123 Andrés brings its bilingual musical magic geared toward kids to Wharton Center

In early February, Andrés Saiguero and Christina Sanabria made history when they took home their second Grammy — they're the only people to ever win a Latin Grammy for Best Children’s Album (in 2016) and the Grammy for Best Children’s Album (2024).

The bilingual husband-and-wife team, both with roots in Colombia, are bringing their upbeat children’s show to East Lansing on Saturday, a concert bringing together a full band.

They’ve been touring for 10 years, but children’s music wasn’t what either of them had originally planned for their lives.

Sanabria grew up in the Midwest with her Spanish-speaking family. She started her career as a homeroom teacher in Philadelphia where many of her students were growing up the way she did —speaking English at school and Spanish at home.

“It took me back to all those dreams my parents had for me to be fully bilingual,” Sanabria said.

Meanwhile, Saiguero was in Kansas City pursuing a doctorate degree in music with plans to become a woodwinds professor.

“While he was pursuing graduate studies, he always had a love for popular music,” Sanabria said. “He had a rock band when he was in Columbia and played in folk ensembles who played Latin jazz and salsa.”

Then one day, he was asked if he could fill in playing the saxophone at a gig. He showed up, and it turned out to be a band geared toward kids. It wasn’t what he expected, but he went ahead with it.

“He found out it was fun because he had to play the saxophone, but also be silly, act out and do dance moves,” Sanabria said. “He found that to be really fun.”

Around this time, she traveled to Kansas City and met Saiguero at a family party.

“The next thing you know, we’re talking about music and education and working with kids,” Sanabria said. “That’s where not only our marriage, but the idea for 123 Andrés, was born.”

Ten years later, they’ve produced multiple albums, published three of their songs as children’s bilingual books, created a podcast about cool jobs and tour the U.S. and Latin America with their show.

Sanabria said their backgrounds prepared them for what they do now.

“That’s one thing we love about kids’ music and performing for children and families,” Sanabria said. “It’s not stuffy — sit quietly with your hands folded and listen. It’s going to be loud and they get to stand up and be part of the show in many ways — acting out the stories, making music on their laps, singing along and dancing. It’s very interactive.”

While they will be doing two shows on Saturday — at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. — they will be in East Lansing all week performing for students. Their Saturday show focuses on action — encouraging people to move their bodies and contribute ideas. They’ll engage in silly mishaps in which they’ll solicit the audience’s help.

It is, Sanabria explains, not just a kid’s show, but a show for the entire family. They’ll encourage parents to sing with their children, to ask them questions and to help them come up with ideas.

While they welcome any age, Sanabria said the sweet spot is between ages 3 and 8.

Throughout the show, they speak in English and Spanish. They are, Sanabria said, learners of other languages, including American Sign Language, which they incorporate into the show.

Throughout their decade of touring, they have performed in communities where everyone speaks Spanish and where no one speaks Spanish.

“We anticipate that folks will not speak Spanish,” Sanabria said. “We scaffold the scenes in such a way so that when we come to a section that’s in Spanish, we will have planted some context for both kids and adults to follow along. When there’s something that we don’t understand or know, there’s a point at which it can be intimidating and frustrating. But if there’s just enough that we don’t understand, then we’re curious about it and interested in it. The way we structure what we do is to make it just enough that people are learning and curious and discovering new things.”

It's part of how they keep audiences engaged.

“We honor people who speak and have all abilities,” Sanabria said. “We know that there will be people who speak other languages that we don’t, so we’re all learning together. We may not understand everything, but that’s what keeps us curious and interested and engaged.”

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 123 Andrés brings bilingual musical magic geared for kids to Wharton