¡Globalquerque!, New Mexico’s 1st Annual World Music and Culture Celebration

Albuquerque (New Mexico), USA – Three members of the western U.S. world music community have joined forces with the National Hispanic Cultural Center and the City of Albuquerque to create ¡Globalquerque! – New Mexico’s First World Music and Culture Celebration. The festival will take over the entire campus of the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Tuesday, September 6, showcasing 12 bands from 5 continents on 3 stages over the course of one evening.

The three-stage festival will feature twelve world music artists, including representative artists from New Mexico’s musical traditions. A staggered schedule will allow people to sample the broadest range of performances in environments ranging from a small intimate theater to an outdoor stage on the plaza.

The first ¡Globalquerque! will be both a public event and an affiliated showcase for the Western Arts Alliance (WAA) conference being held in Albuquerque September 7 – 11. WAA attendees consist of performing arts presenters from all over the region. This will be a great opportunity for visiting presenters to experience a world-class event in Albuquerque. The broad range of performance spaces is designed to provide showcase opportunities for bands of all sizes. The festival will be one of the premier showcase events of the 2005 WAA conference, as well as a major cultural event for Albuquerque.

In 2006, ¡Globalquerque! will become a standalone weekend event. The programming will be expanded to include educational workshops, children’s activities and a foreign film track. The Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau intends to make the 2006 festival a featured destination event, marketing vacation packages (with airfare and hotels) around the region. The first and second festivals will both be part of Albuquerque’s 18 month-long Tricentennial Celebration.

The ¡Globalquerque! mission is to highlight the cultures of the world alongside the traditional cultures of New Mexico – expanding the state’s residents’ view of the world and the world’s view of the state.

Confirmed performers include:

· Kiran Ahluwalia (India)

· Rahim AlHaj (Iraq)

· The Bills (Canada)

· Black Eagle (Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico)

· Marta Gómez y Los Changos (Colombia/Argentina)

· Lura (Cape Verde / Portugal)

· NoJazz (France)

· Los Reyes de Albuquerque (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

· Samarabalouf (France / Gypsy)

¡Globalquerque! New Mexico’s First Annual Celebration Of World Music and Culture will take over the entire campus of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Concertgoers will be free to move from stage to stage – experiencing the intimate nightclub/café setting of the Salon Ortega, the formal concert setting of the 600-seat Journal Theater, and the Plaza Mayor’s outdoor festival stage.

There will be New Mexican food available from La Fonda del Bosque, the Center’s restaurant (including beer and wine) and the Center’s Sculpture Garden and Art Museum, will be open into the evening. (Festival admission includes entrée into the museum and garden).

Tickets will be available July 1 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets will cost $25 in advance, $30 at the door. There is a $20 early bird special if you buy your tickets in July.

For further information, visit globalquerque.org.