¡Globalquerque! teams up with Lensic for Santa Fe Opera show
Apr. 13—Tom Frouge is finding the silver lining.
As the director of ¡Globalquerque!, Frouge was left scrambling to find a way to put on the annual celebration of world music and culture after talks broke down with the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
The NHCC had been home to the festival for 18 years.
On Thursday, Frouge announced a collaboration with Lensic 360 and the Lensic Performing Arts Center to present Lila Downs and Angelique Kidjo at the Santa Fe Opera on Sept. 23, to mark the 2023 event.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 14, at lensic360.org.
Frouge said the event isn't a full-blown festival, as it's acting as a bridge to figuring things out.
"I knew once we announced the concert, people would understand what we're doing," Frouge says. "With this line up, you don't get much bigger in global music."
Frouge was able to get the two Grammy Award winners on the same bill easily.
"The guys at Lensic 360 reached out to me with a date for Lila. She was on tour and it fit," Frouge says. "With Angelique, it was a matter of reaching out and seeing if she was available."
Kidjo was named one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in 2021.
She is known for her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across borders.
Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, and influences from Europe and Latin America.
Meanwhile, Downs is one of the most influential artists in Latin America.
Her compositions combine genres and rhythms as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros, jazz standards, hip-hop, cumbia and popular American music. She sings in Spanish, English and several native American languages such as Zapotec, Mixtec, Nahuatl, Mayan and Purepecha. Frequently her lyrics focus on justice, immigration and women's rights.
Zack Quintero, NHCC interim executive director, says he spoke with Frouge during his second week on the job and "had a very productive and mutually respectful conversation."
"With the current year in full motion he let me know it was too late to host the festival at the Center in 2023, but we're both hopeful that we can keep the lines of communications open for potential future events," Quintero says. "The National Hispanic Cultural Center is grateful to have had the chance to partner with ¡Globalquerque! for the past 18 years and we will keep an open dialog moving forward."
