the National Hispanic Cultural Center of - Albuquerque Journal

A Special Supplement ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Welcome to the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico
ARTIST’S VISION: An artist’s rendering shows Phase I of the
National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico, scheduled to
open Saturday with a grand party, dignitaries and plenty of entertainment.
Phase I also includes the renovated Works Progress
Administration-era River View Elementary School, at right.

DAVID STEINBERG
urnal Staff Writer
he National Hispanic
Cultural Center of New
Mexico is throwing a party
r its grand opening, and the pubis
invited.
The party is so big that it will be
apped around two days —
turday, Oct. 21, and Sunday, Oct.
.
Festivities begin with a parade
d conclude with a concert by the
Los Angeles-based band Los Lobos.
The people of New Mexico aren’t
the only ones invited. Some special
people have received written invitations.
“We’ve invited the president and
vice president of the United States.
We’ve also invited representatives
from 21 countries,” said Gene
Henley, the center’s deputy director.
“A few have said they’re coming,
but we don’t know yet which
ones, though Spain is sending its
ambassador and the Crown Prince
of Asturias, the son of King Juan
Carlos.”
A parade starts at 8 a.m.
Saturday. Henley said it forms at
Fourth and Silver SW and moves
south on Fourth to the Cultural
Center at Fourth and Bridge SW.
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Henley was uncertain about who
the parade participants will be, but
this he knew: “There will be a color
guard. One thing we’re working on
is to have like the Olympics has
with the flags of the countries. We
want to have the flags of the 101
cities of New Mexico,” he said.
As of mid-September, he said,
about 30 percent of the cities
reported they would come.
Following the parade, two hours
of opening ceremonies begin at 10
a.m. with a variety of dignitaries.
Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
will give an opening prayer. Other
speakers will include
Albuquerque’s Edward Romero,
the U.S. ambassador to Spain; Sens.
Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Jeff
Bingaman, D-N.M.; and Gov. Gary
Johnson.
The ceremonies will culminate
with the official ribbon-cutting for
the center.
Then at 1 p.m. things will loosen
up.
Three art exhibits and the gift
shop will open.
At the same time, a broad range
of entertainment commences on
three stages — the Music Stage,
the Dance Stage and a “Carpa
Show.”
On the Music Stage, Cipriano
Vigil and Los Folkloristas de Nuevo
México are the first group to play.
Later in the day, Los Blue Ventures
de Louis Sanchez, Cuicani and
Tobias Rene will perform.
The Dance Stage will open with
an ensemble from Ciudad Obregón,
Mexico, followed by international
Sunday, October 15, 2000
rand opening a two-day party of music, art, dance
aturday parade kicks
ff festivities that include
ignitaries from around
e globe
CHEDULE OF EVENTS
vent-packed
eekend
re is the schedule of events for
e grand opening of the National
spanic Cultural Center of New
exico. Events conclude at 5:40
m. Saturday and 5:15 p.m.
nday.
ATURDAY, OCT. 21
9:45 a.m. Parade. Starts on
urth and Silver SW and heads
uth on Fourth SW and disperses
yond the center on Bridge at
eno Foods, which is about 500
rds from the center.
a.m.-noon. Grand-opening ribn-cutting
ceremonies. Gov. Gary
hnson will give welcoming
dress. The Prince of Spain and
her dignitaries will give brief
lks. Ribbon-cutting. Mariachis
ll play “Las Mañanitas de Nuevo
éxico.” Many city and county offils
from around New Mexico are
pected to attend.
p.m. Four art exhibits — “Nuevo
éxico Profundo,” “La Luz,”
arelas a Través de los Años”
d the art of Edward Gonzales
d Patricino Barela — open to
e public in Intel Visual Arts and
chnology Building. La Tiendita
t shop will be open.
p.m. Research and Literary Arts
ilding opens to public
RFORMING ARTS
usic Stage
p.m. Cipriano Vigil and Los
lkloristas de Nuevo México
20 p.m. Los Blue Ventures de
uis Sanchez
40 p.m. Cuicani
p.m. Tobias Rene
nce Stage
40 p.m. Rog Lop, ensemble from
udad Obregón, Mexico
p.m. Ehecatl Aztec Dancers perrming
ritual dances of ancient
Mexico
4:20 p.m. Expresiones Dance
Legacy of Barelas
Carpa Show
1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Circo
Hermanos Ortiz
Children’s Area
1 p.m. Craft activities and facepainting,
fun jumps, ¡Explora! art
ark, Biopark/Zoo Van, exotics of
the rain forest
3 p.m. Drumfest
SUNDAY, OCT. 22
Noon Four art exhibits — “Nuevo
México Profundo,” “La Luz,”
“Barelas a través de los años”
and the art of Edward Gonzales
and Patricino Barela — open to
the public in Intel Visual Arts and
Technology Building. La Tiendita
gift shop will be open.
Noon Research and Literary Arts
Building opens to public
PERFORMING ARTS
Music Stage
Noon Ivón Ulibarri and Cafe Mocha
1:20 p.m. Red Earth
2:40 p.m. Al Hurricane and Al
Hurricane Jr.
4 p.m. Los Lobos
Dance Stage
12:40 p.m. Odora Dance Company
2 p.m. Ballet Folklorico de la Tierra
del Encanto, Las Cruces
3:20 p.m. Alma Flamenca
Carpa Show
12:30 p.m. Circo Hermanos Ortiz
CHILDREN’S AREA
COURTESY PHOTO
HISPANIC HEADLINERS: Los Angeles band Los Lobos will headline
opening weekend festivities at the National Hispanic Cultural Center
of New Mexico.
Noon Craft activities and facepainting,
fun jumps, ¡Explora! art
ark, biopark/zoo van, Clan Tynker,
Talking Talons, stortelling
2 p.m. Drumfest and Clan Tynker
The center plans ample parking for
visitors located within two to three
minutes shuttle bus distance. No
specific locations were available at
press time.
dances, the Ehecatl Aztec Dancers
and Expresiones Dance Legacy of
the Barelas neighborhood.
The Carpa Show features the
family circus Circo Hermanos
Ortiz for two performances
Saturday afternoon.
The entertainment resumes at
noon Sunday, which also is the time
the art exhibits reopen for public
viewing.
Among the groups on the Music
Stage are Ivón Ulibarri and Cafe
Mocha, Al Hurricane and Al
Hurricane Jr.
The Dance Stage will have,
among others, Odora Dance
Company, Ballet Folklorico de la
Tierra del Encanto de Las Cruces
and Alma Flamenca.
Los Lobos conclude the
festivities with a concert at 4 p.m.
INDEX
From dream to reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
People who made it happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Architect worked seven years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Center layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Fund-raising on its way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
A place for artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Barelas rich in history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
‘A COMMUNITY
CAME ALIVE’
From English-only schools to WWII escapes to a dearth of artistic venues,
tribulations and group effort made the new cultural center happen
It was, in fact, this convergence
of individual and collective
experiences that created
the conviction and drive necessary
to plan and build the center.
For Edward Lujan, chairman
of the cultural center’s board of
directors, the spur was the
experience of being discouraged
from speaking Spanish, his
first language, in school.
“It became, unfortunately,
kind of a stigma on being able
to speak Spanish and have an
accent,” Lujan said.
For Lujan’s generation of parents
the priority became
English, and children could
learn Spanish later.
“What happened is by the
time they learned English, and
we tried to teach them Spanish,
they didn’t need it,” he said.
“The pitiful part is now that my
grandchildren can’t even under-
BY ANTHONY DELLAFLORA
Journal Staff Writer
Long before the National Hispanic
Cultural Center was even a concept,
the seeds were incubating
everywhere — in a German prisoner-of-war
camp, in New Mexico classrooms and in the
hearts of Hispanic artists and musicians.
stand (Spanish), because my
children don’t speak it at all.”
Lujan believes language is
one of the integral parts of a
culture, along with food and
music.
“If you lose any one of those,
you’ve lost a lot of your culture,”
Lujan said, adding he has
always regretted not teaching
his children Spanish first.
“I feel very guilty. It wasn’t
done with malice. But I made a
mistake,” he said.
“We all went through that
experience … in school,” said
Edward Romero, current U.S.
ambassador to Spain and a cofounder
of the Hispanic Culture
Foundation.
“They would ask us to speak
American, and American, of
course, was English, and those
of us that had generations and
See GROUP on PAGE 4
ROSE PALMISANO/JOURNAL
STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Edward Lujan, chairman of the
board of the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico, on
the steps of the center’s Intel Visual Arts and Technology Building.
For Lujan, the seeds of the center were planted when he was discouraged
from speaking Spanish, his first language, in school.
JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL
HOME OF A CULTURE: The Mayan-influenced architecture of the Intel Visual Arts and Technology
Building is viewed through a window of the old, renovated schoolhouse that forms part of the core
of the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico.
3

