the Governor's Arts Award Winners

Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference

Las Cruces

2011 Recipient, Major Contributors to the Arts

Now in its 17th year, the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference has made a major contribution to the arts in New Mexico by showcasing the vibrant Mexican and New Mexican cultural traditions of mariachi and ballet folkloric dance. Since 1994, the educational programs of the Mariachi Conference have hosted some 13,000 youth and adult musicians and dancers, and reached more than 150,000 audience members through public performances. Workshops are central to the annual five-day conference held each November in Las Cruces, and between 750 and 800 students are provided with the opportunity to work with world-renowned visiting artists. Many students from the conference have gone on to study mariachi and classical music at the college level, eventually organizing their own musical groups.