Albuquerque Overview Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 521,999 as of July 1, 2008, according to U.S. census estimates,[1] and ranks as the 34th-largest city in the U.S. As of June 2007, the city was the 6th fastest growing in America.[4] With a metropolitan population of 845,913 as of July 1, 2008,[2] Albuquerque is the 59th-largest United States metropolitan area. The Albuquerque MSA population includes the city of Rio Rancho, one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Roughly half of the population of the state of New Mexico lives in the Albuquerque area. Albuquerque is home to the University of New Mexico (UNM), Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, and Petroglyph National Monument. The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque, and the Rio Grande flows through the city, north to south. Albuquerque is home to 300 visual arts, music, dance, literary, film, ethnic, and craft organizations, museums, festivals and associations. Those with international and national appeal include: Albuquerque Studios, a 28-acre city-operated campus includes eight sound stages, production office space, mill space, and an ample back lot. The lot sits on a 9,000-acre development on Albuquerque’s southeast mesa which incorporates the best practices of planned and sustainable urban development. www.abqstudios.com. For info on filming in Albuquerque, http://www.cabq.gov/film/ Baila! Baila! Dance Company is an internationally renowned Mexican folkloric dance company that has appeared at Epcot Center, Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Olympics. http://www.bailabailadance.com/ The Flamenco Program at the University of New Mexico is the only program in the United States to offer a fully developed curriculum in Flamenco technique and choreography and a minor in Flamenco. http://www4.unm.edu/theatre/academics/dance/undergrad.php. Every year in June, the Program’s director, Eva Encinias-Sandoval, organizes the two-week Festival Flamenco Internacional, including master classes with guest artists from Spain and the U.S., a children’s component, and a series of performances in venues around Albuquerque. http://festival.nationalinstituteofflamenco.org/ Gathering of Nations PowWow is one of the largest in the western hemisphere, attracting over 3,000 dancers, singers and drummers from 500 tribes across Canada, the U.S., Central America and South America. The event includes the Miss Indian World pageant, and the Indian Traders’ Market. It is held on the last weekend in April at a University of New Mexico sports arena. http://www.gatheringofnations.com/ The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center showcases the arts and culture of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, including a museum, excellent gift shop, travel center, restaurant and outdoor performance area for multiple Indian dance presentations throughout the year. The Center offers information about visiting the pueblos, with a calendar of feast days and events. It also features exhibits of weaving, pottery, jewelry, clothing and photography. http://www.indianpueblo.org/index.html National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico is the largest cultural center of its kind in the United States, with programs in the visual, performing and literary arts, as well as year-round family programming through its acclaimed education program. The Center is home to an 11,000 square foot art museum, state-of-the-art performing arts center, genealogy center and library, gift shop and restaurant. Part of the State of New Mexico’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the Center sits on 50+ acres in the historic Albuquerque neighborhood of Barelas. http://www.nhccnm.org/ Outpost Performance Space has, for 20 years, presented hundreds of performances and classes on jazz (from dixie to avant-garde), folk, blues & roots music, experimental music, classical music, international music, poetry & spoken word, theater and performance art, featuring local, regional, national and international established and emerging artists. www.outpostspace.org The Tamarind Institute was founded in 1960 to train fine art lithographers who have, in turn, created important print shops throughout the country. http://tamarind.unm.edu/ Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is one of the largest hot air balloon gatherings in the world, held in early October. Founded in 1972 with 13 balloons, today it hosts 700 balloons in a variety of ascensions and activities in this 9-day event attracting thousands. Its new balloon museum is a major attraction. The Fiesta is one of the most photographed events in the world.[27] http://www.balloonfiesta.com/ Those with regional and local appeal include: ArtStreet, art for the homeless, operated by Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless, http://www.abqhch.org/artstreet.htm 516 ARTS, an independent nonprofit venue for contemporary visual and literary art, film/video and music dedicated to featuring local artists in a museum-style gallery in downtown Albuquerque. New Mexico has a multitude of visual artists working in as many media. 516 ARTS offers adventurous programs that address current issues in world culture, presenting innovative and interdisciplinary exhibitions, events and educational activities. http://www.516arts.org/ Los Reyes de Albuquerque is a band of seven musicians headed by Roberto Martinez, winner of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Heritage Fellowship. The group is dedicated to presenting, preserving, and perpetuating traditional New Mexican and Mexican folk music. Since 1962, the group has performed in nursing homes and homeless shelters throughout New Mexico, as well as at the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festivals and in films like Robert Redford’s 1988 “Milagro Beanfield War.” http://www.losreyes.org/ Mariachi Spectacular, a five-day celebration of mariachi music held in several indoor and outdoor venues around Albuquerque, featuring mariachi groups from Mexico, New Mexico and across the nation. Workshops, competitions, concerts, a mass, and more. http://mariachispectacular.com/ National Dance Institute of New Mexico is the largest arts education organization in New Mexico, providing outstanding dance instruction and performance experience to thousands of school children around the state. NDI was founded by famed dancer Jacques d’Amboise, who has a home in Santa Fe. www.ndi-nm.org New Mexico Ballet Company was founded in 1963 to provide training and performances to hundreds of dancers and to provide audiences with traditional and contemporary repertoire while serving as a launching point for dancers seeking careers in dance. http://newmexicoballet.org/ New Mexico Jazz Workshop an Albuquerque institution presenting a variety of performances and educational programs, including Salsa Under the Stars, Jazz Under the Stars, Summer Music Festival, Women’s Voices, Blues Fest, Jam sessions, and Yule Struttin’, among others. http://www.nmjazz.org/ New Mexico Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Guillermo Figueroa, reaching 130,000 audience members annually, including a large music education program. http://www.nmso.org/ Teatro Nuevo Mexico, Albuquerque’s only Latino theater company presents standard repertoire and contemporary works by local and regional playwrights, as well as zarzuela (Spanish musical theater) utilizing national and international performers. http://www.teatronm.com/ Tricklock Theater Company is an international theater organization founded in 1993 to create, tour and produce theatrical performances as a permanent resident company committed to artistic risk, physicality, absurdism and poetic work. http://www.tricklock.com/ Hotel Deals in Albuquerque | 
