¡Música del Corazón!
Viajes del Violín
13th Annual John Donald Robb, Jr.
Memorial Concert
Saturday 7 November 2026
2pm Cuentos y Encuentros
3pm Música
FREE ADMISSION
13th Annual John Donald Robb, Jr.
Memorial Concert
Saturday 7 November 2026
2pm Cuentos y Encuentros
3pm Música
FREE ADMISSION
South Broadway Cultural Center
1025 Broadway Blvd SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 848-1320 | directions
SBBC website
bandsintown.com
1025 Broadway Blvd SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 848-1320 | directions
SBBC website
bandsintown.com
Schedule
1:30pm Doors Open
Visit the Community Room to learn about the Robb Trust, the PBS Learning Project: John Donald Robb Collection, purchase artist merch, and view our ofrenda honoring New Mexico Music luminaries and Robb Trust board members.
2pm Cuentos y Encuentros
Cuento: Felipe Ruibal
Journeys of the violin: Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo, Jordan Wax, and James Leger facilitated by Dr. Carmella Scorcia Pacheco and Robert L. Lucero, Jr.
Baile demonstration and dance lesson: Lucy Salazar and Tíos Míos (Rosalind Hutchison & Kateri López)
2:45pm Break
Visit our displays and ofrenda in the Community Room.
3pm Música
Set 1: Adryan Baca violin, John Guillén violin, Gary Tafoya guitar
Song: Felipe Ruibal
Set 2: Lorenzo Martínez violin, Lorenzo Martinez Jr. violin, Sheila Martínez guitar
Award: 2026 Robb Award to Jim Bonnell (posthumous) accepted by Diane Bonnell with presentations by Rev. Jan Hosea, Art Sheinberg, Dr. Robert Tillotson
Set 3: Lone Piñon Jordan Wax violin, Tanya Núñez bass, Santiago Romero guitar
1:30pm Doors Open
Visit the Community Room to learn about the Robb Trust, the PBS Learning Project: John Donald Robb Collection, purchase artist merch, and view our ofrenda honoring New Mexico Music luminaries and Robb Trust board members.
2pm Cuentos y Encuentros
Cuento: Felipe Ruibal
Journeys of the violin: Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo, Jordan Wax, and James Leger facilitated by Dr. Carmella Scorcia Pacheco and Robert L. Lucero, Jr.
Baile demonstration and dance lesson: Lucy Salazar and Tíos Míos (Rosalind Hutchison & Kateri López)
2:45pm Break
Visit our displays and ofrenda in the Community Room.
3pm Música
Set 1: Adryan Baca violin, John Guillén violin, Gary Tafoya guitar
Song: Felipe Ruibal
Set 2: Lorenzo Martínez violin, Lorenzo Martinez Jr. violin, Sheila Martínez guitar
Award: 2026 Robb Award to Jim Bonnell (posthumous) accepted by Diane Bonnell with presentations by Rev. Jan Hosea, Art Sheinberg, Dr. Robert Tillotson
Set 3: Lone Piñon Jordan Wax violin, Tanya Núñez bass, Santiago Romero guitar
Co-Curator Statement
© Smithsonian Institution
This year’s ¡Música del Corazón!, Viajes del Violín, explores the many journeys this instrument has taken into and through New Mexico. Following last year’s focus on the accordion, we continue our celebration of instruments that carry the histories, emotions, and expressive life of this region.
The violin has traveled across time and space. From the past to the present and from the rural to the urban; the violin has traversed borders, languages, traditions, and generations. In New Mexico, it is heard in dance and devotion, in community and concert life, in formal repertoire and vernacular practice. Its presence tells a story not only of musical beauty, but of migration, exchange, adaptation, and continuity.
This program invites listeners to hear the violin as both traveler and witness. In its voice we encounter memory and movement, intimacy and virtuosity, sorrow and celebration. The violin becomes a meeting place where diverse histories converge and where tradition remains alive.
As co-curators, we offer Viajes del Violín as a reflection on the richness of New Mexico’s musical landscape and on the artists who continue to carry these journeys forward. In every performance, the violin reminds us that music is never still: it moves with people, with place, and with the heart.
The violin has traveled across time and space. From the past to the present and from the rural to the urban; the violin has traversed borders, languages, traditions, and generations. In New Mexico, it is heard in dance and devotion, in community and concert life, in formal repertoire and vernacular practice. Its presence tells a story not only of musical beauty, but of migration, exchange, adaptation, and continuity.
This program invites listeners to hear the violin as both traveler and witness. In its voice we encounter memory and movement, intimacy and virtuosity, sorrow and celebration. The violin becomes a meeting place where diverse histories converge and where tradition remains alive.
As co-curators, we offer Viajes del Violín as a reflection on the richness of New Mexico’s musical landscape and on the artists who continue to carry these journeys forward. In every performance, the violin reminds us that music is never still: it moves with people, with place, and with the heart.
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College of Fine Arts
Department of Music Robb Trust |
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Bios
Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo
Lorenzo Trujillo is a highly respected figure in the world of Southwestern music and culture, known for his lifelong dedication to preserving and promoting the rich traditions of folk music, dance, and arts. As the Director of the Southwest Musicians, Founding Director of Mariachi and Senior Advisor of the MSU Denver Mariachi Program, Dr. Trujillo has shaped the cultural landscape of the region for over six decades.
A folk violinist, guitarist, vocalist, and accomplished ethnic dancer, Trujillo’s contributions to the arts have earned him recognition on both national and international stages. In 1996, he was honored with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, a testament to his exceptional talent and tireless work in cultural preservation. His career has spanned a variety of roles, from arts administrator to folklorist and culture bearer, and he has had a profound impact on the traditional music and dance of Southern Colorado and New Mexico.
Dr. Trujillo's achievements include working with the National Endowment for the Arts as a performing artist in 1976 and receiving the Hilos Culturales Distinguished Traditional Folk Artist Premio in 2004 for his lifetime of service to Hispanic traditions. His extensive body of work includes thousands of concerts, lecture demonstrations, and publications that document and celebrate the cultural heritage of the Southwest United States.
