Releases | New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

MOIFA Presents Música Buena: Celebrating Yuletide Traditions in New Mexico

December 8th, 2020

The Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) invites you to enjoy the diverse multicultural history of New Mexico’s holiday traditions online at 7 p.m. MST on Sunday, December 13, 2020. This free festive virtual program will feature six short documentaries that were created for the exhibition “Música Buena: Hispano Folk Music of New Mexico” and the concurrent Música Buena exhibition in the WoW (Wonders on Wheels) Van.

New Mexico’s musical and dramatic traditions that are celebrated during the holiday season were developed hundreds of years ago. Many of these traditions began in medieval Spain and were then brought to the colonies. In New Mexico, each tradition has developed with local and regional influences. The Matachines dances are performed by the Hispano, Pueblo, and Genízaro peoples of New Mexico. Throughout the state, the Matachines dances and ceremonies are enjoyed on Feast Day of Our Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12) and are also performed in many locations on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Las Posadas (The Inns) and Los Pastores (The Shepherds) are performed during the advent period leading up the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Two traditions ringing in the New Year are the Los Comanches dances in Ranchos de Taos and the celebration of Día de los Manueles (The Day of Immanuel) or Dar los Días (The Giving of Days). During this time, houses are serenaded with music and people dance to welcome the New Year.

To join the celebration, please use the following link: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalFolkArt

 

About the Museum of International Folk Art
The Museum of International Folk Art is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Regents for the Museum of New Mexico. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the International Folk Art Foundation and Museum of New Mexico Foundation. 

The mission of The Museum of International Folk Art is to shape a humane world by connecting people through creative expression and artistic traditions. The museum holds the largest collection of international folk art in the world, numbering more than 130,000 objects from more than 100 countries. 


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