Bronitsky and Associates Blog

Things were rather quiet, mainly waiting to hear back from the New Mexico tribe about sponsoring/partnering on the pilot for IndigeNOW!  Indigenous Opera From Three Continents and Three Countries.  And then, beginning Sunday morning, things just started to POP!  Here’s what’s going on now

1. The US embassy in Oman sent me the schedule for the Chinle Valley Singers tour of Oman in July, inquiring if the group might also be available for an additional tour afterwards in Bahrain
2. The American owner of a Mexican restaurant in Hanoi (!) contacted us about the possibility of bringing Mariachi Imperial de America to Vietnam
3. The US embassy in Sweden contacted us to put us in touch with the Marketing Director for the Tierp Arena in Stockholm who would like to bring American Indian performers to perform there–July 4
4. I got an inquiry from a festival in Yakutia, Siberia–they have the funding to bring two American Indian performers there in August
5. The Director of the Institute of Creative Arts at the National Institute of Culture and History in Belize called me–after much enjoyable discussion and several drafts, they have accepted the Memorandum of Understanding I drafted and will bring me to Belize at the end of May to meet, experience their festival, sign the MOU–and begin to work on developing international Indigenous events there.
6. A call from the Director of Business and Economic Development of a tribe in Wisconsin about working together to create Indigenous events–he’s going to present my information to the appropriate committee this week
7. A notice from the US embassy in Uruguay that they have a new ambassador and will get back to me by the end of May about working together to develop American Indian programs from the US for a major exhibition the National Museum of Ethnography of Uruguay is mounting next year
8. And I got an invitation to speak in Mongolia in the fall!

I’m used to periods of quiet alternating with hectic activity, but this really takes the cake–stay tuned!

After 4 1/2 months of postponed meetings, I finally met with the CEO and the Director of Sales and Marketing for a nearby triball-owned casino and resort.  The governor of the tribe was unable to attend but had told me before of his interest in the pilot for IndigeNOW!

They are interested in “outside the box” projects and in IndigeNOW! so I presented the case for this unique international Indigenous opera project with all the (calm) passion and enthusiasm at my command.

They’ll let me know within two weeks–let’s hope for the best!

Click here to learn more about IndigeNOW! on our web site.

Stephan Helgesen, the CEO/Owner of 2nd Opinion Marketing, arranged for both of us to meet with Garrey Carruthers, the Dean of the College of Business at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.  I’ve known Stephan for many years, beginning when he was an official in the New Mexico state government.  The purpose of the meeting would be to explore further internationalization of NMSU.

I grew up in Albuquerque and often drove down to El Paso with my parents as I was growing up, so I was a little chagrined to confess that I’d never visited the NMSU campus.  Never.  It was definitely time to remedy that omission, so I drove down to Las Cruces with friends.  New Mexico in the spring–yesterday it snowed in Albuquerque, wet and slushy.  Today the storm was over, leaving behind much-needed moisture, trees and plants exploding into spring green.  The weather was cool and spring and the air smelled of mesquite all the way down.  What a pleasure.  We even had the time to stop at the El Camino Real International Heritage Center (http://www.caminorealheritage.org/) on the way down.  It’s an excellent small museum, dedicated to the Camino Real, the Royal Highway that began with Native Americans, and then became the major north-south artery between New Mexico and the rest of the Spanish (later Mexican) domain to the south.  The Center is south of New Mexico, isolated in the desert, and gives an excellent understanding of the many peoples who passed through along the trail, and the vast sweeping vistas.

Then, on to Las Cruces for separate meetings with the Dean the Business School and Dean of the School of Engineering.    I learned a lot–NMSU is definitely growing and going into some exciting new places.  Much sharing of ideas–a productive and enjoyable visit.

I wanted to be an archeologist since I was 12, growing up in Albuquerque, and one of the seminal events in my life was the University of New Mexico’s archeological field school in the summers of 1968 and 1969.  My first real dig–an intense experience in many ways.  I met several people there who became life-long friends.  The field school excavated a small portion of a late prehistoric Puebloan ruin called Sapawe, the largest adobe pueblo ruin in the Southwest.

And today on a beautiful clear and sunny spring day I went back to Sapawe for the first time since 1969.  It was a wonderful experience so I thought I’d share this photo with my readers.  I hope all of you will have the opportunity to go back to a site from your past with an old friend too.

It’s been busy around here.  I’ve been working with Congregation Albert in Albuquerque to create Israel Today!, an annual speakers series which will introduce a diverse range of audiences to the diversity of life in modern-day Israel.  The first speaker in the series was Avner Dafni, the Executive Director of Israel Gay Youth, who spoke to several organizations in Albuquerque March 17-19.

Israel Gay Youth (IGY) operates forty-two social and support groups in twenty-one cities and towns throughout Israel that serve as the organization’s core activity.  These groups, which meet on a weekly basis and are divided according to age groups, provide a safe and welcoming environment where teens and young adults can freely express thoughts and feelings regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.  The younger groups (ages 15-18) cope with coming-out and school environment issues, while the older groups (ages 18-23) struggle with issues concerning military service, leaving home and personal independence.  IGY also operates a number of national programs which meet monthly and cater to specific segments of the GLBT community.

Mr. Dafni spoke to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, gay and straight at Congregation Albert, American Veterans for Equal Rights and the Metropolitan Community Church.  He also spoke at the University of New Mexico under the auspices of UNM’s LGBTQ Resource Center.  Everywhere Mr Dafni spoke, he was received with warmth and hospitality, good questions and good discussions. 

Israel Today! will be a five year program and plans are already underway to bring two Israeli choreographers to Albuquerque for next year’s Israel Today! event.

And at long last, this Friday March 23 is another meeting with the governor of a near-by Pueblo, and the CEO and Special Events Manager of their Resort/Casino.  We’ve been trying to schedule this meeting ever since the last one, scheduled for late November, had to be postponed as I was in Oman.  This will be my fifth meeting with the governor, who has been very interested.  Stay tuned!