oup effort made
ew center happen
m PAGE 3
nturies of being … what we
ought was an important part of
erican heritage were being told
at we weren’t,” Romero said.
“I think that’s one of the reasons
y something like this is so
portant.”
The late Arturo Ortega was the
her co-founder of the Hispanic
lture Foundation, an organizan
formed in 1983.
Ortega’s son, Daniel, said there
re many reasons his father wantto
preserve Hispanic culture,
t a key one
ay have
curred during
orld War II.
The senior
tega became
erman priser
of war in
43 after his Bwas
shot
wn.
While in the
ison library,
tega, whose
st language
s Spanish,
scovered a
ARMENTA:
Board member
helped lobby for
center
anish newspaper published for
rm workers sent by Gen.
ancisco Franco to Germany to
the war effort of the Axis.
He concocted a plan with an
glo officer from San Antonio to
se as Spanish farm workers
ould they escape.
Two years later, Ortega said, the
portunity came during a forced
arch.
Using Spanish and German he
d learned in college, the elder
tega and his partner successfully
ade their way across the German
untryside to the American lines.
“The importance of bilingualism
multilingualism and the impornce
of being bicultural or multiltural
really was seared into my
ther’s character,” Ortega said.
Artist Bernadette Rodriguez said
e inspiration for a center hit upon
r return to Albuquerque in 1979
ter a year in Mexico City.
“I brought back crates of paintgs
and drawings with me, and my
ther said ‘My God, you need a
ace to display these. There’s
thing here in Albuquerque,’ ’’
driguez recalled. “I remember
iving down Central looking in
refronts with him for a place.”
At the time there were few
portunities for Hispanic artists
New Mexico, Rodriguez said.
“Across the board, everyone had
eir horror stories. ‘Well, I didn’t
t in. I think it’s because of this.’
hey didn’t call me back after my
dition, I think it’s because of that
my last name, or the way I look
the way I speak English,’ ’’
driguez said. “We all felt that.”
It was through the efforts of
driguez, Francisco LeFebre and
her Hispanic artists that the
ovement toward creating a culral
center began to become conete
in the late 1970s and early
80s.
“There were three or four differ-
ent waves of movement for the cultural
center,” said Linda Valencia
Martinez, who served on a cultural
center advisory committee under
Mayor Ken Schultz.
“The first wave was really the
artists. It was their dream and
vision to have something like a cultural
center, and these were the
real movers.”
From there, leaders in such entities
as the Albuquerque Hispano
Chamber of Commerce, the
Hispanic Culture Foundation, the
state Office of Cultural Affairs, the
state Legislature and the city of
Albuquerque moved the dream to
reality.
“There was lots and lots of help. I
think the story has to be that it wasn’t
any one (person),” Lujan said.
“To me, the story is a community
came alive. Obviously there are
lots of people who took on the
cause, but they took it on because
there were a lot of people talking
about it, there were a lot of people
working on it, there was a lot of
moral support for doing it. You
weren’t out there just by yourself.”
Said Loretta Armenta, a current
center board member who helped
revive the movement in the early
1990s, “It became the one vehicle
that we could all work on collectively
to be able to bring together
some of the wonderful contributions
that had been made in New
Mexico over many hundreds of
years, and to be able not only to
showcase it, but to preserve it.”
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Sunday, October 15, 2000

BY ANTHONY DELLAFLORA
AND WREN PROPP
Journal Staff Writers
Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Decades of determination turned dream into reality
Grass-roots organizing and lots of lobbying got the project off the ground — and the work’s not over yet
Arecitation of the groups and
individuals responsible for the
creation of the National
Hispanic Cultural Center from
inception to completion could go on like
an acceptance speech at the Academy
Awards.
It took efforts ranging from
grassroots organizing by the arts
community to political dealing at the
highest levels of government to
accomplish the feat.
The one belief uniting everyone was
that the center was absolutely
necessary to preserve the legacy of
Hispanic art and culture.
By most accounts, the movement to
get a cultural center began to coalesce
in the late 1970s and early 1980s with a
loosely knit group of local artists and
musicians.
“Among the artists there was a great
frustration that they actually did not
have a showcase to be able to exhibit
their art,” said cultural center board
member Loretta Armenta.
Artists Bernadette Rodriguez,
Francisco LeFebre, Irene Oliver Lewis,
and musicians Jesús “Chuy” Martinez
and Lenore Armijo were some of the
members of what eventually became El
Centro Cultural de Nuevo México.
The group rallied local artists, pitched
legislators and promoted the idea of a
center.
“We didn’t know that at the same
time, (state Rep.) Al Otero was doing
the same thing,” Rodriguez said. The
group joined forces with Otero in about
1985, and by 1986 the Barelas native
was able to convince the state
Legislature to authorize a feasibility
study.
PAUL BEARCE/JOURNAL
WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN: Alex Griego looks over the site for Phase II of the
National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico. Griego, who comes from the
original family for whom the Griegos neighborhood is named, is project manager
for Phase II of the project.
The following year the Legislature
appropriated $74,000 for the study.
A parallel track of support for
preserving Hispanic culture had also
begun in the early 1980s in the
Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of
Commerce, then under the leadership of
Millie Santillanes.
The chamber and city of Albuquerque
worked together to organize the annual
Feria Artesana event as a way of
promoting Hispanic artists and writers.
The chamber efforts led to the
formation of the Hispanic Culture
Foundation, founded in 1983 by
attorney Arturo Ortega and
businessman Edward Romero, said
Edward Lujan, current center board
chairman.
“I think we have a very unique
history and … I think a lot of people
were wondering how this would be
preserved, and Arturo took the bull by
the horns and came up with the idea of
the foundation,” Romero said.
The foundation concentrated on
raising money to promote Hispanic art
and culture. Romero said building a
center was not necessarily a priority,
but the organization did keep Hispanic
culture in the public eye and created
the blueprint for the cultural center’s
programming. (In 1997, the foundation
became the official fund-raising arm
for the center.)
In 1988, Otero pushed a bill through
the state Legislature for $200,000 to
begin a site selection process. The city
of Albuquerque matched the amount.
Lujan, a former state Republican
Party chair, said Democrats and
Republicans alike supported spending
state taxpayers’ money on the project,
with Sen. Manny Aragon, D-
Albuquerque, leading the charge.
See TURNING on PAGE 6
ROMERO: “We
have a very
unique history”
5
ORTEGA:
Co-founded
Hispanic Culture
Foundation

