02/21/2025
National Hispanic Cultural Center Newsletter | February 2025 – March 2025
National Hispanic Cultural Center
Perspectivas Nuevas: Featuring Cesáreo Moreno
Photo Credit: Opera Southwest
In March, the Center’s popular exhibition, Into the Hourglass: Paño Arte from the Rudy Padilla Collection, is traveling to the prestigious National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago!
With the exhibition about to make its debut to a new audience in the third-largest city in the country, NMMA Visual Arts Director Cesáreo Moreno sat down with us to discuss what makes this exhibition a fit for his museum. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: How did this partnership with the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Visual Arts team begin?
The first time I worked with the National Hispanic Cultural Center was in 2007, when we started traveling the exhibition The African Presence in Mexico. That was when I really got to see the kind of work that was being done in Albuquerque. In 2016, I curated another exhibit that we took to the National Hispanic Cultural Center. In the years between those two exhibits, we realized, both in Albuquerque and in Chicago, that our passion and the work that we were doing in the visual arts was really in line with each other.
Since then, I was invited to sit on an advisory panel for the Rudy Padilla Paño Art Collection. As the exhibition was really being born, I had a sneak peak at the artwork and the whole project, I put us, the National Museum of Mexican Art, on the list of potential venues. So right from the onset, we already knew that the exhibit was coming, and we wanted to be considered as a hosting venue up here in Chicago.
Q: What makes Into the Hourglass a fit for the National Museum of Mexican Art?
It’s a good fit for the Museum because we espouse a belief that is ‘Culturas sin Fronteras’ (Culture has no borders). So here at the museum, we collect and display artwork from Mexicans on both sides of the border. I feel that this exhibit really looks at Chicano art. It really looks at a self-taught genre of art from the Chicano movement. Certainly, a lot of the iconography that they used, and a lot of the identity politics that come out of the artwork comes from the Chicano movement. I see the exhibit as like folk art in a way: it uses a visual language that I think our visitors are going to be able to understand, they’re going to be able to read it, they’re going to be able to see a lot of themselves, or their family, or their community, in these paños.
Q: For visitors familiar with the exhibition at the Center, what can they expect to see when they visit NMMA?
It will be a smaller version of what was on display in Albuquerque. We can only fit 72 paños into our exhibition, but we’re including around 10 works from our own permanent collection that relate to the artwork, to the genre, to the themes. And then, I believe there are 8 contemporary artists who will participating in the exhibit as well. I know Eric Garcia, from Albuquerque, will be in the exhibit without a doubt. And Eric “Christo” Martinez as well. So both of those artists from the Albuquerque area will be part of the exhibit. And of course, Arthur Lopez, the Santero, one of his pieces as well. And from Chicago, we’re going to be including Maria Gaspar: she has been doing work for almost 15-20 years on the Cook County Jail, on incarceration.
We’ve traveled so many exhibits in the past, and each venue kind of makes it their own. I can’t think of one exhibit that looks exactly the same in two different venues.
Upcoming Events
Opera Southwest: Llantos 1492
February 21 & 23 | 7:30 pm Friday, 2:00 pm Sunday
Albuquerque Journal Theatre
Opera Southwest presents Adam Del Monte’s Llantos 1492. Against a musical backdrop that blends the musical traditions of flamenco and opera, the story unfolds: a rigged trial, mystical experiences, a love story, exile and ex*****on.
$29, $49, $69, $89 & $109 with discounts for groups of 8 or more, anyone 30 years old and younger and Opera for All with a WIC or EBT card.
Buy Tickets
Carnaval 2025: Veinte Años
March 1 | 7:30 pm
Albuquerque Journal Theatre
The National Hispanic Cultural Center will celebrate Veinte Años of Carnaval at the Albuquerque Journal Theatre. Carnaval 2025 will once again showcase Frank Leto and PANdemonium, along with the dancers from Odara Dance Ensemble. This year, attendees will be invited to dance to the lively rhythms of samba, salsa, calypso, and more.
$28 w/ $2 off for children 10 years old and younger, seniors and NHCC members.
Buy Tickets
Colcha Community Stitch A-long
February 25 | Domenici Education Building
9:30 am in-person, 10:30 am Zoom
Our Colcha community Workshop is open to all levels of experience in an informal setting. This workshop is instructed by Annette Gutierrez-Turk, who will demonstrate as well as answer questions.
Free Community Event. Thank you to the Sandia Mountains-EGA for their continued support of this program.