Over the years, Dr. Trujillo has become a respected voice in traditional music, recording extensively for television, radio, and numerous CDs. His most popular album, The Golden Age of the Southwest: From 1840 to Hollywood, showcases his deep knowledge of regional history and music. He has also had the privilege of performing internationally, with concert tours taking him to Italy, Peru, and Baja California, Mexico.
In recognition of his contributions to the arts, Dr. Trujillo has received several prestigious awards, including induction into the Colorado Chicano Music Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Tesoro Cultural Center’s Tesoro de Oro Award in 2011. His work continues to inspire new generations of artists and musicians, and his dedication to cultural heritage remains a cornerstone of his legacy.
Lorenzo Trujillo is a highly respected figure in the world of Southwestern music and culture, known for his lifelong dedication to preserving and promoting the rich traditions of folk music, dance, and arts. As the Director of the Southwest Musicians, Founding Director of Mariachi and Senior Advisor of the MSU Denver Mariachi Program, Dr. Trujillo has shaped the cultural landscape of the region for over six decades.
A folk violinist, guitarist, vocalist, and accomplished ethnic dancer, Trujillo’s contributions to the arts have earned him recognition on both national and international stages. In 1996, he was honored with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, a testament to his exceptional talent and tireless work in cultural preservation. His career has spanned a variety of roles, from arts administrator to folklorist and culture bearer, and he has had a profound impact on the traditional music and dance of Southern Colorado and New Mexico.
Dr. Trujillo's achievements include working with the National Endowment for the Arts as a performing artist in 1976 and receiving the Hilos Culturales Distinguished Traditional Folk Artist Premio in 2004 for his lifetime of service to Hispanic traditions. His extensive body of work includes thousands of concerts, lecture demonstrations, and publications that document and celebrate the cultural heritage of the Southwest United States.
Over the years, Dr. Trujillo has become a respected voice in traditional music, recording extensively for television, radio, and numerous CDs. His most popular album, The Golden Age of the Southwest: From 1840 to Hollywood, showcases his deep knowledge of regional history and music. He has also had the privilege of performing internationally, with concert tours taking him to Italy, Peru, and Baja California, Mexico.
In recognition of his contributions to the arts, Dr. Trujillo has received several prestigious awards, including induction into the Colorado Chicano Music Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Tesoro Cultural Center’s Tesoro de Oro Award in 2011. His work continues to inspire new generations of artists and musicians, and his dedication to cultural heritage remains a cornerstone of his legacy.
James Leger
coming soon
coming soon
Felipe Ruibal
Felipe Ruibal is an award-winning vocalist, composer, and educator from Pojoaque, New Mexico. Recognized as Latin Entertainer of the Year and Best Vocalist by the New Mexico Music Industry and Albuquerque Magazine, Ruibal’s career spans lead vocal and songwriting roles with Nosotros to early roots in liturgical choir. Currently serving as Assistant Principal at South Valley Academy, he integrates music into student engagement while composing songs and crafting cuentos—short stories deeply rooted in family lore and New Mexican regional traditions.
Felipe Ruibal is an award-winning vocalist, composer, and educator from Pojoaque, New Mexico. Recognized as Latin Entertainer of the Year and Best Vocalist by the New Mexico Music Industry and Albuquerque Magazine, Ruibal’s career spans lead vocal and songwriting roles with Nosotros to early roots in liturgical choir. Currently serving as Assistant Principal at South Valley Academy, he integrates music into student engagement while composing songs and crafting cuentos—short stories deeply rooted in family lore and New Mexican regional traditions.
Lucy Salazar
Lucy Salazar is a nuevomexican born in Agua Fria, NM. She has been dancing since childhood as her grandfather, uncles, aunts and father all were musicians. She learned these traditional New Mexican Folk dances from her parents and grandparents and has made it her passion to preserve and teach these dances to the younger generation and anyone who may want to learn them.
She has been involved in teaching these dances, working through the New Mexico Arts Division Artist in Residence Program and The National Hispanic Cultural Center and private events throughout New Mexico.
She is a 2025 Dance USA Fellow was awarded a Grant through the New Mexico Arts Division Master/Apprenticeship Program. She was also selected to be a presenter at the Nation Dance Educators Organization in 2026.
Lucy Salazar is a nuevomexican born in Agua Fria, NM. She has been dancing since childhood as her grandfather, uncles, aunts and father all were musicians. She learned these traditional New Mexican Folk dances from her parents and grandparents and has made it her passion to preserve and teach these dances to the younger generation and anyone who may want to learn them.
She has been involved in teaching these dances, working through the New Mexico Arts Division Artist in Residence Program and The National Hispanic Cultural Center and private events throughout New Mexico.
She is a 2025 Dance USA Fellow was awarded a Grant through the New Mexico Arts Division Master/Apprenticeship Program. She was also selected to be a presenter at the Nation Dance Educators Organization in 2026.
Tíos Míos
Tíos Míos is Sones del Rio & SW Fiddle Tunes performed by Kateri Lopez & Rosie Hutchinson. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, they learned this music from a young age from their musical and familial tíos. They strive to carry and build upon the cultural and dance traditions of New Mexico and the Southwest.
Tíos Míos is Sones del Rio & SW Fiddle Tunes performed by Kateri Lopez & Rosie Hutchinson. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, they learned this music from a young age from their musical and familial tíos. They strive to carry and build upon the cultural and dance traditions of New Mexico and the Southwest.
Rosalind Hutchinson
Rosalind Hutchinson was born in the North Valley of Albuquerque and grew up playing New Mexican traditional fiddle tunes and dance music. She teaches fiddle lessons and collaborates with guitarist Kateri Lopez in duo Tíos Míos. This group frequently plays family gatherings and Bailes with dance teacher Lucy Salazar and her Happy Dancers. Rosalind continues the musical styles of her former mentors Jeanie McLerie, Cleofus Ortiz, Elliot Johnson, and Ken Kepeler.