“The reason for the center is that
w Mexico is the mother of
spanic culture,” Lujan said.
hat’s where it belongs, and the
gislature saw that.”
In 1989, state Sen. Michael Alarid
Albuquerque sponsored
islation for construction. The
te Legislature approved
10,000. That same year, the
buquerque City Council
thorized a Hispanic Cultural
nter Advisory Committee.
ayor Ken Schultz appointed the
-member board.
Still, progress was slow.
“Nobody was listening to us, and
was very frustrating,” said Linda
lencia Martinez, who chaired the
visory committee. “We didn’t
ve a real political base, and
at’s what I was trying to work
ward.”
The committee dissolved in 1990.
ty Councilor Alan Armijo began
ing to revive it in 1991. That
me year, Mayor Louis Saavedra
proached the Hispano Chamber
Commerce to lobby for the
nter.
“By 1991, it was a project of
bers,” said Armenta, who was
red by the chamber specifically
spearhead the effort. “It wasn’t
owing. It wasn’t going
ywhere.”
The contract with the city was
proved the following year, and
menta went to work.
“I have to give credit to Loretta,”
lencia Martinez said. “It was
ally Loretta that turned it
ound. I make no bones about
ying that to people because she
ally was the catalyst.”
Armenta met Ron Vigil, then
puty director of the state Office
Cultural Affairs. Vigil spoke to
e chamber and convinced
embers that the best option
uld be to let the office oversee
e center.
Momentum began building in the
te Legislature. In 1993, Aragon
t a bill passed creating the
spanic Culture Division within
e state office.
The division oversees the center.
That same year, state Sen.
artin Chávez introduced a bill
eking $1.5 million for design and
d acquisition. The Legislature
proved about $500,000.
Both measures were approved by
en-Gov. Bruce King.
Later that year, Antoine Predock
s chosen as architect for the
nter, and a programming
mmittee was formed.
Initially the center was planned
r a different location, one near
mas and Interstate 25. But
ighbors there weren’t anxious to
st the center or the new federal
urthouse, which also was eyeing
e site.
In 1994, Aragon and other
buquerque legislators pushed for
8 million for construction. The
islature approved $12 million,
t it proved to be the event that
t the project over the hump.
The measure required that the
nter be built in southwest
buquerque. Of four sites
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
considered for the center, the only
one in southwest Albuquerque was
in Barelas.
With now-Mayor Chávez at the
helm, the city agreed to donate 12
acres of city property, valued at
$4 million to $6 million at Bridge
and Fourth SW, which a study had
determined as the best site.
King, running for re-election,
disagreed with the $38 million
appropriation. Still a supporter of
the center and its price tag, King
wanted the center to take smaller
bites from state funds over a
longer time, a spokesman said at
the time.
Ultimately in 1994, the
Legislature approved and King
signed a $12 million appropriation
for the center’s land purchase and
construction in Barelas. In
September 1994, King appointed 14
members of a 15-member board to
oversee the center.
But King lost his re-election bid
to newcomer Gary Johnson, a
Republican, in November. The
going got steeper in 1995 when
Johnson announced he would not
support the center and would turn
over responsibility for it to the
city.
The Legislature grew tense early
in 1995’s 60-day session as the new
Republican governor took office
above a House and Senate
controlled by a Democratic
majority.
Johnson inadvertently entered a
legislative fray over perceived
racism when a comment the
governor made about young people
and crime was taken by some as a
slam against Hispanic lowriders.
Some of the tension swirled
around Aragon’s 1995
appropriation proposal of $18
million for the center’s
construction.
“There were serious battles,
questions like ‘Why do we need the
Hispanic Cultural Center?’ ’’
Aragon said recently.
Sunday, October 15, 2000
URNING DREAM INTO REALITY
om PAGE 5
LOFTY GOALS: Jeff Steele and Earl Eckerson of Horizon Steel Erectors
weld the arched frame for the entrance to the Intel Visual Arts and
Technology Building on the campus of the cultural center.
LAWMAKERS’ EFFORTS: Sen. Manny Aragon, D-Albuquerque, and Sen.
Pete Domenici, R-N.M., shown here at the Feb. 13, 1999, groundbreaking
of the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico, lobbied for
state and federal funding for the center.
JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL
A PLACE TO LEARN: The historic River View Elementary School is now the Research and Literary Arts
Building of the cultural center.
But after meeting with
representatives of the Hispano
Chamber of Commerce and the
Hispanic Culture Foundation,
including Lujan, Johnson relented.
He eventually approved $3 million
appropriated by the Legislature
and reappointed a new board.
About this time, the project was
garnering extreme interest from
the state’s congressional
delegation. At a Hispanic Culture
Foundation gala in 1996, Sen. Pete
Domenici pledged to get federal
funds for the center.
“When Pete got up, he said that
this really needed to be the
national center and there should be
some federal dollars in there,”
recalled Lujan.
Domenici and Sen. Jeff
Bingaman worked both sides of the
aisle and by December 1997, they’d
convinced Congress and President
Clinton to authorize $17.8 million
for construction.
To date, more than $13 million
has actually been appropriated.
A few other appropriations for
land acquisition and construction
dribbled out of the Legislature and
the governor’s office between 1996
and 2000. By 2000, state
appropriations were up to $18
million.
In 1997 the Legislature approved
a measure, which Johnson signed,
to give the New Mexico Hispanic
Cultural Center a name change.
They dropped “New Mexico” from
the front and added “National.”
Lujan said Johnson takes a “bum
rap” when critics characterize him
as against the center.
Asked how he convinced the
governor to change his mind, Lujan
said he and other board members
explained the center’s genesis.
In 1998, the Hispanic Culture
Foundation launched a $20 million
fund-raising drive to supplement
construction funds and create a
$10 million endowment.
By February 1999,
groundbreaking had begun.
“I was by the cultural center the
other day,” said Armenta. “I sort of
got this lump in my throat, and I
just looked back to the early ’90s
and I thought, who would have ever
thought that people coming
together could make something so
wonderful like that happen?”
Following the 2000 special
legislative session, Johnson signed
off on a list of general obligation
bonds for voters’ approval on Nov.
7. The list includes $2.3 million in
general obligation bonds for land
purchase and parking for the
center.
Supporters will be coming back
to the Legislature during the 2001
legislative session, which begins in
January, for more construction
funds, Lujan said.
But first he wants New Mexico,
including legislators, to get a good,
long look at the center, which he
described as “not just for
Hispanics.”
Almost $20 million is needed to
complete it, he said. Lujan was not
willing to say how much supporters
will ask for.
“I usually go for the moon, but
we haven’t decided yet,” he said.

Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Varied backgrounds, wealth of experience
Meet some key people
who make up the
center’s foundation,
board and staff
BY DAVID STEINBERG
Journal Staff Writer
The foundation, board and
staff of the National
Hispanic Cultural Center
of New Mexico reflects a
rainbow of experiences, backgrounds
and abilities.
Edward Lujan, the chairman of
the center’s board of directors,
said five board seats come from
each of the state’s three
congressional districts.
The center’s board of directors
oversees programming, while the
foundation’s board is directing the
people in charge of fund-raising
for the center, Lujan said.
Executive Director Eugene
Matta, who said he still is building
his staff, said the center is
intended to be unique in the world.
“I don’t believe there is a center
anywhere which is being built to
celebrate, promote and educate
about a particular culture that has
had such an influence in so many
parts of the world,” Matta said.
Here is a look at some of the
people who have been instrumental
in getting the center going:
Hispanic Culture
Foundation
Mary Peña-Noskin, chairwoman
Noskin was born and reared in
Old Town, Albuquerque. She has
been involved professionally in
television broadcasting for more
than 25 years.
She produced
and hosted the
award-winning
“Ya Es
Tiempo,” New
Mexico’s first
program on
network TV
dealing with
issues
concerning
women and PEÑA-NOSKIN
minorities.
Noskin has served as public
affairs specialist for the U.S.
Department of Interior’s Bureau of
Reclamation.
She is a member of a number of
professional organizations,
including New Mexico Press
Women, National Association of
Broadcasters and American
Women in Radio & Television. Her
civic affiliations include
Albuquerque Committee on
Foreign Relations, Women Against
Cancer and Las Mujeres.
Eliu E. Romero, president
Romero, an attorney, is a
member of the New Mexico Bar
Association for Revision of the
Probate Code and has been
honored by the
New Mexico
Supreme Court
for Outstanding
Service to the
Judiciary.
He was coorganizer
and
general counsel
of the New
Mexico Federal
Savings and
Loan
Association. He
is chairman of the board of
Centinel Bank of Taos and a board
member of the Bank of Santa Fe
and the American Bankers
Association’s Committee on
Minority Banking.
Alex O. Romero, trustee
A native of
Ranchos de
Taos, Romero is
an executive
vice president
of Bank of
America.
He serves as
commission
member and
vice chairman
of the
Albuquerque
E. ROMERO
A. ROMERO
Development Commission, is a
faculty member of the BMA School
of the Bank Marketing Association
and a board member of the St. Pius
High School Foundation.
Demesia Padilla, secretary
A certified public accountant,
Padilla was a
senior
accountant for
the firm of
Deloitte,
Haskins & Sells
in Las Vegas,
Nev., a revenue
agent with the
Internal
Revenue
Service in
Albuquerque PADILLA
and later
established her own public
accounting business.
Padilla served as fiesta
chairperson for the Church of the
Ascension, was an event volunteer
with the Albuquerque Hispano
Chamber of Commerce and was a
member of the Latin Chamber of
Commerce in Las Vegas, Nev.
Francisco Figueroa, treasurer
Figueroa is the vice president
and chief financial officer at
Sandia National Labs. He also has
held the post of vice president and
chief financial officer for the
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems
in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
He is a member of the American
Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, the Financial
7
Executives Institute, the National
Contract Management Association,
the National Property Management
Association and the Society of Cost
Estimating and Analysis.
The honorary president of the
foundation board is His Royal
Highness, the Prince of Asturias,
Don Felipe de Borbón, of Spain.
Cultural Center
Board of Directors
Edward Lujan, chairman
Lujan, a Santa Fe native, also is
chairman of the New Mexico
Economic Development
Commission. He is a member of
the Governor’s Business Advisory
Council and the New Mexico
Governmental Ethics Oversight
Committee and a board member of
the Albuquerque Economic Forum.
He also serves as a board
director of Norwest Bank New
Mexico and as a board member of
the Robert O. Anderson Schools of
Management Foundation, the
University of New Mexico
Foundation and the Albuquerque
TVI Foundation.
Lujan is a former chairman of
the New Mexico Republican Party
and of the Republican National
Hispanic Assembly, Blue Ribbon
Task Force.
See VARIED on PAGE 8

