9 am to 8 pm

The National Hispanic Cultural Center will present a beginning-to-end reading of Rudolfo Anaya’s acclaimed novel, Bless Me, Ultima. The reading will take place in the NHCC Art Museum where an exhibition, La Ultima Exhibición, enters its final month. Over 40 dignitaries, New Mexico authors, youth, adults and elders (including school students) will read, each for 15 minutes, between 9 am and 8 pm. The general public is invited to attend any part of the day-long reading as well as tour the exhibition before it concludes on November 11.

The reading is free and open to the public with museum entrance fee.

Some notable readers include the following. You can see the full list of readers and approximate times here. Please note that times may vary based on reading speed and that readers may move time slots.

• ABQ First Lady Elizabeth Kistin Keller
• Deputy State Historian Rob Martínez
• Authors Enrique Lamadrid, Demetria Martinez, Levi Romero
• UNM Faculty A. Gabriel Melendez, Anna Nogar, John Kessel and David Richard Jones
• NHCC Executive Director, RebeccaAvitia
• Executive Director, Opera Southwest, Tony Zancanella
• Director of Cultural Services, CABQ, Shelle Sanchez
• Kirsten and Scott Plunket
• Española School Children

More about the exhibition:

The La Ultima Exhibición, curated by Augustine Romero, features visual interpretations of Rudolfo Anaya’s celebrated book, Bless Me, Ultima (1972)–a portrait of life in rural New Mexico as seen through the eyes of a young boy during World War II. Anaya tells of the spiritual healer, Ultima, as she guides young Antonio on a magical and moral journey in this novel that has inspired artists for decades. Romero curated a previous iteration of this exhibition in 2006 at the South Broadway Cultural Center and the NHCC Art Museum is thrilled to host the re-imagined version twelve years later. Featured artists include: Jesús “Cimi” Alvarado, George C’de Baca, Sylvia Ortiz Domney, Christian Michael Gallegos, Roberto Gallegos, Eric Garcia, Kristina Gonzales, Nacho Jaramillo, Al Na’ir Lara, Chisim Bernal Lujan, Oscar Lozoya, Chris Ray Melendez, El Moisés, Derrick Montez, Paloma Paz Nava, Gabriel Luis Powers, Chris Rivera, Rebecca H. Hernandez Rosser, and Catalina Salinas. Augustine Romero is an acclaimed visual artist and the curator of the South Broadway Cultural Center and the Kimo Theater for the City of Albuquerque.