Rosalind Hutchinson was born in the North Valley of Albuquerque and grew up playing New Mexican traditional fiddle tunes and dance music. She teaches fiddle lessons and collaborates with guitarist Kateri Lopez in duo Tíos Míos. This group frequently plays family gatherings and Bailes with dance teacher Lucy Salazar and her Happy Dancers. Rosalind continues the musical styles of her former mentors Jeanie McLerie, Cleofus Ortiz, Elliot Johnson, and Ken Kepeler.
Kateri López
Kateri Lopez is a multi-instrumentalist from Albuquerque's South Valley. Her interest in music began to root itself while attending polvaderas (dusty dances) and local fiestas with her family. Her musical journey began at a young age while accompanying her grandparents on guitar in their local Spanish choir. It is through these experiences that she was introduced to dances such as the Polka, Ranchera, y Valse. She continues to write and pursue music that inspires movement and dance with various musical projects in New Mexico.
Kateri Lopez is a multi-instrumentalist from Albuquerque's South Valley. Her interest in music began to root itself while attending polvaderas (dusty dances) and local fiestas with her family. Her musical journey began at a young age while accompanying her grandparents on guitar in their local Spanish choir. It is through these experiences that she was introduced to dances such as the Polka, Ranchera, y Valse. She continues to write and pursue music that inspires movement and dance with various musical projects in New Mexico.
Adryan Baca Trio
coming soon
coming soon
Lorenzo Martínez
Lorenzo Martinez is a New Mexican musical treasure. Performing and singing since the age of 6, Lorenzo took quickly to the violin. Playing mariachi style, while also performing with the orchestra at school, Lorenzo soon developed a unique style that is both polished, folkloric, and professional.
After playing guitar and singing with his older sisters Roberta and Doris Los Chamacos, Lorenzo then started playing with local mariachis in Albuquerque. At this point, Lorenzo and his father Roberto started collecting and recording the violin music of the viejitos of Northern New Mexico. Dan Sheehy at the Smithsonian Institution got wind of the performances and recordings Lorenzo was making and came to New Mexico.
Expecting an old man playing violin, Dan was surprised to find a young man in his 20s playing the old time music. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship. At the same time, Lorenzo also started performing with his father's group Los Reyes de Albuquerque. In 1985, Lorenzo was invited to perform New Mexican violin music at the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival in Washinton DC. He went, accompanied by his Martinez family members, representing New Mexico at the prestigious festival. Lorenzo would repeat that feat again in 1992, performing in Washington with Los Reyes.
In 2003, Lorenzo and his father were honored with the National Endowment for the Art's National Heritage Fellowship Award for preserving and promoting New Mexican violin music. The following year, Lorenzo and his Martinez family musicians were invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the FolkLife Festival.
Lorenzo has performed with many local mariachis through the years, has taught young musicians his craft, and continues to be one of the most sought out violinists in New Mexico.
Lorenzo Martinez is a New Mexican musical treasure. Performing and singing since the age of 6, Lorenzo took quickly to the violin. Playing mariachi style, while also performing with the orchestra at school, Lorenzo soon developed a unique style that is both polished, folkloric, and professional.
After playing guitar and singing with his older sisters Roberta and Doris Los Chamacos, Lorenzo then started playing with local mariachis in Albuquerque. At this point, Lorenzo and his father Roberto started collecting and recording the violin music of the viejitos of Northern New Mexico. Dan Sheehy at the Smithsonian Institution got wind of the performances and recordings Lorenzo was making and came to New Mexico.
Expecting an old man playing violin, Dan was surprised to find a young man in his 20s playing the old time music. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship. At the same time, Lorenzo also started performing with his father's group Los Reyes de Albuquerque. In 1985, Lorenzo was invited to perform New Mexican violin music at the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival in Washinton DC. He went, accompanied by his Martinez family members, representing New Mexico at the prestigious festival. Lorenzo would repeat that feat again in 1992, performing in Washington with Los Reyes.
In 2003, Lorenzo and his father were honored with the National Endowment for the Art's National Heritage Fellowship Award for preserving and promoting New Mexican violin music. The following year, Lorenzo and his Martinez family musicians were invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the FolkLife Festival.
Lorenzo has performed with many local mariachis through the years, has taught young musicians his craft, and continues to be one of the most sought out violinists in New Mexico.
Robb Award Honoree
Jim Bonnell (1939-2025) was a major contributor to the development of the Robb Trust and a beloved longtime board member. This award will be received by his wife Diane.
Read Jim's obituary.
Give to the Jim Bonnell Memorial Fund.
Learn more about the Robb Award.
Jim Bonnell (1939-2025) was a major contributor to the development of the Robb Trust and a beloved longtime board member. This award will be received by his wife Diane.
Read Jim's obituary.
Give to the Jim Bonnell Memorial Fund.
Learn more about the Robb Award.
Lone Piñón
Lone Piñón is a New Mexican string band, or “orquesta típica”, whose music celebrates the integrity and diversity of their region's cultural roots. With fiddles, upright bass, guitars, accordions, vihuela, and bilingual vocals, they play a wide spectrum of the traditional music that is at home in New Mexico.
The Norte has long been a crossroads of cultures, and centuries of intersecting histories, trade routes, migrations, and cultural movements have endowed the region with an expansive and rich musical heritage that weaves together Spanish, Mexican, Indigenous, European immigrant, Anglo-American, and Afro-American musical influences. The oldest strands of this tradition have survived in continuity, renewed by each new generation’s contribution to core style and repertoire that has been passed from musician to musician, in some cases over many centuries. Though rapid cultural change since the ‘50s has led to these sounds becoming scarce in their home territory, they never fully disappeared--thanks to the elders and past generations that lovingly and tenaciously carried them forward, renewing the voice of their musical ancestors at each step into changing circumstances.
The musicians of Lone Piñon learned from elder musicians who instilled in them a respect for continuity and an example of the radicalism, creativity, and cross-cultural solidarity that has always been necessary for musical traditions to adapt and thrive in each generation. In 2014, Lone Piñon was founded as a platform for creativity around the oldest sounds of traditional New Mexico string music, sounds that had all but disappeared from daily life in many Northern New Mexico communities. Through relationship with elders, study of field recordings, connections to parallel traditional music and dance revitalization movements in the US and Mexico, and hundreds of local and national performances, they have brought the language of the New Mexico orquesta típica back onto the modern stage, back onto dance floors, into a contemporary aesthetic/artistic conversation, and into the ears of a young generation.