Herbert Fernandez, treasurer
Fernandez is vice president for
stitutional development at the
w Mexico Institute of Mining
d Technology in Socorro. He
me to Tech nine years ago as a
nsultant in high explosives. After
e year he organized and later
rected the school’s Energetic
aterials Research and Test
nter. Previously, Fernandez had
aded the Nuclear Systems
vision at the Weapons
boratory at Kirtland Air Force
se.
Matt Martinez, secretary
Martinez is in his 11th year as
ayor of Las Vegas, N.M., and also
rks as a victims’ advocate for
e District Attorney’s Office in
s Vegas. Martinez has served as
unty assessor of San Miguel
unty, was a member of former
v. Garry Carruthers’ Business
visory Board and was on the
te Human Rights Commission
der former Gov. Bruce King.
Abelicio “Abe” M. Peña,
-chairman
Peña, a Grants resident, is the
thor of the collection “Memories
Cibola,
ories from
w Mexico
llages.” The
ok is in its
ird printing.
rn in San
ateo, Peña
s reared on a
eep ranch.
received a
gree in
imal science
om New
exico State University then went
Australia under a Fulbright
holarship to study sheep and
ol production. He later worked
r Frank A. Hubbell Co. then
anaged his father’s ranch, which
now a family corporation, P & P
ña Ranch Inc., of which he is
cretary-treasurer. Peña also
rved as an administrator for the
S. government in Latin America.
directed the Peace Corps in
nduras in 1972-74, then directed
in Costa Rica 1974-76. Peña then
rected the U.S. Agency for
ternational Development in
raguay and Bolivia.
Board members come from a
de variety of backgrounds and
ofessions. Here’s a sampling:
Loretta Armenta, member
Armenta is the president/CEO of
e Albuquerque Hispano Chamber
of Commerce. She has been an
administrator with the chamber
since 1992. Armenta started as
director of the chamber’s Special
Projects/Cultural Office, then
moved up to vice president, then
interim president. She has been in
her current post since August 1997.
Previously, Armenta was a special
agent for Prudential Financial
Services, the owner/operator of
Snow Goose Gift Baskets, an
account executive at a local radio
station and was executive director
and state director of the New
Mexico March of Dimes.
Ana Pacheco, member
Pacheco, of Santa Fe, is the
founder,
publisher and
editor of La
Herencia
magazine. She
started the
magazine in
1994 after
spending 15
years in the
publishing
business in
New York City.
The magazine
recently published a special issue
devoted to the opening of the
National Hispanic Cultural Center.
In New York, Pacheco worked
for a series of Hispanic, financial
and general-interest magazines.
Pacheco also hosts a weekly radio
show called “Herencia” that is
aired on KOB-AM, KOB-FM and
KHTL-AM every Sunday. She was
a theater major at the College of
Santa Fe.
Hector Pineda, member
Pineda is the municipal judge of
Roswell. Appointed to the bench in
1996, he is serving a four-year
elected term. A native of Arecibo,
Puerto Rico, he came to Roswell as
chief Reserved Officer Training
Corps instructor at New Mexico
Military Institute. He retired from
the U.S. Army as a sergeant major
after 28 years. Pineda is a board
member of the Camp Sierra School
for Boys in Fort Stanton.
Canuto “Newt” Sanchez, member
Sanchez is a longtime Santa Rosa
businessman. He has owned a
service station, a motel and is
currently the owner of the Dairy
Queen. Sanchez received a
bachelor’s degree in agriculture
from New Mexico State University
and attended the University of
Nevada at Reno and the University
of the Americas in Mexico City.
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
aried backgrounds, wealth of experience
om PAGE 7
PEÑA
PACHECO
Bernardo Gallegos, member
Bernardo “Bennie” Gallegos was
born and reared in Barelas, where
he still resides. He has served on
the State Fair Commission, on the
state Human Rights Commission
and has been a delegate to four
national Republican conventions,
including the most recent one in
Philadelphia. Gallegos retired from
Sandia Labs after 35 years as a
purchasing analyst.
Sharon Richards, member
Sharon Richards has owned and
operated Earl’s Restaurant in
Gallup for 26 years. She was a city
councilor for five years and a
McKinley County commissioner
for four years. Richards has been
on the New Mexico Restaurant
Board for 25 years and was on the
Friendship Services board that
started the first alcohol
rehabilitation facility in Gallup.
Cultural Center
Staff Members
Eugene Matta, executive director
Matta, a native of Santiago, Chile,
attended Vanderbilt University and
Fordham University’s graduate
business school.
Subsequently, he was with the
New York State Agency on the
Arts for 11 years. Then he worked
for the U.S. Information Agency
giving seminars to artists in Latin
America on issues of special
importance to them, such as fund
raising and managing arts
organizations.
Matta then spent six years
working for the City Center in New
York as director of government
relations and capital planning,
followed by a three-year stint as an
administrator and adjunct
professor at City University of
New York.
Gene Henley, deputy director
Henley manages the center’s
administration — operations and
finances. He worked more than six
years for the state Licensing
Division.
“Gene knows procurement law in
New Mexico, nationally and
internationally,” Matta said.
Helen Lucero, director of the
Visual Arts Program
Lucero just completed a two-year
stint at the Smithsonian Institution,
where she was co-curator of the
new traveling
exhibition
“Arte Latino.”
Before that,
she taught a
class at the
University of
New Mexico
called A Survey
of Hispanic
Arts and
Culture and
worked as a LUCERO
curator at the
UNM Art Museum.
Lucero also worked for nine
years at the Museum of
International Folk Art in Santa Fe,
where she was co-director of the
Hispanic Heritage Wing.
Reeve Love, director of the
Performing Arts Program
Love is developing an
international roster of performing
Sunday, October 15, 2000
artists who represent Hispanic
culture and is supervising booking,
public performances and
educational programs for the
cultural center. She also writes
grant proposals for programming
in theater, music and dance.
Love has had a varied
professional background. Among
her positions were programs
coordinator for the Hispanic
Culture Foundation, executive
director of Common Thread
Educational Resources Foundation
in Española and education
consultant to the Intercultural
Development Research Association
of San Antonio, Texas.
Carlos Vasquez, director of
research and literary arts
A native of Chimayó who was
reared in Santa Fe, Vasquez
received a bachelor’s degree with
honors in political science from the
University of California-Los
Angeles and a master’s degree
from Stanford University. He was
a contributing editor of “Aztlán:
International Journal of Chicano
Studies” for eight years and edited
two bilingual newspapers in Los
Angeles — Sin Fronteras and El
Foro del Pueblo.
Vasquez taught at UC Berkeley,
Cal State-Los Angeles, Loyola
Marymount and UCLA. At UCLA,
he directed the UCLA-California
State Government Oral History
Program. In 1991, he established
the Oral History Program at the
University of New Mexico. Over
the past seven years, Vasquez has
directed research projects dealing
with the impact of Los Alamos
National Laboratories on northern
New Mexico.

