Arriba Abajo, the upcoming bilingual children’s album from Reston, Virginia based musician, Andrés Salguero, is full of lessons and love for the natural world, from birds in the trees to the seeds in the ground, all with the wondrous goal of celebrating the never-ending curiosity of young children.
Whether playing to audiences on Capitol Hill for Boogie Babes weekday music series, or Bebés al Parque in his native Bogotá Colombia, ¡Uno Dos Tres Andrés!, as he is known around town, is all about the joy exposure to music  brings children and families. You really can’t go wrong when you bring your little salsa sensation to see this performer whose hit song from his debut Latin GRAMMY nominated album involves jumping up and down (¡Salta, Salta!), and who doesn’t shy away from writing about realities of life for a Mommy and Daddy who are farm workers (Daddy was a Migrant Worker).
The June 10 release of Arriba Abajo (Up and Down) is the product of a collaboration with a pre-school educator, and draws on Salguero’s own background, including a doctoral degree in music. Connecting the music to curriculum for young children, the songs are an effective and joyful springboard for bilingual learning concepts like Spanish vowels, and how a tree grows from a seed.
With an interactive kid-centric approach to learning about Latin music, cultures, and countries, Salguero engages young listeners with multi-layered rhythms that introduce them to new sounds, movement and the importance of expressing themselves. Incorporating a language lesson, dance, and a little geography, he frequently collaborates with percussionists, dance studios, and puppeteers to bring a texture to his performances that is not lost, even on the recording.
See ¡Uno Dos Tres Andrés! perform next for Rockville’s Hometown Holidays, 3:30 PM, Saturday May 28 at the Town Center Stage, or keep up with his schedule of live shows at another DMV venue near you.
Read a little more about Salguero’s D.C. area connection and get a free download of Arriba Abajo’s first single, Dame Una A, exclusive to Red Tricycle readers.
What are some of your favorite things to do in the D.C. area?
I like to spend time outside, and there are so many beautiful areas, even just right close by to me, like Lake Anne in Reston. It is great to see all the families and be a part of whatever is happening around the lake.
We also love to go to see all the performances in D.C., especially the free Millenium Stage shows at the Kennedy Center which make music and other performance available to everyone. For me that is still such a big highlight, when I was invited to play the stage there, and just a great memory of my time here.
What else have you done in the D.C. area with other musicians and where else will you collaborate?
I enjoy finding performance opportunities and working with other performers as much as I can. We did a Saturday morning series called D.C. Fiesta for families at El Tamarindo restuarant in Northwest D.C. and I have continued to perform and recruit other kids music artists at Bloombars in Columbia Heights. Next month I will play at a Sing-a-Long with Lloyd Miller of the Deedle Dees in Brooklyn, New York and I am excited to join forces with Sonia De los Santos who also sings about her Latin heritage at the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn. Next I will join Little Miss Ann for a show in Chicago!
Have you seen ¡Uno Dos Tres Andrés! perform live? Tell us about it in the comments section below.Â
–Carolyn Ross
