Releases | New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

National Hispanic Cultural Center Launches History Festival: “Mundos de Mestizaje”

January 13th, 2020

(Albuquerque, New Mexico) -- The National Hispanic Cultural Center will present its first History Festival Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22, 2020. This multigenerational event will include workshops, lectures, temporary murals, middle and high school contests, and other events for all ages.

All events are inspired by the theme of mundos de mestizaje and the famous buon fresco of the same name, by artist Frederico Vigil. “Mundos de Mestizaje,” one of the largest concave murals in North America, depicts thousands of years of Hispanic history, from Europe to Mesoamerica to the U.S. Southwest, illustrating the complexity and diversity of Hispanic culture, identity and heritage. It is housed in the Torreón on the NHCC campus in Albuquerque.

The History Festival is designed to engage people of all ages in history by exploring the theme of mundos de mestizaje (the worlds of mixed races, histories, cultures and places) in exciting ways.

Friday events include school-day visits (for selected elementary and middle schools) and an evening, ticketed wine reception with a talk by artist Frederico Vigil and wines from the oldest winery in the Americas, Casa Madera, Mexico (1597).                                                 

Saturday events include free tours of the fresco, talks by Dr. Josie Lopez (Curator of Art, Albuquerque Museum) and Dr. Diana Krumholz McDonald (Boston College); three temporary murals in dialogue with the fesco, with accompanying artist talks; identity-mapping workshops for children and teens; and an exhibition of middle school writing and high school art about the fresco (with announcement of contest winners).

For more information, visit the festival website: www.nhcchistoryfest.com.

Saturday events are free and open to the public.

Tickets for the Friday evening wine reception (presented in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico) are $150 per person and available January 15, with limited space available. For reception and ticket information, contact Melissa Armijo with the NHCC Foundation: m.armijo@nhccfoundation.org

 For more information, contact Valerie Martínez, Director of History and Literary Arts: valerie.martinez@state.nm.us; 505-383-4724.

About the National Hispanic Cultural Center:  The National Hispanic Cultural Center is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and advancement of Hispanic culture, arts and humanities, and is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 

The National Hispanic Cultural Center is located at 1701 Fourth Street SW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. General admission tickets can be purchased in advance from the National Hispanic Center box office, 505-724-4771 or the NHCC website, www.nhccnm.org.

  

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