Kaleidoscope Series Brings GRAMMY-Award Winning Duo 1-2-3 Andrés to Marshalltown and Gallagher Bluedorn

Last week, Marshalltown’s Orpheum Theater was filled with the joyful sounds of 3rd and 4th graders from Marshalltown Community Schools singing, dancing, and laughing along with GRAMMY-award winning artists Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria from the duo 1-2-3 Andrés. This husband and wife team 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 this as a chance to renew a partnership with the Marshalltown School District. “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.”

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!”

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 3rd and 4th 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 also performed at the final engagement for 1-2-3 Andrés at UNI on Friday, November 1.

Altogether, more than 1,600 young people had the opportunity to experience the wonder of 1-2-3 Andrés during the week. Onuigbo states, “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.” She added, “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.