The Western New Mexico University signature cultural event, ¡Fiesta Latina!, returns to campus June 6-9. Through ¡Fiesta Latina!, WNMU seeks to recognize, celebrate and assist in the preservation of New Mexico’s connection with its Mexican heritage, customs and traditions.
At the center of the four-day festival is a juried artisan mercado that features the handmade work of approximately 50 highly skilled traditional artisans from across Mexico. These folk artists will be on-hand to educate fiesta-goers about their processes and to answer questions about their artistic traditions. In addition to traditional art such as metal working, ceramics and textiles, the mercado this year will feature new artists working in media that have not before been part of WNMU ¡Fiesta Latina!, including masks, embellished shoes, leather and wooden utensils.
Artisans will also be demonstrating their techniques at a dedicated tent where patrons can get hands-on experience with projects that vary from papermaking to alebrije, brightly painted wooden sculptures of animals and mythical creatures. A children’s tent will have activities for children, coordinated by the Silver City Museum.
The fiesta also includes music and dance by both traditional and contemporary performers. The opening night concert at Fountain Stage at Regents Square will start with a showcase of mariachi music performed by students attending the university’s mariachi conference, El Son de la Gila. The showcase will be followed by a concert by Son Rompe Pera, a Mexico City fusion band that combines marimba music with the influences of other genres, such as danzón, rock, punk, ska and others.
The winner of Thursday’s mariachi showcase will be the opening act for Friday evening’s concert, which features Mariachi Plata de WNMU and Mariachi Estrella de México.
The music continues Saturday afternoon with Conjunto Mapeye, a folk music group from Puerto Rico. In the evening, the Texas-based group Los Chamacos will open for the Kumbia Kings, who combine cumbia music with influences of hip hop and R&B.
On Sunday afternoon, Grupo Bella takes the stage, combining the sounds of mariachi with musical influences from different cultures and decades.
The weekend will also include dance performances, including Kaltonaka Dance Group and youth groups Baile Encanto and Baile Folklorico Alfaro.
Film screenings and discussion will also be a highlight of ¡Fiesta Latina!, with showings of La Laguna, a film about a Mayan boy’s journey from childhood to adolescence, and Esto Somos, a series of documentaries about contemporary art design in Mexico. All the film screenings will take place in the Light Hall Theatre.
For the first time this year, WNMU ¡Fiesta Latina! will include a fashion show that highlights the textiles and other wearables available in the artisan mercado. The show will be held Saturday, June 8, 2-3 p.m. on Regents Square.
Also on Saturday, there will be a tequila tasting 4:00-6:30 p.m., with an opportunity to sample traditionally handcrafted tequilas from across Jalisco, Mexico. Tickets for this event are $45 for 10 tastings and $10 for a handcrafted Fiesta Latina 2024 tequilero. In addition, food vendors will be on campus throughout the festival.
Alexandra Tager, WNMU Director of Cultural Affairs, which produces the event, said that ¡Fiesta Latina! is designed to acknowledge the deep roots that New Mexico shares with Mexico. “The people living in the border regions and beyond continue to be influenced by these roots not only in art, food, and music but in the language and customs as well,” she said. “As an Hispanic Serving Institution, WNMU and Fiesta Latina aim to highlight those connections by creating fun, engaging, educational experiences for folks living in or visiting the borderlands to enjoy.”
This year’s fiesta is made possible through generous funding from the Town of Silver City, among other local sponsors, as well as through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The event is free, except for Saturday night’s headline concert and the tequila tasting. A schedule of activities, tickets, and additional information are available at fiestalatina.org.