BY SCOTT SANDLIN
Journal Staff Writer
For Pedro Marquez, who
turned 40 this year, the
seven-year itch has to
do with a passion for
architecture.
That’s how long the 13th
generation New Mexican has
spent on the design of the
National Hispanic Cultural
Center of New Mexico, and it
is an understatement to say he
looks forward to its realization.
“This center is about what
we have to offer. It’s about
expressing and celebrating
cultural diversity, and this is
just one aspect of it,” Marquez
says.
But getting there was a long
and often tortured road, and
even the design process was
beleaguered by controversy.
Sometime about the end of
September 1993, Marquez
recalls, as he was about to open
his own practice in Santa Fe,
he was approached by
Albuquerque-based architect
Antoine Predock about
teaming up to seek the design
contract on the project.
The Predock-Marquez team
made the short list, along with
three other renowned
architects: Ricardo Legoretta
of Mexico, Emilio Ambasz of
Argentina and James Stewart
Polshek of New York.
“Antoine and I received the
commission, proudly beating
out all the carpetbaggers,”
says Marquez, who was born
and reared in Santa Fe and
whose “roots run deep.”
Marquez worked for Predock
for two years before attending
and after finishing graduate
school, and his master’s thesis
project was the Hispanic
Cultural Center.
When the design process
started, the center was planned
for a different site, one near
Lomas and Interstate 25.
But both that project and the
new federal courthouse, which
at one time targeted the same
site, were “ousted by the
Martineztown neighborhood,”
Marquez says.
“Predock and I did a
beautiful design for that site,”
he says. “We ended up having
to throw all that away and start
all over again with the new
site.”
Predock and Marquez “rolled
up our sleeves,” took the same
wish list of needs for the
center and trimmed the design
substantially to fit the much
smaller, 16-acre site on Bridge
SW.
They were told to ignore the
fact that resident Adela
Martinez didn’t want to sell her
land or move from her
childhood home.
“We knew Mrs. Martinez was
on this land, and we were told
to stay the heck out of it —
pretend like it was free and
clear,” Marquez says.
As the years went by,
Marquez says, budget
constraints again shrank the
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Sunday, October 15, 2000
EVERYTHING OLD
IS NEW AGAIN
Revamped design borrows from Spanish, Aztec, Mayan, N.M. colonial and modernist Latin architecture
building. And then Martinez,
who died earlier this year,
became a cause célebre. Gov.
Gary Johnson decided he
wouldn’t force Martinez out.
“At this point, with the state
becoming very difficult with
the architects, Predock
decided to move on,” Marquez
says.
Predock did not return a call
seeking comment.
Marquez decided he knew
more about the project than
DEV MUKH KHALSA/JOURNAL
SEVEN-YEAR PROJECT: Pedro Marquez, architect for the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New
Mexico, looks at blueprints outside the center. Marquez, who started the project with architect
Antoine Predock, has been working on it for seven years.
COURTESY PHOTO
MODEL CENTER: The cultural center complex was originally designed by architect Antoine Predock
with the assistance of Pedro Marquez, who later took over the project.
anyone else and went after the
bid on his own.
He got it under a sole-source
contract after associating with
Wayne Lloyd and the larger
Lloyd and Tryk firm in Santa
Fe, which could provide
support for Marquez’s fourperson
office.
“The first thing we had to
contend with was that Mrs.
Martinez was going to stay,
and we still wanted the
building. So we started doing
charettes, basically
brainstorming sessions where
you come up with different
design solutions.”
A design team member,
Antonio Pares, suggested
flipping the layout. That not
only worked but worked well,
Marquez says. And it allowed
the Martinez house to be
isolated between the project
and the parking lot.
Ninety-five percent of the
ideas generated in the
Predock-Marquez
collaboration are intact in the
current design, Marquez says.
The team’s inspiration was
drawn from Hispanic culture
— the Escorial and the
Alhambra in Spain, the
pyramids of the Aztec and
Mayan cultures in
Mesoamerica, the colonial
buildings in New Mexico and
modernist Latin architecture.
“The inspiration comes from
all these elements … that are
tied directly and indirectly in
some cases to the building —
from things as simple as a
courtyard to things as
wonderful and elaborate and
grand as a barrel-vault
circulation gallery that runs
the entire length of the new
building modeled after the
scale of the Escorial,” a palacemonastery
in Spain.
The theater takes its shape
from the torres of the
Mesoamerican pyramids; the
ticket-taking entry towers are
based on colonial torreons,
(fortified towers constructed
in many early Hispanic
communities as lookouts and
refuges), he says.
The center also incorporates
an existing 1930s Works
Progress Administration
school building that was
renovated by the architects.
“The skyline of this building
is inspired by the skyline of
Mesoamerica, where pyramids
rise above the jungle plain,”
Marquez says.
The “new” design with old
concepts went before the
Hispanic Cultural Center
board.
“Everybody loved it,”
Marquez says. “Mrs. Martinez
got to stay. We got our
building. The state got their
project. And off we went.”
9

on doub
docu

le truck
ent

2 UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
ith private donors
imbing on board,
undation chief says
est for cash should hit
ar-end goal of $20
illion
JOHN W. FLORES
urnal Staff Writer
he race to generate cash
for construction of the
$56 million National
Hispanic Cultural Center
New Mexico remains at fullrottle
for members of
buquerque’s Hispanic Culture
undation.
“At this point, there’s a lot of
ff in the mill that I can’t tell you
bout the donors) because it’s all
oprietary,” said Edward Lujan,
o heads the foundation’s fundising
efforts.
“What I can tell you is that things
e going very well. And at this
int we do have signed commitents
of about $7.5 million,” he
id. “The other thing is we feel
irly confident that we will get to
r goal of the $20 million by the
d of the year.”
The foundation, established in
83 to preserve New Mexico’s
spanic arts and humanities, is
gaged in an effort to raise about
0 million from private sources on
international scale, said its execive
director, Teresa Trujeque.
“We are looking at statewide,
tional and international compaes,”
Trujeque said, noting that
tel, the mammoth computer-chip
anufacturer, has already donated
million.
Other identified donors include
ll Gates, who gave $200,000; and
cDonald’s Corp., which gave
00,000.
The names of many private
givers are being withheld pending
completion of the project, Lujan
said.
Groundbreaking occurred in
1999, and construction is expected
to take up to two more years.
“But we are in the final stages,”
Trujeque said.
When it is completed, the center
will be the only one of its kind in
the nation.
In July 1999, the U.S. Senate
approved the expenditure of
$1.5 million toward construction
costs of the center, located at
Fourth and Bridge SW. That fund-
ing is now available, according to
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
That pledge raises the ante from
the U.S. government. So far,
$18 million in federal funding has
been pledged for the project. The
New Mexico Legislature also has
authorized $18 million for the first
portion of the two-phase construction
effort. (Phase I has two parts.)
We “are probably going to ask
the state for more money. A good
third of the project will probably
come from private funding,”
Trujeque said.
The structure is being built by
Telstar Construction Co. of
Albuquerque.
In addition, $2.3 million for additional
parking is being sought
under a general obligation bond
issue under consideration by the
Legislature, Lujan said.
“Presently, there are 283 parking
spaces, but that won’t be enough.
We’ll have to have a lot more than
Sunday, October 15, 2000
und-raisers well on way to mission of $56 million
that by the time the construction is
completed,” Lujan said.
Loretta Armenta, , Center board
member, said the center is a godsend
for the old Barelas area as
well as for the nation.
“I think people are very ecstatic,
in terms of what this means for the
community and the nation,”
Armenta said. “It’s long overdue.”

