For the fourth time, Edgar Galeano was nominated for a Grammy Award, further cementing his place on the world stage of new age and Latin American music.
Galeano, an enrollment specialist and recruiter with the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Lewis-Clark State College, worked with musician Chris Redding on his 2025 album, “The Colors in My Mind,” which was nominated for the best new age, ambient or chant album category of the 68th annual Grammy Awards. Although the album did not win the Grammy, “being nominated and participating on the album on a big scale is winning for us,” Galeano said. “We feel proud of the work we did.”
Edgar Galeano poses for a photo at the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles, California.
Galeano, 64, contributed spoken word segments as one of some 60 musicians to work on the album that combines new age, ambient and R&B music influences in an exploration of neurodivergence and the human experience.
“We were recording all over the world,” Galeano said. “Musicians in different languages and from different parts of the world — (Redding) united these musicians.”
Galeano was in his own remote corner of the country when Redding’s call came in. While on a trip with TRIO participants to the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS) in McCall, Idaho, Redding reached out to Galeano and asked if he could contribute to the album.
Galeano agreed but warned Redding he was camping with his students, and the audio might need some clean-up. But Galeano sent in his remote recording and “this collaboration ultimately became part of the project’s history” — a history that would culminate in a Grammy nomination.
When working with students through LC State, Galeano shares his music and poetry to show that their stories and journeys can inspire others as well. He aims to help them to realize their voices matter, and their experiences can make a real difference.
“In my presentations for LC State, I regularly incorporate both music and poetry as essential tools to engage students and audiences,” Galeano said. “Music allows me to demonstrate the power of creativity and self-expression, while poetry helps me communicate complex ideas in an accessible and memorable way. These elements often spark meaningful discussions and help students see new possibilities for themselves.”
Galeano’s experience creating award-winning music with artists around the world helps illustrate to prospective LC State students that “big dreams are achievable, no matter where you start. … With dedication and passion, remarkable opportunities can arise.”
A prolific musician, Galeano appears on more than 60 albums and has created more than 1,000 original songs.
Galeano has worked with two other groups nominated for a total of three Grammys. His first two nominations stem from work he did with Latin American folklore group Tierra Adentro, and his third nomination was for contemporary blues musician Antonio Vergara’s 2024 album, “The Fury.”
Bringing awareness to different cultures and backgrounds has been an important part of Galeano’s creative projects, both in his music and his poetry. He draws inspiration from his home country of Paraguay as well as his native language, Guaraní.
“I think culture is very important for any project,” he said. “Music is a universal language. We try to unite and we try to collaborate and we try to include people from different backgrounds in different languages, with different talents.”
The importance of the Guaraní language and its preservation has been a common theme throughout Galeano’s life. Galeano was born in Asunción, Paraguay, and he grew up with the native Guaraní people, learning the Guaraní language before also becoming fluent in Spanish.
As Galeano grew older, he became involved in the Paraguayan political sphere. Beginning in 1982 at age 20, he was speaking out against the military dictatorship present in Paraguay at the time.
“When I was in college, I was an organizer, protesting and writing, playing in music festivals, doing all types of events and trying to bring my country to a civilian government and democratic system,” he said.
He published his first book of poetry at 17 and his second at 20, writing in both Guaraní and Spanish at a time when schools were not permitted to teach Guaraní.
“(Guaraní) wasn’t allowed to be used in public or on the bus. It was a restricted language,” Galeano said. “I started writing all these songs and … I brought the Guaraní language to life through the legends and mythology, to teach about how important it is to keep language alive.”
And his efforts were successful. Guaraní was recognized as an essential language in Paraguay in the late 1970s, and it was designated as one of the country’s official languages in 1993.
“Through our work, we did so much to protect the language,” Galeano said. “And now we have Guaraní professors and teachers in schools all over the world.”
This work to preserve the Guaraní language put Galeano in the spotlight, for better or worse.
Through his political activities, Galeano was introduced to many famous writers and humanitarians, including authors Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Jorge Luis Borges, who gave him the nickname “Galeanito,” or “Little Galeano.”
“Because Eduardo Galeano was the ‘Big Galeano,’” he said of the Uruguayan author. “I was not too famous, and too young. I was just exploring the world and entering the world of writing and literature.”
However, his political dealings made him rather infamous in the eyes of the Paraguay government, putting him on the military’s radar, and a 26-year-old Galeano was forced into political exile in 1988. But he happened to also be good friends with Robert E. White, former President Jimmy Carter’s ambassador to Paraguay from 1977-80.
Around 2 in the morning one November night in 1988, Galeano got a call from the Paraguay Interior Ministry, operating under the dictatorship.
“They told me if I don’t leave the country, they’re going to arrest me,” he said.
So he left. Around 6 in the morning, Galeano went to Argentina, where he called White to discuss his options. Because Galeano already had a visa after a brief stint at a Canadian university a few years prior, White told him to find a way to get on a plane to Washington, D.C., and they will figure things out from there.
“When I went to the Pentagon to apply for the exile status, they told me I have a choice,” Galeano said. “I can get a Social Security number to work, or I can get asylum. I made, I think, a wise decision just to take the Social Security.”
That same week, he looked at the capital’s Spanish newspaper and found a job as a guitar player and singer for a new band in the area called La Tribu — “The Tribe.”
“From a tropical country to Washington, D.C., working in music saved my life,” Galeano said.
He would go on to travel around the country playing in Latin American festivals, restaurants, and hotels, primarily performing flamenco, waltz, and traditional polka music.
Once while performing in Detroit, Michigan, he got an invitation from a professor to visit Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was able to talk with students and meet people in the city. And he fell in love, in more ways than one.
Upon visiting Ann Arbor, he liked the college town feel and he decided to get a job at a restaurant as a busboy while taking classes to improve his English. He eventually got a scholarship to study for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOELF) at Access International, a private English language school in Ann Arbor.
“I went to school at night, I started working in the restaurant as a busboy, and during the day, I played my guitar in the street in Ann Arbor,” Galeano said.
He met his wife, Marlowe Daly-Galeano, in that restaurant.
“She was finishing college at that time,” he said. “She was a server, I was the busboy, and that's the story. I proposed to her, and then we flew to Las Vegas, we got married, and we're still together 30 years later.”
The Galeanos moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Marlowe pursued a Ph.D. After she finished her new degree — and after the couple welcomed twins, a boy and a girl — the family was due for another move. This time, they were bound for Lewiston, Idaho.
“(Marlowe) got a contract for Lewis-Clark State College. She asked me if I wanted to move to Lewiston, Idaho, and I told her that will be something different for me after living in big cities and all that, but I can try.”
Marlowe is currently the director of the LC State Center for Teaching & Learning, and she teaches American literature and writing classes. With a connection to the school already established, Galeano pursued a communications degree with LC State at age 50, taking many poetry and writing classes along the way while gaining the tools to express himself in different languages.
And despite all the moves and all the changes, Galeano’s creative pursuits stayed front and center. He is currently working on his third book of poetry to be published in the U.S., adding to his works published in his native country.
“(I’ve always) done my music, my art, my literature, my creativity,” he said. “That kept me going.”
And his time in Lewiston has helped to build that creativity.
“My experience at LC has been incredibly valuable in my personal and academic growth,” Galeano said. “My involvement at LC has truly enriched my communication skills and deepened my appreciation for diverse forms of artistic expression.”