The musical landscape of Northern New Mexico bears the record of interconnecting musical movements that cross state, national, generational, and ethnic borders. Lone Piñon’s active and recorded repertoire reflects that complexity, and has included a wide range of regionally-relevant material (Western swing, conjunto, New Mexican Spanish and Mexican ranchera, Central Mexican son regional, country, onda chicana, etc.) around the core New Mexican violin and accordion-driven polkas, cunas, inditas, valses, and chotes learned from elders.
Lone Piñón is a New Mexican string band, or “orquesta típica”, whose music celebrates the integrity and diversity of their region's cultural roots. With fiddles, upright bass, guitars, accordions, vihuela, and bilingual vocals, they play a wide spectrum of the traditional music that is at home in New Mexico.
The Norte has long been a crossroads of cultures, and centuries of intersecting histories, trade routes, migrations, and cultural movements have endowed the region with an expansive and rich musical heritage that weaves together Spanish, Mexican, Indigenous, European immigrant, Anglo-American, and Afro-American musical influences. The oldest strands of this tradition have survived in continuity, renewed by each new generation’s contribution to core style and repertoire that has been passed from musician to musician, in some cases over many centuries. Though rapid cultural change since the ‘50s has led to these sounds becoming scarce in their home territory, they never fully disappeared--thanks to the elders and past generations that lovingly and tenaciously carried them forward, renewing the voice of their musical ancestors at each step into changing circumstances.
The musicians of Lone Piñon learned from elder musicians who instilled in them a respect for continuity and an example of the radicalism, creativity, and cross-cultural solidarity that has always been necessary for musical traditions to adapt and thrive in each generation. In 2014, Lone Piñon was founded as a platform for creativity around the oldest sounds of traditional New Mexico string music, sounds that had all but disappeared from daily life in many Northern New Mexico communities. Through relationship with elders, study of field recordings, connections to parallel traditional music and dance revitalization movements in the US and Mexico, and hundreds of local and national performances, they have brought the language of the New Mexico orquesta típica back onto the modern stage, back onto dance floors, into a contemporary aesthetic/artistic conversation, and into the ears of a young generation.
The musical landscape of Northern New Mexico bears the record of interconnecting musical movements that cross state, national, generational, and ethnic borders. Lone Piñon’s active and recorded repertoire reflects that complexity, and has included a wide range of regionally-relevant material (Western swing, conjunto, New Mexican Spanish and Mexican ranchera, Central Mexican son regional, country, onda chicana, etc.) around the core New Mexican violin and accordion-driven polkas, cunas, inditas, valses, and chotes learned from elders.
Jordan Wax
Jordan (violin, piano- and three-row accordions, mandolin, guitar, vocals) grew up in Missouri and was traditionally trained by master Ozark fiddler Fred Stoneking and Central Missouri dance fiddler John White. He worked as bandleader and accordionist for a Yiddish dance band before his work with Missouri and New Mexican fiddle styles inspired him to travel to Mexico for a 6-month immersion in Mexican huapango fiddling, where he studied with Rolando "El Quecho" Hernandez of Trio Chicontepec, Casimiro Granillo of Trio Chicamole, and a variety of local fiddlers in the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosí. His studies of traditional New Mexico dance music have been guided and inspired in the past years by Tomas Maes (mandolinist of Santa Fe, NM) and Antonia Apodaca (late accordionist and guitarist of Rociada, NM). In 2018 he travelled to Morelia, Michoacan for a few weeks of intensive study with master son calentano violinist Serafin Ibarra Cortez and P'urepecha elder and composer Tata Pedro Dimas. He serves the Manitos Community Memory Project as a Community Archivist digitizing and archiving New Mexico music-related documents, sound recordings, and oral histories.
Jordan (violin, piano- and three-row accordions, mandolin, guitar, vocals) grew up in Missouri and was traditionally trained by master Ozark fiddler Fred Stoneking and Central Missouri dance fiddler John White. He worked as bandleader and accordionist for a Yiddish dance band before his work with Missouri and New Mexican fiddle styles inspired him to travel to Mexico for a 6-month immersion in Mexican huapango fiddling, where he studied with Rolando "El Quecho" Hernandez of Trio Chicontepec, Casimiro Granillo of Trio Chicamole, and a variety of local fiddlers in the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosí. His studies of traditional New Mexico dance music have been guided and inspired in the past years by Tomas Maes (mandolinist of Santa Fe, NM) and Antonia Apodaca (late accordionist and guitarist of Rociada, NM). In 2018 he travelled to Morelia, Michoacan for a few weeks of intensive study with master son calentano violinist Serafin Ibarra Cortez and P'urepecha elder and composer Tata Pedro Dimas. He serves the Manitos Community Memory Project as a Community Archivist digitizing and archiving New Mexico music-related documents, sound recordings, and oral histories.
Tanya Nuñez
Tanya (upright bass, guitar, vocals) was born in southern New Mexico. Growing up in a musical family, no celebration was complete without music and dance: rancheras, polkas, valses and cumbias. She has worked as a bassist in a variety of traditions from classical, tango, Persian and Arabic, to country, rock and funk/soul. Though she plays many styles, the beautiful and diverse music of the Southwest and Mexico holds a special place in her heart and she is honored to study and share it.
Tanya (upright bass, guitar, vocals) was born in southern New Mexico. Growing up in a musical family, no celebration was complete without music and dance: rancheras, polkas, valses and cumbias. She has worked as a bassist in a variety of traditions from classical, tango, Persian and Arabic, to country, rock and funk/soul. Though she plays many styles, the beautiful and diverse music of the Southwest and Mexico holds a special place in her heart and she is honored to study and share it.
