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The Traditional Winter Spanish Market is coming to Old Town this weekend in celebration of 25 years of traditional arts and entertainment. The event, typically held in Santa Fe Plaza, will be held for the first time in Albuquerque and is an offshoot of the larger Summer Spanish Market. Both markets are a place for artists to get together and display what they have done, said Maggie Magalnick, the Markets’ director.
“The Markets are a living exhibition of Hispanic culture,” she said. “[By moving the Winter Market to ABQ], we are hoping to find a new market for the artists.”
Maresa Thompson is the marketing and creative director for Hotel Albuquerque, the venue for the Winter Market’s inaugural Albuquerque event. Thompson said she is “thrilled” the hotel is hosting the 25th anniversary of the Market.
“We are hoping to make this successful for both the artists and Albuquerque residents,” she said. “It will be a great opportunity for [the residents] to see traditional and local art.”
Between the two markets, there are about 230 artists, 100 of which participate in the Winter Market. Artists are juried into the market via traditional categories developed by the artists themselves, Magalnick said.
Seventeen of the 100 artists for the market are youth artists aged 7-17 and must be mentored by current artists to participate.
Beginning Friday, artists will offer their wares in styles including tinwork, straw appliqué, weaving, pottery, precious metal, bone and wood carving and furniture, according to the official press release.
Saturday’s festivities begin at 9 a.m. with a procession of the artists from the hotel’s chapel. Artists will continue to display their work for sale and live music and traditional New Mexican food will be available on both days.
The Spanish Colonial Arts Society, a society dedicated to promoting traditional and local New Mexican art forms, is the driving force behind the markets every year.
Founded in 1929, the society sets up a marketplace for artists and also hosts the only museum in the world dedicated to Spanish Colonial Art, according the website spanishcolonialblog.org.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said in a press release that he was excited to welcome the market, and the experience it provides, to Albuquerque.
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“Whether or not you are a collector or have strong interest in the art form, you owe it to yourself to see the tradition that is part of our centuries-old history,” Berry said.
Traditional Winter Spanish Market
Hotel Albuquerque
800 Rio Grande Blvd. N.W.
Friday from 2 to 9 p.m.
Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
$6 per person or $10 per couple
Children 12 and under are free.
