On Veterans’ Day this November, a Veteran Memorial sculpture designed by NMSA faculty Cristina González and Jacob Sisneros will be dedicated to pay tribute to the sacrifices made by Hispanic veterans; in particular, Pete Padilla and Manuel Mora of Albuquerque’s South Valley. The Department of Cultural Affairs, National Hispanic Cultural Center, New Mexico Arts, and the families of Manuel Mora and Pete Padilla will hold this ceremony on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2015, at 10am, in the Manuel Mora and Pete Padilla Memorial Park on the National Hispanic Cultural Center campus.
González (NMSA’s Visual Arts Department Chair) and Sisneros (Visual Arts Faculty), who also run González + Sisneros Studio, designed their sculpture Warriors Repose on commission through capital funds obligated to the Memorial Park. The sculpture is inspired by the grand serpent columns which stand on top of the Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itza (a Pre-Columbian temple honoring warriors). González described the sculpture thus: “The memorial consists of two identical, 15-foot tall, CorTen steel structures facing one another and forming a literal and metaphorical connection between the Rio Grande Bosque and the NHCC campus. One structure is dedicated to Pedro “Pete” Padilla and the other is dedicated to Gregorio “Manuel” Mora, two young men from Barelas who perished in Vietnam.”
“We are held by the narrative of war on the inside, and yet we glimpse beyond to the park, its surrounding architecture, and the unkempt, wild Bosque.”
Confirmed speakers at the dedication include New Mexico Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez, Department of Cultural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Veronica Gonzales, Colonel Robert Cortez, NHCC Executive Director Rebecca Avitia, representatives of the Padilla and Mora families, Cristina González, Jacob Sisneros, and Reynoldo “Sonny” Rivera.
An interview with Spencer Beckwith and the artists will air this coming Saturday, November 7, at 8:35am, during KUNM’s broadcast of NPR’s Weekend Edition. A link to the interview will be available later this week at www.KUNM.org. The four-minute broadcast version of the interview, along with a longer, more complete version of the conversation, will also be available on Beckwith’s page at the website http://kunm.org/programs/spencer-beckwith-arts.
We hope you can join us next week at the ceremony!
November 11, 10:00am
National Hispanic Cultural Center
Albuquerque, NM
THANK YOU Cristina and Jacob for all the work you do for our community and our students!
Stay tuned!
Be sure to keep up to date on our many upcoming performances and events through the fall! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, join our listerv by emailing Emily Wolf (ewolf@nmschoolforthearts.org), and check our website for updates!