Piano Duo Gastesi-Bezerra, comprised of longtime Wellington residents Estibaliz Gastesi and Márcio Bezerra, hosted the 12th edition of Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Hispanic Heritage Festival the last weekend of September.
This year, the festival had a conference format, attracting submissions from all around the country. “We had envisioned this expansion of the festival some years ago, and were enthusiastically supported by Palm Beach Atlantic’s College of the Arts Dean Dr. Jason Lester,” Bezerra said. “We had to cancel the event for the past two years, so we were happy that it actually happened this year, and that it was attended by scholars and artists from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia, in addition to Florida.”
“The participants were of the highest artistic level, thanks to our rigorous, anonymous submission process,” Gastesi added.
Besides lectures and presentations, the festival featured two concerts open to the general public. This year, the guest artist was harpsichord player Juvenal Correa-Salas from Florida International University. “He presented a remarkable program of Iberian music for keyboard, from the 16th to the early 19th centuries — a first in the festival’s history,” Bezerra said.
First envisioned and organized by Gastesi and Bezerra as a way to commemorate their 10th year living and performing in Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach Atlantic University Hispanic Heritage Festival is a celebration of the Iberian-American cultural heritage through a display of art, music and poetry from various countries.
According to the piano duo, next year’s festival will be even bigger. “We are pleased to announce the financial support of Dr. John Strasswimmer, and we are actively looking for more community support,” they said.
The Piano Duo can be reached through their web site at www.duogastesibezerra.com.
