Last Friday, April 5, Albuquerque High School hosted Nuestra Juventud, a celebration of the mural adorning Albuquerque High School. The event was hosted by the Chicana and Chicano Studies Preparatory Program and Pathway to Careers, which is a collaboration between the University of New Mexico and local high schools.
“Gracias por esa pelea,” one presenter said, thanking the audience for fighting for the mural. He called the mural an expression of New Mexican culture on the very walls of the school.
Several prominent New Mexicans were in attendance, including Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales, artist Francisco LeFebre, UNM Dean of Arts and Sciences Mark Peceny, UNM Chair of Chicana and Chicano Studies Irene Vasquez and several members of the Albuquerque Public School board.
The celebration was to highlight LeFebre’s mural, which was originally painted in the high school during the 1970s. The mural was in danger of being torn down in recent renovations.
LeFebre was Albuquerque’s Artist in Residence from 1990 to 2013, and is a co-founder of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. His artwork is displayed throughout New Mexico and in New York, Texas and several countries around the world.
“To me, being an artist is a vocation, but a vocation doesn’t come without community and you are my community,” LeFebre said.
When LeFebre did the AHS mural, he was a young and rising artist. Soon after painting it, he left to Mexico and would go on to study under Diego Rivera and Pablo Picasso.
The Chicana and Chicano studies program has existed at AHS for around 50 years. Several students in the program stressed its importance to their school, saying that they appreciated the opportunity to learn new things about their culture and history, as well as the dual enrollment credits that will roll over to UNM.
“We want every student here at Albuquerque High, every student at all the participating schools, to think that they can succeed at the flagship university,” said Dean of Arts and Sciences, Mark Peceny about the collaboration. “What’s really amazing about the Chicana and Chicano studies program at UNM is it’s one of the few programs that thinks from elementary school to Ph.D.”
Culinary Arts, which is described by the students as part of the Chicana and Chicano studies “family” provided enchiladas and agua frescas to the attendees. According to the students, Culinary Arts is very active on campus and cooks meals at least once a week. Through this class, students can earn a food service certificate from Central New Mexico Community College.
Performances included ballet folklorico by AHS students and the Atrisco High School Mariachi Band. Several students performed original poetry, including one student from Highland High School.
As pointed out by Morales, the AHS event was an example of what it means to be New Mexican. In collaborating with a cultural artist like LeFebre and UNM’s Chicana and Chicano Studies, AHS displayed their pride in not only their school and their New Mexican culture, but in each other. Students wore shirts that said “somos familia” on the back, meaning “we are family.”
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“Here we are today, proudly standing together in education, in art, in music, in who we are,” Morales said. “This couldn’t happen without the support our wonderful University of New Mexico, which continues to support Chicana and Chicano studies.”
UNM now offers a graduate and Ph.D. program in Chicana and Chicano studies.
Katie Monette is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted by email at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KatieMonette9.