A voice and percussion duo that advocates for and uplifts Latinx artistry and culture through music.
Un dúo de voz y percusión que defiende y eleva el arte y la cultura latinx a través de la música.
ARTIST STATEMENT | DECLARACIÓN ARTÍSTICA |
ARTIST STATEMENT | DECLARACIÓN ARTÍSTICA |
Celebramos e investigamos la identidad latinx compleja del Nuevo Mundo porque cada uno somos lo nuestro.
Nos enfocamos en la experiencia American Latinx porque eso es lo que somos.
Nos encanta la exploración del idioma español, inglés, bilingüe y spanglish porque ese es el idioma que hablamos.
Amplificamos nuestra voz artística colectiva y defendemos a nuestra comunidad.
Nos celebramos a nosotros mismos porque existimos.
Nos conectamos con otros como nosotros.
Encontramos un lugar entre los desplazados.
Hacemos todo esto porque es significativo.
Hacemos todo esto porque amamos.
¡Hacemos todo esto porque es divertido!
We celebrate and investigate complex Latinx identity from the New World because we are each our own thing.
We focus on the American Latinx experience because that is who we are.
We love Spanish, English, bilingual and Spanglish language exploration because that is the language that we speak.
We amplify our collective artistic voice and champion our community.
We celebrate ourselves because we exist.
We connect to others like us.
We find a place amongst the displaced.
We do all this because it’s meaningful.
We do all this because we love.
We do all this because it’s fun!
ABOUT THE DUO | SOBRE EL DÚO |
ABOUT THE DUO | SOBRE EL DÚO |
HISTORY
Bahué is a Latin American duo that focuses exclusively on Latin American/Hispanic culture through music. Our goal is to amplify our collective artistic voices and champion our community. Founded in 2022, they are a sponsored project of Guerilla Opera, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
According to the US census as of 2020, there are 62.5 million Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Hispanic Americans are the largest minority group and embody varied and complex cultural and ethnic identities that bring richness to their communities.
The duo’s vision is to celebrate and investigate complex Latin American identity through new and existing concert music repertoire written for their instrumentation of voice and percussion, and through collaborations with Latin artists of varied genres.
Their inaugural project was the Latinx Composer Miniature Challenge, which challenged Latin-identifying composers to write works that are 60 seconds or less. They virtually premiered the seven works in July and August 2023, and will have performed several in live concerts throughout MA and CA. The project was supported in part by a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council.
Also in 2023, the duo received funding from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA as well as from the Springfield, Watertown, and Haverhill Cultural Councils in Massachusetts, and a Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alumni Grant to present a concert tour of works by Latin American composers.
They are a bi-costal duo located in California and Massachusetts. Their home cities are Springfield, MA, the largest city in Western Mass. with a population demographic of 46% Latin American. In California, 39% of the population is Latin American, and more specifically 49% in the Los Angeles area.
The pandemic has taught us all that artists can collaborate from anywhere within the US and internationally. This duo was founded as a collaborative experiment utilizing both live and virtual performances to generate a distinctive repertoire by composers of the Latin diaspora.
Ariel Campos
A Los Angeles based percussionist with a diverse musical background that spans from commercial music to classical. His performances with contemporary artists include Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Country Pop Duo “Brooks and Dunn” and Jennifer Lopez, and with Latin Jazz artists Louie Cruz-Beltran, Francisco Aguabella and Poncho Sanchez.
He was an original cast member of the Tony and Emmy award winning musical “Blast!,” which premiered in London.
As a solo classical percussionist Campos has been featured in solo concerts and recitals with the UCLA Philharmonia, California State University, Northridge Wind Ensemble, Union High School Percussion Ensemble in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Campos can also be heard as a featured musician on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to the film “Bella.”
Aliana de la Guardia
A Cuban-American artist with a multifaceted career as a soprano vocalist, entrepreneur, actor, and educator. A co-founding artist and Artistic Director of Guerilla Opera, Aliana has 15 years of experience leading this Boston-based performing ensemble and produced many newly commissioned operas with roles tailor-made for her ferocious stage presence and garnered acclaim for her “dazzling flights of virtuosity” (Gramophone) in “vocally fearless” performances that are “fizzing with theatrical commitment” (The Boston Globe).
Specializing in new music, she has enjoyed collaborations featuring today’s most eminent composers with American Lyric Theater, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston New Music Festival, Center for Contemporary Opera, Dinosaur Annex, Enigma Chamber Opera, Ludovico Ensemble, Monadnock Music, New Gallery Concert Series, Transient Canvas, and Winsor Music, among others. As a recording artist, she can be heard on Navona and Ravello Records (labels under PARMA Recordings), BMOP Sound, and independent labels.
With accumulated experience in arts administration, she has received accolades that put her at the forefront of the next generation of arts leadership including the OPERA America Mentorship Program for Women in Opera distinction, and a Public Art Learning Fund grant award from the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). (alianadelaguardia.com)
