¡VIVA! Mexican and Polish Music In Celebration of Mexican Independence

A joyful FREE concert of music by Cuerdas Clasicas String Ensemble and the Lira Singers in
colorful, authentic folk garb, will celebrate Mexican independence, Poland’s history of fighting
for its freedom, and will compare them with Ukraine’s current struggle against Russian
aggression – at three FREE performances – all with FREE parking:

 Wednesday, September 14th at 7pm
Morton College, Jedlicka Performing Arts Center – Building A
3801 South Central Street in Cicero
(Just north of the Central Avenue exit of the Stevenson Expway)

 Saturday, September 24th at 3pm
National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 West 19th Street, Chicago

 Sunday, September 25th at 3pm
St. Hyacinth Basilica
3634 West George Street in Chicago (just south of Belmont & Milwaukee)

These 75-minute, family-friendly concerts are produced by the Lira Ensemble of Chicago and represent Lira’s return to its decades-long tradition of presenting very popular cross-ethnic concerts for which it has won several prestigious awards, including one from the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. Lira is the nation’s only professional performing arts company specializing in Polish music, song and dance.

Cuerdas Clasicas String Ensemble, which is highly praised and loved for singing and playing traditional Mexican stringed instruments that are central to Mexican indigenous folk culture, was founded by and is led by Rodolfo Hernandez.

The Lira Ensemble of Chicago was founded by Lucyna Migala who serves as artistic director and general manager. She will narrate all three concerts in English. Lira is known internationally for its superb artistic level and its dedication to Polish authenticity.

The Sunday, September 25th concert at 3pm will be introduced by the Reverend Stanislaw Jankowski, pastor of St. Hyacinth Basilica, invites all – not only those of Polish or Mexican heritage – to this important concert and to visit the historic, beautiful Basilica built in the famous “Polish cathedral” style.

The Saturday, September 24 th concert at 3pm at the National Museum of Mexican Art will be introduced by Carlos Tortolero, founder, president and CEO of the museum, who is also the co-creator, along with Lira’s Lucyna Migala, of these beloved Mexican-Polish concerts.

The Wednesday, September 14 th concert at 7pm will be introduced by Micheal Kott, theater director at Morton College, who invites all to hear lovely Mexican and Polish music and to see the newly-remodeled Jedlicka Performing Arts Center at Morton College in Cicero.

All three Mexican-Polish concerts are funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. The concerts at St. Hyacinth Basilica and the National Museum of Mexican Art are funded in part by a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

For more information about these free, very enjoyable concerts, call the Lira Ensemble at 773-505-7831.