SILVER CITY, NM – Western New Mexico University held its signature cultural event, ¡Fiesta Latina!, June 5-8. The event is designed to recognize, celebrate and assist in the preservation of New Mexico’s connection with its Mexican heritage, customs and traditions.

The university has held the event since 2017. This year, ¡Fiesta Latina! welcomed 3,734 visitors.

At the center of the festival was a juried artisan mercado featuring the handmade work of more than 30 highly skilled traditional artisans from across Mexico. The mercado represented a wide range of different artistic traditions, including metal working, ceramics, textiles, embellished shoes, leather, woodwork, alebrije (colorfully painted carved figures), mask-making and lacquerware.

One of the artists, Erika Ludmila Hernandez, explained that she and her husband Salvador make modern jewelry that often incorporates Mata Ortiz pottery. Mata Ortiz is a contemporary ceramic tradition that draws from the patterns of Mogollon ceramics found around the archeological site of Casas Grande (Paquimé) in Chihuahua. “My husband and I buy Mata Ortiz pots and purposely break them to create the jewelry,” she explained. Their work is truly collaborative, she said, pointing to a bracelet that featured a ceramic medallion framed by a delicately beaded strap. “My husband decorated the pottery, and I loomed the strap,” she said.

The Hernandez family were not the only collaborative artists at the mercado. One booth represented the work of Artemali Ojoxal, an artist collective of Indigenous women from Puebla. They use dried pine needles to fashion household objects, such as baskets, tortilla warmers and magazine racks.

Outside the artisan mercado, ¡Fiesta Latina! also featured a lineup of music and dance on Regents Square. Friday night showcased mariachi music, with the university’s own Mariachi Plata de WNMU opening for Mariachi Estrella de México. Other musical acts included Luciane Dom, Maruja Limón, Las Cafeteras, Los Texmaniacs and K-Paz de la Sierra. There was a dance performance by Danza Azteca Unión y Conquista and a trick-roping demonstration by Charros.

Other activities at this year’s fiesta included a fashion show, artist demonstrations, and screening of the film Voces de Latinidad. The Silver City Museum hosted make-and-take craft sessions for children.

Visitors to the fiesta enjoyed the lively atmosphere and summer weather. “The music looks really good this year,” said Lisa Lucero, speaking on the second day of the festival. Lucero, from Tucson, said that she has attended ¡Fiesta Latina! before. “I love coming to Silver City in the summer,” she added. “The weather is hot this weekend but not as hot as Arizona.”