from PAGE 10
Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
HERITAGE SQUARED
visitors and students about Hispanic art.
Archival and permanent collection space
also is included.
The spacious galleries feature lofty
ceilings and high-tech lighting.
The visual arts building also houses a
computer classroom, a photo studio and a
broadcast studio to produce local radio
and television programs for interactive
and distance learning.
In addition, the building contains the
center’s executive offices and a small gift
shop, La Tiendita, which will carry
posters, books and other items.
The research and literary arts building,
made from the old Works Progress
Administration school, contains historic
treasure in the form of books and
photographs.
The main room of the library will hold
more than 10,000 historical books and
contain tables made by local artists. A
second room will contain rare books and
will be available to scholars only. A third
room, “the listening room,” will have oral
histories on videotapes and listening
stations to view them. A publications unit
will be an outlet for authors specializing
in Hispanic themes and topics.
The genealogical research program will
give the public access to one of the
world’s largest databases for Hispanic
families. Materials include books,
pedigree charts, microfilm, CD-ROMS
and other data formats.
The research and literary arts building
also contains a 4,200- square-foot
restaurant offering Hispanic food from
around the world and a small ballroom
for special events and receptions.
The Pueblo Revival schoolhouse is
itself a historic treasure, and many
aspects have been preserved. The adobe
walls are a good two feet thick, and in all
cases the original windows, vigas and
wood flooring were kept.
The two main buildings are connected
by the Plaza Mayor, an expansive brick
plaza that will be used for outdoor events.
Plaza bricks can be “purchased” by
donors for $125 each. An enclosed 100seat
lecture hall is located on the plaza.
A 2,500-seat amphitheater, which is
part of Phase I, will be completed next
summer. Possible productions to be
staged there include operas and
symphony concerts.
Construction of Phase II is scheduled to
conclude in the summer of 2002. Phase II
includes a Performing Arts Center
dedicated to theater, dance, music and
the media and to educating the public
about Hispanic contributions to those
arts. The center will contain a 700-seat
theater/lecture hall, a 150-seat black-box
theater and a 300-seat film theater.
Phase II also includes an International
Center housing intellectual programs,
lectures and workshops. Think tanks
include The Cervantes Institute, The
Spanish Resource Center and the
Mexican Resource Center. The center
also will include a place for artists-inresidence
to stay and give workshops and
a gift shop, La Tienda, with books, art and
gifts. And it is the eventual home of the
executive offices.
Also as part of Phase II, the Culinary
Institute will be built adjacent to the
research and literary arts building. It will
house a 500-square-foot teaching kitchen
dedicated to preserving and showcasing
Hispanic foods and their methods of
preparation.
VOLUMES OF HISTORY: The library of the Research and Literary Arts Building will contain 10,000 historical books.
BRICK BY BRICK: The Plaza Mayor
is paved with bricks “purchased” by
members of the community as part
of a fund-raising campaign.
13
JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL
CHIPPING
AWAY AT
CONSTRUC-
TION:
Workers finish
the arched
portico at the
entrance to
the Intel
Visual Arts
and
Technology
Building.

4 UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
omes testament to woman,
er family, their culture
dela Martinez was
evoted to the land that
as earmarked for the
nter, and her
omestead will be the
rst thing visitors see
Y ANTHONY DELLAFLORA
urnal Staff Writer
irst-time visitors to the
National Hispanic Cultural
Center of New Mexico
might encounter a bit of
ispanic history they hadn’t counton.
On a small plot of land tucked
tween the parking lot and the
ain complex is a pair of small
een stucco homes surrounded by
wall.
It is the legacy of Adela
artinez.
Martinez, who died earlier this
ar at age 80, made history when
e stood up to supporters of the
nter, refusing to sell the land she
d lived on since age 4.
Martinez maintained that she
asn’t opposed to the preservation
the Hispanic culture; she just
dn’t want it sitting on top of her.
“I’m Hispanic. I have my culture.
was taught to me by my
refathers, by my parents. I’ve
ied to teach my family the same
ay, to respect each other. To
ow where they came from,” she
ld the Journal in an interview last
ar.
“We never needed a shrine to tell
who we were,” she said. “We
st knew.”
In a time when people move
equently and few have longtime
s to a particular place, some may
t have understood Martinez’s
legiance to her family’s
mestead, which for the last
veral years sat in isolation near
e southwest corner of Fourth and
idge SW. It was the only
survivor of an urban renewal
project that displaced the owners
of 50 other nearby homes in the
1970s.
But Martinez lived through
several cycles of birth and death
on the land.
Her parents died there. Her
husband, Ramon, died in 1985. A
son died at 12 from an attack of
appendicitis.
Until her death, Martinez shared
the land with daughter Josie
Martinez Montoya, son Lawrence
and three grandchildren, a source
of joy for her.
She lived simply. Until just
before her death, for example, she
had relied on wood to heat her
home.
Although the state of New
Mexico eventually offered her a
package of nearly $200,000 for the
property, including moving
expenses, and sent in the big guns
like then-state Tourism Director
John Garcia to negotiate with her,
she never budged.
Even as she faced potential
condemnation proceedings,
Martinez continued to speak out
defiantly.
“I don’t care for the money,” she
said. “I’m not hungry for money.
When I die, I’m not going to take
the money.”
Her intransigence left center
supporters with a problem. If she
didn’t move, the homes would sit
smack in the middle of the
complex of center buildings.
But faced with a public-relations
nightmare and serious delays to
the construction schedule, officials
declined to condemn her property.
In late 1997, the cultural center’s
board of directors voted to “flip”
the architectural design from
north to south and redesign the
center around her property.
Even as construction began
around the property, Martinez
remained unmoved.
“For this whole cultural center, I
won’t shed a tear,” she told the
JOURNAL FILE
MESTEAD SWEET HOMES: For the last several years the family
mestead of the late Adela Martinez sat in isolation near the southst
corner of Fourth and Bridge SW. It was the last remnant of an
ban renewal project that displaced the owners of 50 other nearby
mes in the 1970s.
Journal.
“I will leave it up to the Lord, and
I believe he will keep me here. The
Lord didn’t believe in people living
in fancy new houses. He didn’t say
that money could buy you your
salvation. That’s what I believe, and
that’s why I will not cry over it.”
Martinez died earlier this year.
Her family has declined to sell the
property.
Sunday, October 15, 2000
JOURNAL FILE
NOT BUDGING: The late Adela Martinez is shown in front of her Barelas
home. She had lived in the house nearly all her life and refused to sell it.

