as the Cuban government did not appreciate her public criticism of Castro’s regime. She relocated to the United States and was never permitted to visit her homeland again, not even to visit her parents’ graves. “La vida es un carnaval” is an award-winning track from the album Mi vida es cantar. When the song was released in 1998, Cruz was 73 years old. “La vida es un carnaval” is an uplifting song about seeing the positive in bad situations.

This concert is sponsored by Edward Jones | Brian & Kim Larson, Allo Fiber, LINC Library Innovation Center, Beautiful Home Team, Downtown Development Authority, and Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area..

Canciones para ti (Songs for You) Program Notes