Santiago Romero
Santiago (guitar, vihuela, vocals) grew up in the village of Agua Fria, New Mexico, on land where his family has lived for many generations. He began learning the guitar at the age of 6 from older musicians in his community and began working as a mariachi in Las Cruces, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez in his early twenties. He has performed and served as creative director in a variety of ensembles, taught as part of several educational initiatives and in 2005 was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson as the first New Mexico state representative of Mariachi music. In addition to his work with Lone Piñon he has served for 13 years as the director of Mariachi Sonidos del Monte, one of New Mexico’s premiere Mariachi ensembles.
Santiago (guitar, vihuela, vocals) grew up in the village of Agua Fria, New Mexico, on land where his family has lived for many generations. He began learning the guitar at the age of 6 from older musicians in his community and began working as a mariachi in Las Cruces, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez in his early twenties. He has performed and served as creative director in a variety of ensembles, taught as part of several educational initiatives and in 2005 was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson as the first New Mexico state representative of Mariachi music. In addition to his work with Lone Piñon he has served for 13 years as the director of Mariachi Sonidos del Monte, one of New Mexico’s premiere Mariachi ensembles.
Poster Artist
Ed Sandoval’s paintings illustrate a deep reverence for the New Mexico of his boyhood, when life was slow and peaceful. Born in the rural mountain village of Nambe, he preserves that way of life, bringing his memories of the “old ones” into landscapes filled with bold colors and rustic serenity. Sagebrush, chamisa and majestic cottonwoods grow alongside weathered adobe haciendas and churches. Ed’s signature image, “El Viejito” (little old man), walks alone or with a companion down a dusty, winding pathway. To Ed, New Mexico is an ever-changing symphony of color and light, and he captures its moods and movement with a feeling of impressionism and expressionism.
Drawing from his memories of growing up, Ed brings the rural figures and scenes to life. After priming the canvas with a bold red undercoat, he outlines the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains pulsing with energy and warmth.
When Ed was still young, the family moved to Los Alamos so his father could work on the Manhattan Project. He also lived in Tesuque and Truchas before finally settling in Taos. Ed has always been drawn to New Mexico’s past, typified by places such as Mora Valley, where old casitas are being reclaimed by the elements. Their once-shiny tin roofs have darkened into a deep wine color, contrasting boldly against a blue sky. To him, New Mexico’s enchantment is personal and spiritual, and he wants the viewer to experience the uplifting emotions of seeing its beauty.
Ed’s work is sought by collectors worldwide. In 2012, he received the prestigious Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He has been featured in leading publications such as The Saturday Evening Post (cover artist), New Mexico Magazine, Cowboys & Indians, Western Art Collector, American Art and Southwest Art. He has also been the commemorative poster artist for the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, Taos Fall Arts, Taos Winter Wine Festival and other celebrations. Former President Barack Obama chose one of Ed’s paintings to adorn his official thank you cards for New Mexico, he was filmed by the Travel Channel, and his work appeared in an Anne Hathaway Movie (The Idea of You) and will soon appear in a Netflix series.
Visit the Ed Sandoval Gallery.
Drawing from his memories of growing up, Ed brings the rural figures and scenes to life. After priming the canvas with a bold red undercoat, he outlines the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains pulsing with energy and warmth.
When Ed was still young, the family moved to Los Alamos so his father could work on the Manhattan Project. He also lived in Tesuque and Truchas before finally settling in Taos. Ed has always been drawn to New Mexico’s past, typified by places such as Mora Valley, where old casitas are being reclaimed by the elements. Their once-shiny tin roofs have darkened into a deep wine color, contrasting boldly against a blue sky. To him, New Mexico’s enchantment is personal and spiritual, and he wants the viewer to experience the uplifting emotions of seeing its beauty.
Ed’s work is sought by collectors worldwide. In 2012, he received the prestigious Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He has been featured in leading publications such as The Saturday Evening Post (cover artist), New Mexico Magazine, Cowboys & Indians, Western Art Collector, American Art and Southwest Art. He has also been the commemorative poster artist for the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, Taos Fall Arts, Taos Winter Wine Festival and other celebrations. Former President Barack Obama chose one of Ed’s paintings to adorn his official thank you cards for New Mexico, he was filmed by the Travel Channel, and his work appeared in an Anne Hathaway Movie (The Idea of You) and will soon appear in a Netflix series.
Visit the Ed Sandoval Gallery.
Guest Curators
Carmella Scorcia Pacheco is a post-doctoral fellow with the University of New Mexico’s Hispanic Southwest Studies program in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. She is a certified accordion technician with the New Mexico Folk Arts program where she learned to rebuild and tune accordions under master craftsman, Tony Tomei. She has since received her Ph.D. in Spanish with a concentration in Border Studies from the University of Arizona in 2023. Her research and teaching interests include expressive culture of New Mexico and the U.S. Southwest borderlands while utilizing the folkloric record to recover feminine-voiced narratives of 19th and early 20th century New Mexico. Her work has been featured in The New Mexico Historical Review, The Journal of the Southwest, Borderlore Online Journal, The New Mexico Poetry Anthology, Intersecciones Hispánicas (UNM), and the Smithsonian Folklife Magazine.
Robert Lucero is a native of northern New Mexico. He began playing music as soon as he could stand and reach the keys on the old upright player piano in his parents’ home. Coming from a musical family where he played and sang ranchera music on guitar, trumpet, keyboards, acordeón, and vocals with primos y primas, he also trained in classical piano and symphonic band trumpet. Robert first began playing mariachi in high school with Mariachi Española, directed by his late father, Robert “Bobby” Lucero.
After leaving New Mexico for college, he founded, in the fall of 1994, and directed, until the spring of 1998, el Mariachi Cardenal de Stanford, which continues to perform to this day. He was instrumental in establishing the mariachi ensemble class in the Music Department at Stanford. After a year of graduate school at Stanford, he was appointed adjunct faculty in the Stanford Music Department, where he was the lead instructor of the mariachi ensemble class for five years. During this time, Robert taught mariachi in public schools and at the Mexican Heritage Corporation Plaza in San Jose, CA. Robert has also been honored to teach armonía and trumpet at Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque, and other mariachi conferences and festivals in New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas.
