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Discover the artists and artisans who are reinventing Hispanic cultural traditions for the 21st century at the Contemporary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe.

Now in its 39th year, the market offers an alternative to the Traditional Spanish Market, which takes place on the same weekend 鈥� Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27.

鈥淲e contemporary artists could never have a chance to get into that market, because we don鈥檛 do traditional work,鈥� said Ramona Vigil-Eastwood, who has been the president of the Contemporary Hispanic Market since 2006.

This year鈥檚 Contemporary Market features 124 artists in 18 categories, ranging from painting and sculpture to textiles to ceramics to found object art. It bills itself as the largest contemporary Hispanic market in the world.

鈥淭here really is something for everyone,鈥� Vigil-Eastwood said.

鈥淥ne gentleman, Joseph Galvan, does Lucite cut art,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice, because it鈥檚 three-dimensional. He cuts into the Lucite, and then, with the light behind it, it looks realistic.鈥�

鈥淭hen we have David Santiago, who does really lovely drawings,鈥� Vigil-Eastwood continued. 鈥淎nd his father, Joe Santiago, actually exhibits with us, as well. He does mixed-media fountains with turquoise and crystals.鈥�

Vigil-Eastwood mentioned several other highlights, including chainsaw-cut furniture and crocheted wedding gowns.

One of the newer categories at the Contemporary Hispanic Market is writing, and the Taos-based polymath Roger Mart铆nez will be offering books as well as paintings in his booth. Mart铆nez writes fiction and nonfiction, sometimes blending the two in works of historical fiction that explore New Mexican history and mythology.

鈥淓verything I do is cultural,鈥� Mart铆nez said. 鈥淲hen I wrote 鈥楾ales of an Enchanted New Mexico,鈥� some of the stories were not my own, but I鈥檝e written them as culturally and historically accurate as possible, adding in the flavor of the dialog and a good storyline.鈥�

鈥淭ales of an Enchanted New Mexico鈥� (2021) features five short stories, ranging from a historical fiction story about the Comanches鈥� interactions with Pueblo and Spanish communities in the late 1700s to unique retellings of legendary folktales like the ghostly La Llorona to the deadly chupacabra.

鈥淚 read books about mythology and psychology,鈥� Mart铆nez said. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 a lot of overlap there, the way I read it.鈥�

One of Mart铆nez鈥檚 other books is about the Hacienda de Los Martinez Museum in Taos.

鈥淚 volunteer at the Martinez Hacienda. It鈥檚 a historical museum of how people lived 200 years ago, and they鈥檙e part of my family,鈥� Mart铆nez said.

Mart铆nez鈥檚 love of New Mexican history and culture is infectious. His paintings are deeply rooted in history, too, and they range from traditional retablos to abstract geometric compositions.

鈥淚 call it contemporary traditional, or contemporary with traditional content,鈥� Mart铆nez said. 鈥淔or my abstract art, I use traditional colors in a contemporary way.鈥�

鈥淚 was inspired by (Piet) Mondrian, who uses the primary colors,鈥� he continued. 鈥淏ut I use Indian red, Indian yellow and three shades of turquoise.鈥�

Even Mart铆nez鈥檚 retablos are too contemporary for the Traditional Spanish Market, he said, because he uses acrylic paint.

鈥淔or the Traditional Market, you have to follow this narrow line, and you can鈥檛 waver from it. There鈥檚 no creativity in that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Contemporary Market offers that creativity option.鈥�

Vigil-Eastwood acknowledged that some artists do straddle the traditional and contemporary worlds.

鈥淚鈥檝e had some folks that have been in the Contemporary Market, and then they decided to go on to the Traditional Market, and then some come back the other direction, as well,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes when they鈥檝e been in the Traditional, they feel stalemated, because they have certain strict guidelines over there. We鈥檙e more free with the art.鈥�

The Contemporary Hispanic Market will host a silent auction, as well.

鈥淚t starts on Saturday and closes on Sunday at about 1 o鈥檆lock,鈥� Vigil-Eastwood said. 鈥淚t helps the market, and there鈥檚 some really nice pieces in there.鈥�

The Contemporary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe reinvents cultural traditions