5:00 – 7:00 pm: Food Trucks, Live Music & Cash Bar
7:00 – 8:15 pm: Acequias Screening
8:15 pm: Director Q&A following film screening
The University of New Mexico’s Center for Regional Studies and the NHCC present Acequias: The Legacy Lives On. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Aracely “Arcie” Chapa, Acequias: The Legacy Lives On is an hour-long, visually stunning documentary film about New Mexico’s enduring acequias as seen through the eyes of farmers, advocates, scholars, practitioners, lawmakers, journalists, and members of the community. Chapa produces and directs an emotional and reverential tribute to acequias’ past, present, and future.
Free Community Event. Please register here or or call the NHCC Welcome Center at 505-724-4771 for assistance.
With funding from UNM’s Center for Regional Studies, the film unfolds through a series of storylines including the acequias’ current challenges, such as climate change and water rights transfers, their important role in the development of local food sheds, and the economic opportunity they provide for members of rural communities. Further, in an arid state where every drop of water is studied and tracked, it has been shown that acequias provide recharge to our groundwater systems as water seeps into the earth beneath the flow. For over 400 years, Acequias have been in continuous use and remain important to an understanding of New Mexico’s acequia heritage and the continuing relevance of these water democracies.
The trailer for the movie is available here.
Run time: 1 hour and 10 minutes.