During and after his time at Stanford, he performed mariachi music professionally in and around San Jose, CA, including with Mariachi Santa Cecilia, Mariachi Azteca, and other ensembles. He also performed and recorded other musical genres, such as son jarocho, son Cubano, cumbia, vallenato, son huasteco, and Chican@ music, with various ensembles throughout California and beyond.
Returning to New Mexico in 2005, Robert began law school at the University of New Mexico, during and after which he performed with Mariachi Tapatío, Mariachi Tepeyac, and Mariachi Tenampa.
In the fall semester 2019, Robert re-initiated the mariachi ensemble class at UNM, with the essential support of visionary leadership at the UNM College of Fine Arts and Department of Music, as well as the invaluable contributions of his fellow instructors. He continues to instruct the UNM Music Department mariachi ensemble class.
In addition to his music career, Robert maintains a law practice centering on real estate, land use, and estate planning. He remains active in community service with several boards and organizations such as the UNM John Donald Robb Musical Trust, the State Bar of New Mexico Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, the UNM School of Law Alumni/ae Association (Past President), and the United Way of Central New Mexico Hispano Philanthropic Society. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the UNM School of Law, and he is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education classes.
After leaving New Mexico for college, he founded, in the fall of 1994, and directed, until the spring of 1998, el Mariachi Cardenal de Stanford, which continues to perform to this day. He was instrumental in establishing the mariachi ensemble class in the Music Department at Stanford. After a year of graduate school at Stanford, he was appointed adjunct faculty in the Stanford Music Department, where he was the lead instructor of the mariachi ensemble class for five years. During this time, Robert taught mariachi in public schools and at the Mexican Heritage Corporation Plaza in San Jose, CA. Robert has also been honored to teach armonía and trumpet at Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque, and other mariachi conferences and festivals in New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas.
During and after his time at Stanford, he performed mariachi music professionally in and around San Jose, CA, including with Mariachi Santa Cecilia, Mariachi Azteca, and other ensembles. He also performed and recorded other musical genres, such as son jarocho, son Cubano, cumbia, vallenato, son huasteco, and Chican@ music, with various ensembles throughout California and beyond.
Returning to New Mexico in 2005, Robert began law school at the University of New Mexico, during and after which he performed with Mariachi Tapatío, Mariachi Tepeyac, and Mariachi Tenampa.
In the fall semester 2019, Robert re-initiated the mariachi ensemble class at UNM, with the essential support of visionary leadership at the UNM College of Fine Arts and Department of Music, as well as the invaluable contributions of his fellow instructors. He continues to instruct the UNM Music Department mariachi ensemble class.
In addition to his music career, Robert maintains a law practice centering on real estate, land use, and estate planning. He remains active in community service with several boards and organizations such as the UNM John Donald Robb Musical Trust, the State Bar of New Mexico Committee on Diversity in the Legal Profession, the UNM School of Law Alumni/ae Association (Past President), and the United Way of Central New Mexico Hispano Philanthropic Society. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the UNM School of Law, and he is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education classes.
Artistic Director
lisa nevada's choreographies, performance, and teaching are an homage to the generosity & wisdom of our earth mother. Dedicating her life to dance, lisa has created land-based choreographies and teaching methodologies on the Mesas, in the Bosque, within the Mountains, and amidst the Volcanoes in her homelands of New México where she spent most of her life. lisa landed in Brooklyn in 2019 where she thrives as a dance and teaching artist. In Lenapehoking (NYC) and beyond, she facilitates movement experiences and performs dances that engage people in the observation of ecosystems and our human interactions to ignite kinship with mama earth, centered on gratitude. lisa is fortunate to be one of the inaugural Artists-in-Residence at the Beaver Institute (US) and teach with The Taylor School of The Paul Taylor Dance Foundation (NYC). She is a participant of MAQAHATINE, a Montréal-based gathering space for First Nations and Indigenous artists and a member of Radical Evolution’s Street Theatre Crew.
Honorary Advisor
photo by Sage Vogel
Enrique Lamadrid, PhD is Professor Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of Spanish at the University of New Mexico. His research interests include ethnopoetics, folklore and music, Chicano literature, contemporary Mexican poetry, and literary translation. His field work centers in NM, but ranges as well into Mexico, Spain, the Andes and the Caribbean. His research on the Indo- Hispanic traditions of New Mexico charts the influence of indigenous cultures on the Spanish language and imagination. His literary writings explore the borderlands between cultures, their natural environments, and between popular traditions and literary expression. In 2006 and 2008 he organized an international research team working on the spiritual traditions of the Camino Real, with special focus on Durango, the role of penitential brotherhoods, and the Mexico experiences of Padre Antonio José Martínez. In 2009 and 2010 he organized expeditions to Aguascalientes, Mexico and Jinotepe, Nicaragua to document popular festivals on Santiago, the patron saint of Spain most associated with conquest and resistance to conquest.
Author of numerous books and articles, Enrique Lamadrid’s collaboration with renowned photographer Miguel Gandert is legendary. In 2009 they were jointly awarded the Gilberto Espinosa Prize by the New Mexico Historical Society for their work on the intangible cultural heritage of the Camino Real, “Hermanitos Comanchitos”: Indo-Hispano Rituals of Captivity and Redemption (UNM Press 2003), won the Chicago Folklore Prize in 2004, the oldest and most important in the nation for folklore and ethnography. Nuevo México Profundo: Rituals of an Indo-Hispano Homeland (Museum of NM 2000), a previous collaboration with Gandert won the prestigious Southwest Book Award in 2001. In 2005, Hermanitos Comanchitos also won the Southwest book award. The same year he was awarded the Américo Paredes Prize by the American Folklore Society in 2005 to recognize his community based cultural work. Lamadrid is a scholar of the corrido ballad tradition of Greater Mexico and has several key articles on the subject, as well as a book co-authored with Jack Loeffler, La Música de los Viejitos: Hispano Folk Music of the Río Grande del Norte (UNM Press). He has produced a notable series of CDs.
