The Guanajuato Cultural Forum, through the Teatro del Bicentenario Roberto Plasencia Saldaña, presented on Saturday, September 19, A song for hope, a concert dedicated to the heroines and heroes of the fight against COVID 19, for their efforts to preserve health and well-being in favor of Guanajuato.

After 191 days since the last concert with an audience, the Guanajuato Cultural Forum restarted its artistic presentations and became a space for live music through this tribute, in a controlled access format for the public and following all protocols and actions marked by the authorities in matters of public health.

The prestigious Mexican tenor Alan Pingarrón, accompanied by the sopranos Vanessa Salas and Edna Valles, participated in this gala made up of fragments of the operatic and zarzuela repertoire, as well as Mexican music.

About the artists

The tenor Alan Pingarrón began his singing studies in 2001 and improved his vocal technique with Professor Leonardo Mortera. He entered the National School of Music of the UNAM in 2003 under the direction of Rufino Montero. He was awarded the Gabino Barreda medal at the end of his Bachelor of Singing studies.

He has worked repertoire with Rufino Montero, Teresa Rodríguez, Marioara Trifan, Corradina Caporello, Katherine Ciesinski, Cesar Ulloa and Joan Dorneman. He was a finalist in the San Miguel National Opera Singing Contest, second place in Opera Prima Las voices del Bicentenario, also obtaining the audience award. He has performed in the oratorio genre Requiem by Mozart, Requiem by Verdi and Handel’s El Mesías, in opera roles of Rodolfo in the Opera La Boheme and Nemorino in El Elíxir de amor with the Opera de Morelos company, he participated in the Opera El Emperador de la Atlántida, at the International Cervantino Festival, in choral works Symphonic Poem Independence by Luis Jordá, Ninth Symphony by Beethoven.

The soprano Edna Isabel Valles is originally from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. He began his singing studies at the age of 18 with the teacher Diana Esparza and later with the teacher Alonso Fierro. He graduated from the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez with a Bachelor of Music in 2013 and continued his studies in New Mexico, United States with tenor John Carlo Pierce, New Mexico State University opera director.

That year he participated as a soloist in the closing of the 6th. Aguascalientes Opera Singing Festival with the Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Román Revueltas Retes; Since then he has been part of the Choir of the Bicentennial Theater in León, Guanajuato, where he has participated in the operas Madama Butterfly, Carmen, La Traviata, El Trovador, El Rapto en el Serrallo and Tosca, as well as in concerts outside the walls, performing as a soloist. on various occasions.

The soprano Vanessa Salas is originally from León, Guanajuato, she studied at the University of Guanajuato the Master of Arts; likewise, the Bachelor of Music, where he trained vocally under the guidance of Doctor Hugo Barreiro and Master Isir Almaguer. It obtained first place in the Bel Canto category of the Fourth International Singing Competition Olivia Gorra 2018. It was presented at the 2019 edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Art in the Michael Nyman concert under the direction of the composer himself. He performed with the DEMUG Baroque Ensemble during the 42nd edition of the International Cervantino Festival, under the direction of Dr. Fabrizio Ammetto.

The pianist Sergio Vázquez is considered one of the most active and versatile pianists in Mexico, his activity ranges from solo recital to opera, through chamber music and vocal coaching, and from baroque to contemporary. His pianistic activity has led him to play in the most important theaters in Mexico such as Bellas Artes, Teatro Degollado, Teatro Juárez, as well as in the Cervantino Festivals, that of the Historic Center, in May in Guadalajara to mention a few, and in some cities of the abroad such as London, Paris, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Hungary, Zagreb, Cuba and the United States of North America.

This concert, which received 200 people, under a strict entry protocol, prior registration, applying the measures recommended by the health authorities, was also broadcast on television to the entire state of Guanajuato through the TV4 signal, (channel 4.1) as well as the social networks of the Guanajuato Cultural Forum and Teatro del Bicentenario Roberto Plasencia Saldaña.

You can relive the concert in the following link.