Nicolasa Chávez and Orlando Romero

As part of the Oralidad festival, organized by Instituto Cervantes Albuquerque, historians Nicolasa Chávez and Orlando Romero will participate in a round table discussion on different aspects related to oral tradition. As an expert in the field, Chávez will talk about New Mexico flamenco and its particularities as a mestizo tradition, while Romero will delve into the oral tradition of Northern New Mexico. About Orlando Romero. Writer, historian and columnist for The New Mexican, Orlando Romero received in 2014 the Order of Isabella the Catholic for "his dedication in preserving the heritage, language, history, cultural traditions and Spanish customs of Hispanic New Mexico”. Romero, who was born in Santa Fe, has written a monthly column for The New Mexican since 1998, often addressing issues surrounding historical conflicts between Hispanics, Anglos and Pueblo Indians. He is retired from the state history library and is the author of Nambé Year One, a nonfiction book that explores the history of northern New Mexico. About Nicolasa Chávez. Nicolasa Chávez, a fourteenth-generation New Mexican, is the Deputy State Historian for the State of New Mexico and the former Curator of Latino/Hispano/Spanish Colonial Collections at the Museum of International Folk Art. She received her master´s degree in history with a concentration in Iberian Studies at the University of New Mexico. She is passionate about history and the performing arts. As a dancer/artist she began her early flamenco training with Vicente Romero of Santa Fe, Lili del Castillo of Albuquerque, Eva Encinias-Sandoval and Pablo Rodarte at University of New Mexico, and with the legendary María Benítez of Santa Fe. Chávez is a writer, curator and historian and conducts lecture/demonstrations combining flamenco song and dance with its history as well as conducting lectures and programs on the many traditions of New Mexico, Spain and the Americas. She is the curator of the exhibition Música Buena: Hispano Folk Music of New Mexico. She is also the curator of the exhibition Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico, which was named by USA Today as one of the top 12 must see exhibitions for the summer of 2016 and the curator of Flamenco: From Spain to the Us which is currently touring nationally. She is the author of the accompanying publication The Spirit of Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico. She co-curated The Red that Colored the World, which tells the fascinating history of cochineal. She contributed to the accompanying publication A Red Like No Other (Skira Rizzoli press) which was named by Vogue Magazine as one of the top 25 Valentine gifts of 2016. Previously she curated New World Cuisine: The Histories of Chocolate, Mate y Más. In conjunction with the exhibition she attended chocolate and wine tasting events, presenting the rich history of the Columbian exchange and how both chocolate and mate were used spiritually, nutritionally, and for pleasure. Prior to this she curated A Century of Masters: The NEA National Heritage Fellows of New Mexico, for which her accompanying publication won a New Mexico Book Award. She currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and continues to perform lecture demonstrations, conduct presentations and write articles related to the rich history and cultural and artistic traditions of New Mexico.