T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY GRAMMY nominated husband and wife musical duo 1-2-3 Andrés entertain Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) students at the Orpheum Theatre last Thursday morning.

Last week, the Orpheum Theater was filled with the joyful sounds of third and fourth graders from the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) singing, dancing, and laughing along with GRAMMY-award winning artists Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria from the duo 1-2-3 Andrés, a husband and wife duo who have performed their bilingual show for audiences throughout the United States and Latin America.

The program was presented by the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Since the Gallagher Bluedorn opened in 2000, educational programming has been at the forefront of their outreach efforts. In fact, in its history, their Kaleidoscope series of youth programming has reached over 800,000 young people throughout northeast Iowa with its “A Buck A Kid” pricing.

When the opportunity arose to bring 1-2-3 Andrés to the area, Jennifer Onuigbo, Community Relations Manager at the Gallagher Bluedorn and director of Kaleidoscope programming, saw it as a chance to renew a partnership with the MCSD.

“The last time we presented youth programming in Marshalltown was in 2009. 1-2-3 Andrés seemed like the perfect show to revitalize that relationship between the Marshalltown community and UNI,” she said.

The high-energy program from 1-2-3 Andrés entitled Across the Americas features original songs and dances in Spanish, English and sign language. The students sing and dance along while learning about geography, culture and music.

One teacher commented, “I know this is for the students, but I couldn’t help myself – I was singing and dancing too!”

MCSD Director of Instruction Shauna Smith spoke highly of the collaborative effort with the school.

“The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) partnered with MCSD and Grammy-winning Latin children’s music duo 1-2-3 Andrés for a weeklong residency! During this residency, 1-2-3 Andrés performed for each elementary building’s 3rd and 4th grade students at the Orpheum. They also collaborated with our Mariachi band and to their surprise, our student had been working on La Bamba, a song they regularly perform! 123 Andrés invited our MMS and MHS Mariachi band to join them on stage at Galagher Bluedorn on Nov. 1, where all of our first and second graders enjoyed the show,” she said. “The initiative was fully funded through sponsorships sought by UNI, and there was no cost to Marshalltown Schools for this program. This has truly been an incredible experience for all of our students and staff!”

Planning for the project began in February 2024 with a conversation between Onuigbo and leaders in the school district. After imagining a plethora of options, it was decided to provide three days of programming for third and fourth graders, one day to work with the Mariachi students at the middle school and high school, and one day for the 1st and 2nd graders to attend an in-person performance at the Gallagher Bluedorn. The mariachi students were also slated to perform at the final engagement for 1-2-3 Andrés at UNI last Friday.

All together, more than 1,600 young people had the opportunity to experience the wonder of 1-2-3 Andrés during the week.

“We love presenting shows where students can see themselves and their experiences represented on stage. The performing arts have the ability to build community and show that we’re more alike than we are different,” Onuigbo said. “This show had something for everyone — and every student walked away learning something new.”

1-2-3 Andrés has over two million followers on their YouTube channel. They have won both a GRAMMY award and a Latin GRAMMY award for Best Children’s album and have appeared on PBS Kids and at the Kennedy Center. They are also the authors of three dual-language storybooks. More information can be found at 123andres.com.