SENATE MEMORIAL 70

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF EVA ENCINIAS, MARISOL ENCINIAS, JOAQUIN ENCINIAS AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FLAMENCO.

 

     WHEREAS, the mission of the national institute of flamenco is "to preserve and promote flamenco's artistry, history and culture by presenting the finest flamenco in the world and by educating the American family in this art form while emphasizing the positive influence of art on family and community"; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico native Clarita Garcia de Aranda passed down the art of flamenco to her daughter, Eva Encinias, and Eva has continued the tradition through her daughter, Marisol Encinias; and

     WHEREAS, Eva Encinias established her own dance company, ritmo flamenco, in 1973 and toured with them for fifteen years until, in 1976, she began teaching flamenco at the university of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Eva Encinias developed flamenco as an art form that led to the inception of the flamenco concentration program at the university of New Mexico's department of theater and dance, the only dance program in the world with a flamenco concentration; and

     WHEREAS, Eva Encinias founded the national institute of flamenco in 1982, and it has grown into an internationally recognized arts organization; and

     WHEREAS, many of Eva Encinias's students attend classes solely through scholarships, as Eva always believed that economic circumstance should never keep anyone from learning to dance; and

     WHEREAS, while creating international connections and investing in local and national artists for four decades, the national institute of flamenco has enriched the city of Albuquerque, the southwestern United States, the Americas and beyond through the art of flamenco; and

     WHEREAS, in June 2017, Eva Encinias's work was recognized with an award of membership into el orden de Isabel la Catolica, a special honor by the king of Spain, Felipe VI; and

     WHEREAS, in December 2020, Eva Encinias retired from the university of New Mexico department of theater and dance after forty-three years of teaching and service; and

     WHEREAS, in 2022, Eva Encinias received a national endowment for the arts national heritage fellowship, the New Mexico governor's award for excellence in the arts and the city of Albuquerque's creative bravos legacy award; and

     WHEREAS, Eva Encinias remains active as the founding director of the national institute of flamenco, teaching classes in the children's curriculum, directing the student performance company, ninos flamencos, and providing invaluable leadership to the artistic and administrative staff alike; and

     WHEREAS, Eva's daughter, Marisol Encinias, a native New Mexican, began the formal study of dance at age five with her grandmother, Clarita Garcia de Aranda; and

     WHEREAS, Marisol Encinias is the executive director of the national institute of flamenco and is the artistic director and curator of Festival Flamenco Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, as a person of color, Marisol Encinias identifies with the flamenco art form as it is largely about, and practiced by, people of color; and

     WHEREAS, Marisol Encinias continues to work as an instructor, performer and choreographer and is currently an assistant professor of dance at the university of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Joaquin Encinias learned flamenco as a way of life from his grandmother, Clarita Garcia de Aranda, and his mother, Eva Encinias, first performing at age five and by age twelve as a soloist in his mother's company, ritmo flamenco; and

     WHEREAS, in 1999, Joaquin Encinias worked with director Debbie Allen in the production of Soul Possessed, which premiered at the Kennedy center in Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, as artistic director of yjastros: the American flamenco repertory company, Joaquin Encinias has amassed a dance repertory collection of over sixty pieces of original flamenco choreography, which includes his own works and works by some of the most influential flamenco and Spanish dance artists in the world; and

     WHEREAS, today, Joaquin Encinias is one of the most highly sought-after flamenco artists and instructors in the nation because of his unique exposition of technique and craft; 

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the cultural influence of Eva Encinias, Marisol Encinias, Joaquin Encinias and the national institute of flamenco be recognized and honored; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to Eva Encinias, Marisol Encinias and Joaquin Encinias.

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