BY TRACY DINGMANN
Journal Staff Writer
Afierce-looking Comanche
dancer arrayed in traditional
feathers, leather and
some untraditional sunglasses
explodes out of the frame
at the viewer in a series of photographs
by New Mexican photographer Miguel
Gandert.
The dancer is participating in a daylong
festival that occurs each New
Year’s Day in Talpa, N.M., to honor the
feast of Los Manuelas. Those who dance
it are of mixed Indo-Hispano heritage,
or “Hispanos paying patronage to the
other half of their heritage,” Gandert
said.
The photo essay is part of Gandert’s
“Nuevo México Profundo: Rituals of an
Indo-Hispano Homeland,” one of three
fine-art exhibits that will be featured at
the opening of the National Hispanic
Cultural Center of New Mexico.
“Nuevo México Profundo” is a series
of eight photographic essays that document
rituals and performances dear to
many New Mexicans.
In crisp black and white, Gandert
recorded matachines from Alcalde,
Atrisco, Bernalillo, San Antonio and
Picuris Pueblo; Comanche and
Comanchitos from Talpa, Ranchos de
Taos, Alcalde and Alameda; and Lenten
pilgrimages in Chimayó and Tomé.
Gandert, a native of Española, has
been photographing social rituals for
more than 20 years. His photos have
been shown at the 1993 Whitney
Biennial, at the 1993 Phoenix triennial
and in a one-person exhibit at the
Smithsonian Institution’s National
Museum of American History.
Currently he is an associate professor
of communications and journalism at
the University of New Mexico.
The illustrated catalog for “Nuevo
México Profundo” will include essays
about issues of identity and ethnicity
among Hispanics by four scholars:
Enrique Lamadrid, Lucy Lippard,
Ramon Gutierrez and Chris Wilson.
The second exhibition gives special
attention to the Barelas neighborhood
that surrounds the Hispanic Cultural
Center.
“Barelas a Través de los Años:
Barelas Through the Years,” is a series
of 125 black-and-white photographs that
traces the area’s history through various
periods, including economic booms,
floods, the arrival of Route 66, suburbanization
and urban renewal. The photos
also showcase military heroes, political
leaders, sports stars and scholars
who grew up in the Barelas area.
In addition to the photographs, the
exhibition contains an interactive video
that provides a virtual tour of the community.
See HISPANICS on PAGE 16
Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
THEIR OWN
CANVAS
Inaugural exhibits give Hispanic artists a chance to shine
THE DEVOTION: “Devoción de Mano Lupe,” a photograph by Miguel Gandert, will appear in “Nuevo México Profundo,” a photographic
exhibit at the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico.
SPIKES: “Joaquin/Walking/Codex II” is a sculpture made of
welded railroad spikes by Ruben Trejo of Spokane, Wash.
The piece is in one of three inaugural art shows at the
National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico.
RITUALS:
“La Malinche
y su Luz,” a
gelatin silver
print by
Miguel
Gandert, was
taken in San
Antonio,
N.M., in
1988. It is
part of his
photography
exhibition
that records
Indo-Hispano
rituals.
15

6 UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
ispanics
et Their
wn Canvas
from PAGE 15
The historical photos came from
a variety of sources, including
Barelas families who lent their
originals so the center could make
high-quality copies.
The third opening exhibit is “La
Luz: Contemporary Latino Art in
the United States,” which showcases
the diversity of Latino visual
expression from across the United
States and from artists of different
Latin heritage.
Artists selected for the exhibit
are recognized leaders in their art
forms, which include video, print,
photography, sculpture, painting
and crafts. Sculptor Luis Jimenez
of Hondo, N.M., and photographer
Delilah Montoya of Albuquerque
are among them.
“La Luz” is designed to stimulate
much discussion about personal
emotion, artistic tradition and
national and cultural identity. The
images are divided into six
themes: social action, identity,
faith, family and home, humor and
pushing the art world.
The exhibit was compiled by
senior curator Andrew Connors,
who came to the center after 15
Sunday, October 15, 2000
years as a Latino art specialist at
the Smithsonian Institution.
“I was interested in showing the
range of artistry across the country
based on my years of experience
working with Latino artists,”
Connors said. “I chose artists I felt
were important. There are a few
new discoveries, but basically I
chose artists with national and
international reputations.”

Exhibitions
To Feature
Santos, Tin
Future exhibitions at the
National Hispanic Cultural
Center of New Mexico
include “Santos: Substance
and Soul,” which will open in June
or July, said senior curator
Andrew Connors.
“That exhibition will look at New
Mexican and Puerto Rican santos,
particularly the materials from
which they are made,” he said. The
in-depth exhibition will feature X-
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
rays and pigment analyses, he said.
The exhibit was organized by the
Smithsonian Center for Material
Research and Education and will
be accompanied by a major
symposium with the College of
Santa Fe, the Museum of
International Folk Art and others,
Connors said.
Also next summer, the gallery
space will feature “El Papel,”
which looks at Mexican-American
and Puerto Rican prints and
Sunday, October 15, 2000
posters from the 1960s to present.
In the spring of 2002, the center
will host “El Favor de los Santos,”
an exhibition of Mexican tin
retablos from the New Mexico
State University collection.
And in the fall of 2002, all of the
galleries will be filled with an
exhibition of art by Hispanic and
Latino artists from New Mexico,
Connors said.
✒ TRACY DINGMANN
Y E S
youth express
17
By, for and about teens.
Tuesdays in the Journal.

8 UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
BY ISABEL SANCHEZ
Journal Staff Report
South on Fourth Street,
past the Victorianlooking
street lamps
and the pillars bordered
with blue and
yellow tiles, past the shops
offering flowers or music or
auto glass, is the river crossing
where Barelas was born.
It began as many towns settled
by the Spanish, a place on
the Rio Grande where there
was safety in numbers. It was
chartered by Gov. Diego
Dionisio de Peñalosa on land
belonging to Pedro Barela in
1662. Barelas is older than
Albuquerque.
Three centuries later,
Barelas was a blue-collar
neighborhood edging
Downtown near the zoo and
Tingley Park, where the Dukes
played.
“It was a very Huckleberry
Finn sort of childhood,” recalls
Richard Romero, who grew up
in Barelas.
It was close to the Downtown
theaters, like the KiMo and El
Rey. Kids from Atrisco and
other South Valley rural areas
walked to school past the urban
“wanna-be thugs” like Romero.
You could dive into the floodcontrol
canals or fish at
Tingley Beach, and from your
house you could hear the lions
and peacocks.
“It was a great neighborhood,”
says Romero, who grew
up to become a high school
principal and a state senator.
“It was a wonderful existence.”
Barelas was home to state
Sen. Manny Aragon, who was
born there, and to Gov.
Octaviano Larrazolo, who died
there. It was home to Squealer,
who Romero says was the first
inmate killed in the infamous
BARELAS COMMUNITY
1980 state prison riot, and to
Pete Padilla, a Golden Gloves
boxer and Vietnam war hero
who died on his second tour. A
park was named after him.
“Jarhead, we used to call
him,” Romero says. “He was a
pretty good student, one of
those guys who was straight.
Nobody would mess with him,
nobody. Pete was about 5-7, 140
pounds. He was kind of a little
idol for us because he was so
tough. But he was a very nice
guy.”
The tide of events — the
segue of power from Spain to
Mexico to the United States,
Sunday, October 15, 2000
RICH IN HISTORY
From Spanish settlement to cultural-center site, the Barelas neighborhood has a lot of stories to tell
Spruced-up neighborhood
relies on locals’ deep roots
BY JOHN W. FLORES
Journal Staff Writer
It seems that everywhere in
the old south Albuquerque
barrio of Barelas, history and
progress collide, creating a
colorful tapestry.
And “lately we’ve seen a lot of
changes in the neighborhood,”
said Albuquerque native Tom
Sanchez, the owner of B. Ruppe
Drugs in the 800 block of Fourth
Street in Barelas.
“Since (the National Hispanic
Cultural Center construction)
started, there’s been a lot of fix-
ing up of streets and buildings in
Barelas,” he said. “I think the center
should help the whole area.”
And Sanchez should know
because he’s been there awhile.
He graduated from the
University of New Mexico’s pharmacy
school 51 years ago. Since
1965 he has operated B. Ruppe
Drugs, a neighborhood landmark.
The drugstore was founded at
its present site in 1883, and has
been in continuous operation
since — though under three different
owners.
Sanchez and several other local
business owners said the cultural
center already has had a deep
impact on the community, with
old businesses sprucing up, new
ones moving in and a general
sense of rejuvenation.
Hispano Chamber of Commerce
chief executive officer Loretta
Armenta agrees with them.
“For the first time in a very,
very long time, there’s a real
sense of ownership” in Barelas,
she said. “And there’s the opportunity
to bring in true economic
COURTESY OF ARTHUR BEACH
CIVIC PRIDE…: Members of the Barelas Community Center staff a booth at the New Mexico State
Fair in 1947. The man in the white shirt is George Beach, president of the Barelas Community Council.
See SPRUCED-UP
on PAGE 19
ROSE PALMISANO/JOURNAL
BACK TO BARELAS: Sen.
Manny Aragon, D-
Albuquerque, helped lead the
charge for the National
Hispanic Cultural Center of
New Mexico in the state
Legislature. Reared in
Barelas, he is shown here
outside the neighborhood
community center.
the opening of the West by
Anglo merchants on wagon
trails and trains — swirled
around but did not budge
Barelas.
“When the railroad came in
1880, Barelas was already a
sizable community, possibly
larger than Albuquerque,” says
Juan Jose Peña, historian and
vice president of the Barelas
GREG SORBER/JOURNAL
See BARELAS on PAGE 19
ON THE BALL
AGAIN: Theresa
and Jim Chavez
reopened the
Red Ball Cafe in
Barelas after
buying the building
at 1301
Fourth SW. The
cafe was a longtime
off-and-on
hangout in
Barelas before
the Chavezes
renovated it two
years ago.