Register Here
Reflexiones y Realidades: Artist Reflections & Dialogue on the Border
February 28 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Wells Fargo Auditorium
Film Screening, Poetry and Conversations featuring: Ray Santisteban, Marcial Delgado, Laura E. Belmonte, Levi Romero, Demetria Martinez, Kristin Patton, Savannah Rodriguiez, Scarlette Cortez, Zahra Marwan & Michelle Otero.
Free Community Event.
Free Tickets
¡Vamos!
March 1 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Domenici Education Building
Vamos to the National Hispanic Cultural Center on the first Saturday of the month for vibrant monthly family workshops that provide immersive experiences exploring Visual Arts, Performing Arts and History and Literary Arts.
Free Community Event, $5 donations are encouraged to support the program & purchase supplies.
Register Now
Happy Arte Hour
March 6 | 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Domenici Education Building
Happy Arte Hour is back for another year of artistic fun in a relaxed social setting! This is a great opportunity for friends to hang out, a unique date night option, or a place to come solo and connect with fellow art enthusiasts. Drinks and snacks will be available to purchase.
Free Community Event. Donations are encouraged to support the artists & purchase supplies.
Register Here
Arte para chiquitos
March 11 | 10:00 - 10:45 am
Domenici Education Building
Join us for this free, monthly, 45-minute program for babies and toddlers ages 0 months to 4 years and their caregivers that cultivates creativity and self-expression through the exploration of Hispanic/Latine arts and culture.
Free Community Event, generously supported by NM Gas.
Free Tickets
Stitch Night
March 12 | 5:00 – 7:00 pm
HLA Conference Room
Stitch socially with us on the second Wednesday of the Month! Bring whatever knitting, crocheting, weaving, or cross stitch, or fiber art projects you’re working on, and join the conversation with your fellow crafters for an informal craft get-together.
Free Community Event.
Reserve your Spot
Genealogy Workshops
March 15 | 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Salón Ortega
Explore your cultural heritage at the NHCC with a free genealogy workshop as part of our Siempre Creativo program! These workshops will provide participating seniors with an opportunity to learn about the descendants of a person, their family, or evolution from an ancestor.
Free Community Event, generously supported by AARP New Mexico.
Register Here
Mundos de Mestizaje:
Torreón Tour
The National Hispanic Cultural Center offers a guided tour of the Mundos de Mestizaje fresco by Frederico Vigil twice a week, Thursdays and Fridays at 11 am. Located in the Torreón on the NHCC Campus, Mundos de Mestizaje depicts thousands of years of Hispanic culture, history, and identity.
Admission for the tour is $2 and tickets are available for advance purchase below. Tickets can also be purchased in the New Mexico Mutual Welcome Center, depending on availability. The capacity for each tour is limited.
Buy Tickets
Free Student Performances at NHCC
The Center invites Albuquerque students to attend special free matinee performances for a pair of upcoming Performing Arts shows! NHCC requires one chaperone or school staff member for every 15 students at school performances. Limited bus funding for free performances and behind the scenes experiences available — please contact [email protected] for availability and info. These performances are NOT open to the public.
Student Matinee- Carnaval 2025: Veinte Años
February 28 | 10:00 am
Albuquerque Journal Theatre
This vibrant production takes the audience on a journey to four iconic Carnaval destinations—Brazil, Trinidad, Cuba, and New Orleans—immersing them in the music, dance, costumes, and cultures of each region.
Student Matinee- Lion Island: Cuba’s Warrior of Words
April 11 | 10:00 am
Bank of America Theatre
Set in 1870s Cuba, this powerful story delves into the complexities of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and national identities. Through dynamic elements of dance, puppetry, and music, the play explores the historical forces—diaspora, colonialism, immigration, and the transatlantic slave trade—that have shaped Hispanic/Latine identity.
Mark Your Calendar
Theatre: Lion Island: Cuba’s Warrior of Words
April 3 - 13 | Wells Fargo Auditorium
7:30 pm Fridays & Saturdays
2:00 pm Sundays
*Thursday, April 3rd at 7:30 pm is a special preview/community night
Set in 1870s Cuba, this powerful story delves into the complexities of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and national identities. Through dynamic elements of dance, puppetry, and music, the play explores the historical forces—diaspora, colonialism, immigration, and the transatlantic slave trade—that have shaped Hispanic/Latine identity.
Send a message to learn more
