President’s
Committee Meeting Builds a Foundation for Expanding Cultural Relationships
with Mexico
Joined by high-level dignitaries from Belize, Mexico and Spain, the President’s
Committee on the Arts Humanities 61st meeting was held in El Paso, Texas
in late April to focus on expanding cultural understanding and relationships.
Held in cooperation with the city of El Paso’s Museums and Cultural
Affairs Department, this was the President’s Committee’s first
meeting on an international border. By experiencing the cultural connections
on both sides of the border—historic Mission churches and a state-of-the
arts cultural center in Juarez, Mexico and honoring artists from El Paso
who bring these connections to life—the President’s Committee
broke new ground here in its international relation efforts.
Alvaro Hegewisch, Director General of Mexico's
CONACULTA, speaks to the President’s Committee on the shared cultural
connections between the U.S. and his country and the opportunities to
enhance those relations in the Joint Communiqués for Cultural
Understanding.
“I truly believe that first-hand experience is the best thing for
anyone,” said Chairman Margo. She added “Borders need not
divide us. In El Paso/Juarez, we are not just neighbors, we are family
and our meeting brought together artists, scholars and cultural leaders
to help us see how we are all connected.”
Highlights of the President’s Committee visit to El Paso included:
• Visits by the PCAH to Juárez, Mexico, which included several
cultural sites, such as the Misión de Guadalupe, the Ex-Aduana
Museum and the new Paso del Norte Cultural Center.
• The public dedication of the “The Equestrian” by John
Sherrill Houser and his son Ethan Taliesan Houser, which honors the entrance
of Spanish culture into the United States in the 16th century. Houser
addressed the committee on the artistic history of this work.
• Jose Cisneros, a Mexican-American artist, and winner of the National
Humanities Medal, was honored by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
with the OHTLI award for his lifetime of artistic contribution.
Director Anne-Imelda Radice congratulates Barbara
Metnick after swearing her in along with Adele Hall (far left) and Rebecca
Gonzales (second from the right) as new members of the President’s
Committee.
• El Paso Mayor John Cook opened the official committee meeting.
• Three new members were sworn in to the committee. They were Barbara
Mitnick of Morristown, NJ; Rebecca Gonzalez of Austin, TX; and Adelle
Hall of Shawnee Mission, KS.
• Chairman Adair Margo, on behalf of the White House, presented
El Pasoan Sheldon Hall with the President's Call to Service Award for
his lifetime of volunteer work, in particular, his work with the Mission
Trail and the First Thanksgiving celebration.
• The city Museums and Cultural Affairs Department was awarded $10,000
by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities to continue its
bi-national-bicultural projects. Later, Alberto Fierro Garza of the Mexican
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a matching grant to the department.
•The heads and representatives from the National Endowment for the
Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and
Library Services, the National Park Service; Mexico’s National Council
on Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA), Institute of Archaeology and History
(INAH), Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Belize’s Ministry of Culture
engaged in a dialogue on broadening cultural relations between their countries.
• Two Joint Cultural Communiqués were signed, one by Adair
Margo on behalf of the U.S cultural agencies and the National Park Service
and Alvaro Hegewisch, representing Sergio Vela, President of CONACULTA
and a second signed by Margo and George Thompson, representing Mark Espat,
Minister of Culture for Belize.
• The communiqué was read out loud by actress-choreographer
Debbie Allen, and it reinforced a commitment to cultural cooperation among
the three countries. In particular, these two documents will serve as
the framework for the upcoming Sister Cultural Parks meeting in Mesa Verde
National Park, which will develop recommendations to carry out some of
the goals in the communiqués.
Paquime’s place in the story of world
civilizations transcends boundaries, particularly in its ties with other
world heritage sites in the southwest U.S, and the PCAH is seeking to
draw out those cultural connections.
After the meeting in El Paso a small contingent of the PCAH members and
representatives from Mexico proceeded on to Casa Grandes, Mexico for a
visit to Paquime. Paquime is a World Heritage site, and it along with
two other world heritage sites—Mesa Verde and Monte Alban—and
Belize’s Caracol are the focus of the Sister Cultural Park meeting
in May. By visiting Paquime, members saw first-hand the connections that
join these four sites—architecturally, culturally and economically.
By bringing leaders from culture, tourism, philanthropy, preservation,
parks and businesses together at Mesa Verde, the PCAH is seeking to establish
a public-private framework to enhance the cultural connections between
these sites.
National
Park Service Deputy Secretary Dan Wenk joins in a dialogue with MarioPérez
Campa (left), Tecnic Secretary of the National Institute for Antrophology
and History and other Mexican and Belizean agency leaders on future international
cooperation on cultural, natural and historic preservation between these
countries.
Learn More...
Joint Cultural Communique
between the U.S. and Mexico
Joint Cultural Communique between
the U.S. and Belize
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