Community Development Corp.
Barelas was a lively place, Peña says. It
had been a center of commerce under
Spanish and Mexican rule, and it later fed
workers to the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe.
Billy the Kid and Elfego Baca, gunfighter
and lawman, worked for a butcher shop in
Barelas and played in Old Town, a hotbed of
saloons and gambling.
But progress diminished Barelas. The
freeways replaced the main thoroughfares
of Route 66 and U.S. 85, which had brought
merchants and wares.
South Barelas — “Tortilla Flats,” people
called it — into an industrial park. Homeless
shelters moved in; homeowners moved out.
It’s now one of the poorest communities in
one of the poorest states. Census figures for
1990 said 58 percent of its households had
incomes of less than $15,000. More than half
its residents 25 years and older lacked high
school diplomas. Its crime rate was the
worst among Albuquerque’s high-crime
neighborhoods in 1996.
“I always thought of it as the Ellis Island of
New Mexico,” Romero says. Barelas was a
place to land for the immigrants to the New
World, and to New Mexico.
The National Hispanic Cultural Center of
New Mexico, literally a dream come true for
Barelas residents and for the people who
worked to create the center, came to Barelas
in part because of Manny Aragon, who lived
there until the age of 10 or 11.
Aragon, now state Senate president pro
tem, sponsored the money measure that
started the center on its way to reality.
development … there are new
businesses moving in.”
The Hispano Chamber is, in fact,
building its headquarters there,
only a few blocks from the cultural
center.
The new building, scheduled to
open in January, is a sign of community
pride that is continuing to
change the face of Barelas,
Armenta said.
Another local resident and the
owner of Cristy Records, Marcella
Perez, said she has definitely
noticed the changes.
“They’ve opened a couple of new
businesses. Fourth Street itself
looks better than it did before. It
looks real nice. And we’ve had new
customers come in,” Perez said.
The Barelas record shop has
been at the corner of Fourth and
Atlanta Streets since the mid-’60s,
Perez said.
Another local business is the Red
Ball Cafe — a longtime hangout for
locals that flourished, off-and-on,
for 37 years, from 1942 until 1979.
It was brought back to life in
March 1998.
“Business is on an upward trend.
The renovations I’ve done on the
business have gotten local, state
and federal awards,” said Jim
Chavez, new owner of the Red Ball.
He was born in Barelas. “And
we’ve got the Hispano Chamber of
Commerce right next to us. Yeah,
that’ll help a lot.
He wanted it somewhere in the southwest
part of the city. He had two reasons, he says.
“I thought it was important to spread out
some of the capital projects we have
throughout the state. And it served notice to
the people that they were also important to
the state of New Mexico.”
Six sites were suggested for the center,
says Edward Lujan, chairman of the center’s
“I’m planning to build a bed-andbreakfast
across the street as more
businesses move in,” he said.
Two years ago many old buildings
in Barelas were empty. But
that’s changing, he said, adding
that the new activity deters vandalism
and encourages more police
presence in the area.
Rosemary Gonzales, born and
raised in Barelas, agreed.
“I think the exposure of them
Sunday, October 15, 2000
UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Barelas: A community with lots of stories
from PAGE 18
(Hispanic Center and Hispano
Chamber) being our neighbors is
going to continue to help business,”
Gonzales said. “I think it will put
the limelight on friends (new businesses)
who have never shacked
with us.”
Gonzales has been operating the
Ives Flower shop in Barelas for the
past 25 years. The shop itself has
been in continuous operation for
108 years.
board.
“There was no question” that Barelas was
the best choice, he says. “It wasn’t even
close.”
The little trading spot near the river,
where wool was bought and sold and where
the railroad’s roundhouse brought a boom
until it left for Belen, will host one of the
biggest parties in the state’s history when
“It’s a one-on-one kind of thing,”
she said. “Not like big business.
Here you can call and talk to the
owners directly. That’s unusual
now. (And) there’s a lot of quality
here.”
The new construction and
improvements will bring more foot
and vehicle traffic to the area, said
Richard and Lillian Martinez, who
have owned the Albuquerque
Mattress Company for almost 30
years.
“I feel it’s good what they’re
doing. I see more people down here
already. It’s changed for the better,”
Lillian Martinez said.
Crime reduction is another result
of the rebuilding efforts, said
Larry Perea, a member of the
Barelas Neighborhood Association,
a group formed 15 years ago to
address the problem of neighborhood
crime.
“With new development, Barelas
is a much safer place to live,”
Perea said. “We are consistently
working to improve. And in a general
kind of way, the neighborhood
is a much safer place to live than it
was 15 years ago.”
This is not a typical inner-city
gentrification effort, planners say.
The new center and the Hispano
Chamber building are touted as
strong symbols of community
pride.
The cultural center is a building
of national scope, created from a
local vision and drive.
Barelas was founded in 1662 by a
19
the center opens: 15,000 mailed invitations,
not counting the open invitation to the public.
Aztec dancers and a Spanish prince will be
there. To get to Barelas, go south on Fourth
Street.
It dead-ends at the National Hispanic
Cultural Center of New Mexico.
Spruced-up neighborhood relies on locals’ deep roots
from PAGE 18
TIES TO BARELAS A SPECIAL COMMUNITY
Gunfighter Billy the Kid, left, and
lawman Elfego Baca worked for a
butcher shop in Barelas and
played in Old Town, a hotbed of
saloons and gambling.
JIM THOMPSON/JOURNAL
REJUVENATION: The Arrow Supermarket, complete with a new facade,
greets visitors to Barelas. Local business owners say the National
Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico has already had a deep impact
on the community, with old businesses sprucing up, new ones moving
in and a general sense of rejuvenation.
“When the railroad came in 1880, Barelas was
already a sizable community, possibly larger
than Albuquerque.”
— Juan Jose Peña, historian and vice president of
the Barelas Community Development Corp.
“I always thought of it (Barelas) as the Ellis
Island of New Mexico.”
— Richard Romero, grew up in Barelas to become
school principal, state senator
“There was no question” that Barelas was the
best choice for a Hispanic cultural center. “It
wasn’t even close.”
— Edward Lujan, chairman of the board of the
National Hispanic Cultural Center
of New Mexico
decree to found a town by Gov.
Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa.
Though the old neighborhood has
long been incorporated by the city,
it still clings to a distinct identity.
The Camino Real, critical to
trade and continued exploration of
western states, winds through
Barelas and traces westward over
the Rio Grande.
“I think really the center is so
important. When you look at
impact, we’re changing the face of
the South Valley. That’s quite an
accomplishment,” Armenta said.
Margie Hernandez is manager of
La Mexicana, a tortilla factory just
east of the Rio Grande on the
fringe of Barelas.
The business opened its doors 60
years ago.
Hernandez can walk out the door
during coffee breaks and watch the
ongoing construction of the
National Hispanic Cultural Center
of New Mexico.
“We knew it was coming for a
number of years. It’s been a great
effort, and it’s been a lot of hard
work. Everyone is getting together.
In the beginning it was real difficult
to get people excited about it,
but things are looking a lot better
than they did five years ago,”
Hernandez said.
“How do the people of Barelas
feel now? I think everyone is very
excited. Not only is this the national
Hispanic center, but it belongs to
the people here also. We’re all very
supportive of it,” Hernandez said.

0 UN TRIBUTO CULTURAL
Sunday, October 15, 2000