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National Hispanic Cultural Center celebrates 25 years
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The National Hispanic Cultural Center will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 25, with a full day of free community programming, including music and dance performances, children’s activities, international food trucks, museum tours, workshops, a lowrider show and more.
“I’m especially excited about the entry procession that’s going to represent multiple nations across the Latin American states,” Zack Quintero, NHCC director, said. “It’ll start with an Indigenous ceremony, as well as Azteca dancers, and then we’re kind of going chronologically along the historical timeline of the Americas, going into the connection with the Iberian Peninsula, the evolution after that, and the story of resiliency and hope and the creation of different identities and cultures.”
Quintero was 10 years old when the NHCC opened in 2000, and he even performed at the opening ceremonies with the Ballet Folklórico dance company.
“Fast forward 25 years, and here I am. It’s quite surreal” Quintero said. “I came up with my family to do the opening ceremonies, and my parents were underscoring to me, alongside my grandmother, how important it is that we have this place to call home. Since then, they’ve added more buildings on the 20-acre property and grown their profile. But to be connected to the center at its origin point, and now being entrusted to protect it, together with our incredible staff, has been the honor of my work as a New Mexican.”
The day’s events will commence at 11 a.m. with guided tours of Frederico Vigil’s monumental “Mundos de Mestizaje” — one of the largest frescos in North America and a seminal cultural treasure of the center.
A parade of nations is scheduled to begin at noon, and family-friendly workshops will take place throughout the day, including face painting and sugar skull decorating.
“We’ll also have marigold workshops, so people can make their Día de los Muertos items for their ofrendas,” Quintero said.
Chuy Martinez, who was part of the grassroots group who first conceived of the center, will be one of the emcees at Saturday’s celebration.
“Twenty-five years ago was the opening, but the planning leading up to that took at least 10 years,” Martinez said.
The idea of a national center for Hispanic culture attracted the support of many artists and writers at that time, including Rudolfo Anaya, a giant of Chicano literature. Eventually, Martinez said, politicians got on board and helped make NHCC a reality.
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“I have seen how the center has evolved from this little concept of just having a place to celebrate Hispanic arts and Hispanic culture to having a center like this that is not just national but international,” Martinez said.
Over the years, the NHCC has not only expanded its activities but nurtured other organizations.
“One of the things that I especially like are the collaborations with so many other organizations throughout the years, that I think is very telling about the work that has been done at the center,” Martinez said. “We have housed so many different organizations and festivals. Globalquerque! was there for many years, and AfroMundo started there, too.”
Members of AfroMundo will be performing at Saturday’s event, as will flamenco dancers from Albuquerque’s renowned National Institute of Flamenco. Then, at 6 p.m., the award-winning Latin fusion band Nosotros will perform.
Quintero said NHCC’s anniversary celebration comes at a pivotal moment for the center as they hope to extend their reach nationally and internationally.
“We just announced the Smithsonian affiliate partnership, where we’re going to be able to connect with different organizations across the United States through our cultural ambassador program,” Quintero said. “So, think of a lowrider show in Nebraska, or Ballet Folklórico in New Hampshire.”
Although there are other Hispanic-serving organizations and museums in the United States, Quintero said the NHCC is unique in the scope of its activities, which span visual art, history, genealogy, language arts, education and the performing arts.
“This is the only national Hispanic cultural center in the entire United States of America, which is a tragedy if you think about it, but at the same time, it’s an immense responsibility and a point of honor for us as New Mexicans to be able to do the work that we do here,” Quintero said.