In the museum world, he led the design team and was co-curator of the permanent exhibit at the International Camino Real Heritage Center south of Socorro, NM. He was also a member of the curatorial team of the Smithsonian “El Río” exhibit on bio-regionalism and traditional culture in the Río Grande/Bravo basin. Lamadrid was sole curator of “Nuevo México, ¿Hasta Cuándo?: Four Centuries of Hispanic Ballady”, a component of the renown Smithsonian exhibit “Corridos sin Fronteras / Ballads without Borders: A New World Ballad Tradition.”
Lamadrid is also an acequia activist and scholar of traditional water management. He and his students are preparing documentation for a UNESCO nomination for the Acequia cultures and systems of New Mexico and northern Mexico for world heritage status in the category of intangible cultural heritage. He is mayordomo of five sub-laterals of the Gallegos Lateral in Albuquerque’s north valley, a district of 90 parciantes known as Acequia los Alamos de los Gallegos. His recent children’s book is titled Juan the Bear and the Water of Life: La Acequia de Juan del Oso, and combines the history of the acequias in the beautiful Mora valley with the famous Juan del Oso cycle of traditional cuentos.
Author of numerous books and articles, Enrique Lamadrid’s collaboration with renowned photographer Miguel Gandert is legendary. In 2009 they were jointly awarded the Gilberto Espinosa Prize by the New Mexico Historical Society for their work on the intangible cultural heritage of the Camino Real, “Hermanitos Comanchitos”: Indo-Hispano Rituals of Captivity and Redemption (UNM Press 2003), won the Chicago Folklore Prize in 2004, the oldest and most important in the nation for folklore and ethnography. Nuevo México Profundo: Rituals of an Indo-Hispano Homeland (Museum of NM 2000), a previous collaboration with Gandert won the prestigious Southwest Book Award in 2001. In 2005, Hermanitos Comanchitos also won the Southwest book award. The same year he was awarded the Américo Paredes Prize by the American Folklore Society in 2005 to recognize his community based cultural work. Lamadrid is a scholar of the corrido ballad tradition of Greater Mexico and has several key articles on the subject, as well as a book co-authored with Jack Loeffler, La Música de los Viejitos: Hispano Folk Music of the Río Grande del Norte (UNM Press). He has produced a notable series of CDs.
In the museum world, he led the design team and was co-curator of the permanent exhibit at the International Camino Real Heritage Center south of Socorro, NM. He was also a member of the curatorial team of the Smithsonian “El Río” exhibit on bio-regionalism and traditional culture in the Río Grande/Bravo basin. Lamadrid was sole curator of “Nuevo México, ¿Hasta Cuándo?: Four Centuries of Hispanic Ballady”, a component of the renown Smithsonian exhibit “Corridos sin Fronteras / Ballads without Borders: A New World Ballad Tradition.”
Lamadrid is also an acequia activist and scholar of traditional water management. He and his students are preparing documentation for a UNESCO nomination for the Acequia cultures and systems of New Mexico and northern Mexico for world heritage status in the category of intangible cultural heritage. He is mayordomo of five sub-laterals of the Gallegos Lateral in Albuquerque’s north valley, a district of 90 parciantes known as Acequia los Alamos de los Gallegos. His recent children’s book is titled Juan the Bear and the Water of Life: La Acequia de Juan del Oso, and combines the history of the acequias in the beautiful Mora valley with the famous Juan del Oso cycle of traditional cuentos.
Educational Outreach
Dr. Rosalía Pacheco is a Literacy Lecturer III in the Department of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy (TEELP) at The University of New Mexico. She holds an MA and PhD in Special Education with an emphasis on access and inclusion for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse and students with and without disabilities. She is a licensed teacher and taught in NM schools for 11 years including teaching English Language Arts, is LETRS trained, and has experience with intervention in core instruction including reading. Additionally, she was a UNM clinical supervisor and mentor for pre-service teachers in both general and special education settings for over 4 years. She has taught literacy and teacher preparation courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. For example, Reading and Diversity I, Reading and Diversity II, Teaching K-8 Language Arts, Assessment for Diverse Learners, and Teaching Multicultural Special Education. Her research includes educational equity and access to Title III services for English Learners, quantitative analysis of school district policies to support diverse learners in English language acquisition, infusing Science of Reading instruction with culturally relevant pedagogy, and curriculum development for instruction as well as assessment practices. She has worked with schools and community organizations as a storyteller and scholar focusing on literacy and NM folk traditions with the NM Humanities Council for over 20 years. Her work was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution and the Joint Council of Librarians of Color to name a few.
2026 Educational Outreach Events
Each year ¡Música del Corazón! delivers 'eduformaces' lasting approximately 60 minutes. Events feature artists performing in the annual November ¡Música del Corazón! concert, plus invited specialists of northern New Mexico Spanish cultural history, dance, and music.
