123 Andrés | musician, children’s music artist and 2x Latin Grammy nominee

Hello, World!

Episode 19

My good friend Francisco Serrano, one of those people I consider brilliant, calls me up a few weeks back to tell me I have to listen to the guy that his little daughter Isabel (3) is obsessed with. “She just can’t get enough of him.” I love Francisco and his plea was real. So I went ahead and listened and tuned in for a few hours of Google video watching. Turns out that 123 Andrés (Andrés Salguero) has a Spanish/English music act, with substance, for kids and with it, he’s making a respectable career. So much so that, for two consecutive years he’s been a Latin Grammy ® nominee for Best Children’s Album. Last year with his debut album ¡Uno, dos, tres Andrés! and this year with Arriba Abajo (Above Below).

123 Andrés is not a one-man band, Christina Sanabria, his wife, completes the powerhouse team behind all the fanfare. The band expands and “shrinks” depending on the gig and though they themselves are Colombians, their other bandmates represent Latin America and the Caribbean in various forms.

The bilingual element in 123 Andrés is intentional, smart, and fun. He puts out vallenato, rock, cha-cha-cha, cumbia and much more. Andrés is a skilled music man with a doctorate degree and all. In this episode #19, Andres and I talk bilingualism, being Latino in the U.S., seeing children learn, parenting and a bunch of other stuff. 

During these times of such grotesque political behavior, I search for things to hold on to. I think of Patricia Zárate and Danilo Pérez and the work they're doing with hundreds of children in Panama in the City of Knowledge; or the elegant campaign and action Paola Mendoza and Michael Skolnik are engaged in, in the U.S. with undocumented children to bring attention to immigration reform; and the commitment of Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria to use music and language to educate children of all backgrounds on the wonder and beauty of the Latin American continent. They, of course, are not alone in quest and purpose, but today they're very much on my mind and it makes me smile.