Opening Schedule :
1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.: Haaku’ Buffalo Group of Acoma Pueblo on Milner Plaza
1:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.: Tewa Women’s Choir of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo in the MIAC Theater
The Tewa Women’s Choir from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo has kept the Tewa language alive by performing traditional and social songs in public venues for more than 40 years.
2 p.m.: Sihasin, Alter-Native Rock Music on Milner Plaza
Sister and brother, Jeneda and Clayson Benally of the Indigenous punk rock band Blackfire, are from the Navajo (Dine’) Nation in Northern Arizona. Their music reflects hope for equality, healthy and respectful communities and social and environmental justice. Sihasin (See-ha-szin) is a Navajo word meaning to think with hope and assurance.
2:30 p.m.: Talk: Overview of Native Music of the Southwest by Angelo Joaquin (Tohono O’odham), Ethnomusicologist in the MIAC Theater
Angelo Joaquin, Jr. has directed the annual Waila Festival in Tucson since 1989. Waila (why-la) is now considered the traditional social dance music of the O’odham with its roots in the desert of southern Arizona.
Ongoing from 1-4 p.m.: All-ages hands-on activity, cardboard drum decorating in the MIAC classroom
1-4 p.m.: Drum making demonstration by Arnold Herrera (Cochiti Pueblo) in the Mural Gallery
Arnold Herrera is a 2011 Governor’s Arts Awards recipient. He is a master of several traditional Pueblo art forms. While best known as a drum maker he is also celebrated for his silverwork jewelry and red willow baskets, as well as his skills as a Keresan song composer, and traditional dance choreographer.
Dance and musical performances by Native Musicians,Family activities, refreshments by the Women’s Board of the Museum of New Mexico. Free with admission.
Music is the universal cornerstone around which life’s rhythms resound. The music of the Southwest is the heartbeat of American Indian life, encompassing over two thousand years of variety and sophistication. Continuing to evolve, musicians of the indigenous southwest express themselves through traditional forms as well as a wide variety of modern musical styles.
Utilizing the extraordinary musical collections of the museum and multimedia of the sights and sounds of musical styles and elements, Heartbeat is a vibrant exhibition exploring the role of music and music making in the life of the Southwest’s Native people.
