The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is excited to welcome featured artist Dr. Jesus “Chuy” Negrete to the annual Pangea – Cultivate Our Cultures festival at the Hjemkomst Center on Saturday, November 14. In addition to his main-stage performance at Pangea, Negrete will engage with students at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, from Hawley Elementary and from the Red River Area Learning Center during his visit to the area.

The son of migrant farm workers, Negrete performs folk music of his native Mexico, using music to bring awareness to labor workers’ experiences. Singing in both English and Spanish, Negrete instills in audiences an understanding and respect for the culture of his people and an understanding of the difficulties faced by migrant workers as they worked under harsh conditions, far from home.

“We’re thrilled that Chuy is able to perform at Pangea,” stated Maureen Kelly Jonason, Executive Director of the Historical and Cultural Society. “The performance is a wonderful extension of the themes in our current exhibit Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964, a Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibit.”  That exhibit is on display at the Hjemkomst Center through November 15.

Negrete is one of the nation’s foremost musicologists and interpreters of Mexican and Chicano music. The founder and director of the Mexican Cultural Institute in Chicago, he has performed at universities and cultural venues nationwide for more than 30 years. Passionate about multicultural education, he has degrees in educational anthropology and ethnomusicology from the University of Illinois Chicago and Chicago State University and an honorary degree from the University of California, Berkeley. His appearances are funded in part by The Arts Partnership of the Cities Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo and by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Lake Region Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.

Pangea – Cultivate Our Cultures is a free, indoor, one-day, family-friendly celebration of the tremendous cultural diversity in the Moorhead-Fargo community held at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, MN, on November 14, 2015 from 10 am to 4 pm. Now in its 21^st year – its 10^th under the auspices of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County – Pangea draws community members together to learn about each other through sharing their artistic and cultural traditions.

The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County (HCSCC) collects, preserves, interprets, and shares the history and culture of Clay County, Minnesota. HCSCC also provides interpretation of the Hjemkomst Viking Ship, Hopperstad Stave Church Replica, and hosts traveling exhibits in 7,000 sq feet of temporary exhibition space. HCSCC is a community resource for residents of and visitors to the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, serving on average 30,000 visitors annually from all over the world.

Museum Hours:

Sunday Noon to 5 pm

Monday through Saturday 9 am – 5 pm

Tuesdays open until 8 pm

Admission:

Adults $10

Seniors and College Students $9

Youth (5 – 17) $8

Children (4 & under) Free

HCSCC Members Free

Location: 

The Hjemkomst Center at 202 First Avenue North in Moorhead.

For more information, www.hcscconline.org or call 218-299-5511.