The University of New Mexico

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Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
kwent2@unm.edu

January 20, 2006

Keeping Native New Mexican Music Alive

Musician and vocalist Jenny Wells Vincent first performed at UNM in the summer of 1947, at the invitation of Professor Joaquín Ortega and UNM's School of Inter-American Affairs. She was accompanied by folksinger Pete Seeger. On Friday, January 27, 2006 at 2 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library, she will again play in a special performance.

The event honors the life and career of one of the premiere cultural activists in New Mexico. She began playing and singing traditional New Mexican music during the 1930's as part of the cultural activities of the federal Work Projects Administration.

For many years, Vincent and her husband Craig ran the San Cristóbal Valley Ranch, which featured retreats and workshops for writers, artists and activists; and a youth camp curriculum featuring riding, crafts, campfires, skits, local culture, music and dance.

The documentary film, “Salt of the Earth,” was conceived and planned at the ranch. During the 1951 mining strike at Hurley, New Mexico, Vincent accompanied the women on the picket lines with her accordion.

She founded Taos Publications and Recordings, now called Cantemos Records and has recorded regional musicians and singers for several decades. She currently has a new CD of instrumental pieces collected by WPA field workers.

Please join University Libraries, Chicano/Hispano/Mexicano Studies, The Latin American & Iberian Institute, Arts of the Americas, The Center for Regional Studies and the Chicano/Hispano/Latino Research Program in honoring a New Mexico cultural treasure.

 


The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

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