The Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) kicks off its 2023-2024 season with “Reencuentros” on September 29, 2023, at Five Boroughs Brewing Company, Brooklyn, and a follow-up concert on September 30 at Flushing Town Hall, Queens.

The performance, centered around the recent album release “Reencuentros,” will spotlight a rich collection of mid-20th-century Latin American boleros and art songs. Grammy Award-winning classical mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte will be joined by Trio Chapultepec and percussionist Jesús Pacheco, presenting works from notable Latin American composers.

The program comprises music by Jair Amorim, Bobby Capó, Alvaro Carrillo, Altemar Dutra, Teddy Fregoso, Virgilio González, Evaldo Gouveia, Chabuca Granda, Julio Jaramillo, Félix Luna, Violeta Parra, Ariel Ramírez, Omar Antonio Sánchez, and Daniel Toro.

Duarte returns to her roots with this program, describing it in the official press release as “a remembrance of the moments when I listened to my mother sing. “Reencuentros” represents where I come from and the stories that formed me. It is important for me to share this legacy of beautiful music, only a small snapshot of the artistic richness of Latin American music.”

Duarte has performed with such companies as Houston Grand Opera, Châtelet Theatre, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, The Fort Worth Opera, Teatro Nacional Sucre, in Quito, Ecuador,  New York City Opera, and El Paso Opera, taking on a wide range of repertory. She has appeared in world premiere performances of such operas as “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” “A Coffin in Egypt,” “A Way Home,” and “After the Storm,” among others.