Archive for January, 2009

The National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) is proud to present Carnaval Celebration: Carnaval Dance Party to kick off the beginning of the Lenten season. This celebration is a two night event that will be held on Friday, February 20 at 8 pm and Saturday February 21 at 8 pm in the Roy E. Disney Center for Performing Arts. The NHCC is located at 1701 4th Street SW (Corner of 4th Street and Avenida César Chávez). Tickets are $15, $20, $25 with a $5 NHCC member discount.  Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or in person at the NHCC box office.  The festivities include artist and musician Frank Leto with is band PANdemonium joined by Pilar Leto and the Odara Dance Ensemble in an astounding production that blends original music with vibrant dance and exquisite costumes that honor the Carnaval traditions of New Orleans, Trinidad, Cuba, and Brazil. Performances include a wide range of talent and experience in order to produce the exotic sights and sounds of Caribbean beats and dance.
Frank Leto is an artist whose lifelong pursuit of musical knowledge has led him to appreciate and draw from a number of cultures and musical genres. Because of his love for rhythms, Leto has travelled throughout the Caribbean and has toured Japan, the Philippines, and Hawaii.  While in Cuba, he studied with numerous honorable musicians at the Escuela Nacional de Arte. As a talented instrumentalist, Leto plays Brazilian percussion, Afro-Cuban percussion, and Trinidadian steel drums. With his band PANdemonium, he is featured on vocals, steel drums, and percussion. Leto’s music has won multiple national awards; he has recorded a number of solo CD’s, as well as with his band PANdemonium.
Pilar Leto is the founder and director of the Odara Dance Ensemble who has been performing and teaching dance for over 25 years throughout the United States, Japan, and the Philippines, and most recently in Albuquerque.  Through her extensive travels, Pilar was fortunate to study for three consecutive years at the Escuela Nacional de Arte with premier dancers of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional and Raíces Profundas. Under Pilar’s direction, the Odara Dance Ensemble is a culmination of multi-talented performers, who come from diverse musical and dance backgrounds.

Awaken your inner fiber artist and learn to weave a one-of-kind, triangular shawl during a four-day workshop at the Las Cruces Museum of Art, 491 N. Main Street. This “hands-on” technique requires no previous weaving experience.

Those interested will be able to weave with a minimal amount of yarn. Frame looms are provided & studio time is flexible. To learn more about this unique approach, see instructor Nancy Anderson demonstrate each Saturday morning at the Farmers and Crafts Market on the Downtown Mall.

The first session of the workshop will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, February 10th- 19th, from 12:30 – 2:45 pm.  The second session is Tuesdays and Thursdays, April 14th – 23rd at the same times.  To see a complete schedule of our classes, please visit http://museums.las-cruces.org or call 575-541-2137 for more information.

For more information contact Greg Phillipy, Education Curator at 575/541-2217. The TTY number is 575/541-2161.

Additional Las Cruces, New Mexico information

In celebration of Tourism Day and the $5+ billion generated annually by the New Mexico tourism industry, leaders of the industry, both public and private, will join in a press conference in celebration of Tourism Day at the Legislature, Tuesday (February 3, 2009), 2 p.m., in the Rotunda at the New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe.

Steve Paternoster, owner of Scalo Northern Italian Grill in Albuquerque, will be the industry spokesman, joining representatives of the Tourism Association of New Mexico, New Mexico Restaurant Association, New Mexico Lodgers Association, New Mexico Bed & Breakfast Association, Ski New Mexico, the Greater Albuquerque Innkeepers Association and New Mexico Golf Destinations. Michael Cerletti, Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department and representatives of the New Mexico Tourism Commission also plan to attend.

The purpose of the press conference is to highlight the importance of tourism to the New Mexico’s economy, specifically:

In 2008, tourism remained the second largest private sector industry in New Mexico, welcoming 12 million visitors who contributed more than $5.5 billion to the state‘s economy;
New Mexico’s Tourism Industry is the state’s largest private sector employer, with more than 90,000 employees and a payroll of more than $1 billion; and
Tourism in New Mexico in 2008 resulted in $351 million in state tax revenues, $34 million in lodger’s tax revenues and $85 million in local tax revenues. 

WHEN: Tuesday (February 3, 2009), 2 p.m.

WHERE: Rotunda of the State Capitol in Santa Fe, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail

www.tanm.orgFor more information contact  Sharon S. Schultz, CEO of the Tourism Association of New Mexico, 6121 Indian School Rd, NE, Suite 216, Albuquerque, NM 87110, 505-345-5553, or

Additional New Mexico Information