Barelas Senior Center
Friday 6 November
10-11am
Baile demonstration with Lucy Salazar and music with Tíos Míos
This event is a free and open to the public
Tierra Adentro of New Mexico
Monday 21 October
8:10-9:45am Dance Focus
11:45am-1:10pm 9th Graders
Baile demonstration with Lucy Salazar and music with Tíos Míos
These sessions available only to Tierra Adentro students, staff, and faculty
Barelas Senior Center
Friday 6 November
10-11am
Baile demonstration with Lucy Salazar and music with Tíos Míos
This event is a free and open to the public
Tierra Adentro of New Mexico
Monday 21 October
8:10-9:45am Dance Focus
11:45am-1:10pm 9th Graders
Baile demonstration with Lucy Salazar and music with Tíos Míos
These sessions available only to Tierra Adentro students, staff, and faculty
Sponsors
SOUTH BROADWAY CULTURAL CENTER
Veronica Dallas SBCC Manager, Manuel Garcia Library Manager, Angela R. Mendez Events Supervisor, Augustine Romero Gallery Curator, Jordan M. Marti Technical Manager
UNM COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS
Harris D. Smith, Dean, Brianne Santos, Jaime Tillotson
UNM DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Dr. Michael Hix, Dept. Chair, Dr. Ana Alonso Minutti, Bonita Standard
JOHN DONALD ROBB MUSICAL TRUST
Board of Directors
Mark Emmons, Ed.D., Peter Gilbert, Ph.D., Nancy Harbert, Michael Hix, D.M., Rev. Jan F. Hosea, Robert Lucero, Jr., Robbin MacVittie, Valerie Martinez, lisa nevada, Karola Obermüller, Ph.D., Rosalía Pachco, Ph.D., Ellen Robb, Suzanne Schadl, Ph.D., Art Sheinberg, Harris D. Smith, Shelly Smith, Robert Tillotson, Ph.D., Jeff Todd, Marc Woodward, CPA
Community Advisory
Molly Nicholson, Mercedes Alejandra Payán Ramírez, Eva Lipton-Orman, John Nichols
Honorary Board
Dr. Ana Alonso-Minutti, Dr. Tom Dodson, Belinda Jentzen, Michael Kelly, Dr. Enrique Lamadrid, Dr. James Linnell, Martin Mathisen, Michael Mauldin, Dr. Christopher Mead, Elsa Menéndez, Dr. Elsie Morosin, David Oberg, Dr. Christopher Sultis, Dr. James (Jim) B. Wright
In Memoriam
James E. (Jim) Bonnell, James Bratcher, Charlemaud Curtis, Dr. Jack Douthett, Darlene Evers, Marilyn Fletcher, Carmoline Grady, Nina Hobbs, Dr. Dale E. Kempter, Priscilla Robb McDonnell, Carolyn Mountain, John D. Robb, Jr., Dr. William M. Seymour, Karen Turner, Scott Wilkinson
Staff
Emilio Méndez Rizo, Thomas Goodrich
SOUTH BROADWAY CULTURAL CENTER
Veronica Dallas SBCC Manager, Manuel Garcia Library Manager, Angela R. Mendez Events Supervisor, Augustine Romero Gallery Curator, Jordan M. Marti Technical Manager
UNM COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS
Harris D. Smith, Dean, Brianne Santos, Jaime Tillotson
UNM DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Dr. Michael Hix, Dept. Chair, Dr. Ana Alonso Minutti, Bonita Standard
JOHN DONALD ROBB MUSICAL TRUST
Board of Directors
Mark Emmons, Ed.D., Peter Gilbert, Ph.D., Nancy Harbert, Michael Hix, D.M., Rev. Jan F. Hosea, Robert Lucero, Jr., Robbin MacVittie, Valerie Martinez, lisa nevada, Karola Obermüller, Ph.D., Rosalía Pachco, Ph.D., Ellen Robb, Suzanne Schadl, Ph.D., Art Sheinberg, Harris D. Smith, Shelly Smith, Robert Tillotson, Ph.D., Jeff Todd, Marc Woodward, CPA
Community Advisory
Molly Nicholson, Mercedes Alejandra Payán Ramírez, Eva Lipton-Orman, John Nichols
Honorary Board
Dr. Ana Alonso-Minutti, Dr. Tom Dodson, Belinda Jentzen, Michael Kelly, Dr. Enrique Lamadrid, Dr. James Linnell, Martin Mathisen, Michael Mauldin, Dr. Christopher Mead, Elsa Menéndez, Dr. Elsie Morosin, David Oberg, Dr. Christopher Sultis, Dr. James (Jim) B. Wright
In Memoriam
James E. (Jim) Bonnell, James Bratcher, Charlemaud Curtis, Dr. Jack Douthett, Darlene Evers, Marilyn Fletcher, Carmoline Grady, Nina Hobbs, Dr. Dale E. Kempter, Priscilla Robb McDonnell, Carolyn Mountain, John D. Robb, Jr., Dr. William M. Seymour, Karen Turner, Scott Wilkinson
Staff
Emilio Méndez Rizo, Thomas Goodrich
¡Música del Corazón! Committee
Dr. Enrique Lamadrid Honorary Advisor, lisa nevada Artistic Director, Dr. Carmella Scorcia Pacheco and Robert Lucero, Jr. Co-Curators, Dr. Rosalia Pacheco Education Outreach, Dr. Robert Tillotson Board Representative, , Emilio Méndez Rizo Graduate Assistant, Thomas Goodrich Program Specialist
Artistic Director & Stage Manager
lisa nevada
Lights and Sound Engineer
Margaret "Liz" Rincón
Videographer
Robin Rupe
V.olti S.ubito Productions, LLC
Stage Crew
Emilio Méndez Rizo, others tba
Front of House
Rosalía Pacheco, Ellen Robb, Suzanne Schadl, John Nichols
Ushers
tba
Dr. Enrique Lamadrid Honorary Advisor, lisa nevada Artistic Director, Dr. Carmella Scorcia Pacheco and Robert Lucero, Jr. Co-Curators, Dr. Rosalia Pacheco Education Outreach, Dr. Robert Tillotson Board Representative, , Emilio Méndez Rizo Graduate Assistant, Thomas Goodrich Program Specialist
Artistic Director & Stage Manager
lisa nevada
Lights and Sound Engineer
Margaret "Liz" Rincón
Videographer
Robin Rupe
V.olti S.ubito Productions, LLC
Stage Crew
Emilio Méndez Rizo, others tba
Front of House
Rosalía Pacheco, Ellen Robb, Suzanne Schadl, John Nichols
Ushers
tba
Archives
- 2025 El Acordeón in New Mexico’s Hispano Musical Traditions
- 2024 Sacred Choral Music and Ritual Dance on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
- 2023 10th Anniversary Celebration
- 2022 Baroque Fandangos of New Spain and Historic Fandangos of New Mexico
- 2021 Fandango Roots and Flowers
- 2020 Mariachis y Flamencos
- 2019 Sin Froteras 30th Anniversary Celebration
- 2018 Una Velada Nuevomexicana
- 2017 Adventuras Musicales - Spain, Mexico, New Mexico
- 2016 A Celebration of Nuevomexicano Music
- 2015 Spotlights Tradition
- 2014 Enjoy Time-Honored New Mexico Folk Music
- 2013 An Afternoon with Frank McCulloch
- 2012 A Celebration of the New Mexico Centennial