The Cultural Center de Mesilla will sponsor a free plática/talk by Estevan Arellano on Saturday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. The talk will offer a history of the Acequia/Mother Ditches of New Mexico, as well as address the classic book, Ancient Agriculture: Roots and Application of Sustainable Farming by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, recently translated by Arellano (Gibbs Smith Publishers, $29.95)

Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, considered the father of modern-day Spanish agriculture, lived in central Spain from the time of his birth in the 1470s, until his death, around 1540. He learned about agriculture from working in the fields of Talavera de la Reina with his father, in Granada with the Moors, studying Spanish Arabic and classical Roman texts on the subject, and traveling extensively throughout Europe.

Juan Estevan Arellano, a journalist and farmer native to Northern New Mexico, has roots reaching back to the 1725 settlement of the Embudo Valley. A poet and novelist as well, he is the 1994 recipient of México’s Premio Nacional de Literatura José Fuentes Mares prize. He is the editor and photographer of Descanso: An Interrupted Journey, about highway death markers which features writing by Rudolfo Anaya and Denise Chávez and well as the novel, Innocencio.

Ancient Agriculture is the first English translation Obra de Agricultura, by Herrera, that carried traditional farming techniques from the Old World of Europe to the New World of the Americas. The original book was initially published in 1513 as an instruction manual for the farmers of Talavera de La Reina in central Spain. It was revised several times as the author learned increasingly more about land use and sophisticated irrigation techniques beyond the Iberian Peninsula, which Moorish farmers had in the day blanketed in exotic fruits and vegetables.

Historically, Herrera’s agricultural classic has been especially relevant in arid regions of the world, where crops are irrigated by means of ditches such as acequia, sangrîas and arroyos, which also crisscrossed the landscape of Spain at the start of the sixteenth century. Many of Herrera’s planting, harvesting and seed-saving tips have, in fact, been successfully integrated into the Indo-Hispanic farming practices in the southwestern United States, where drought conditions and the need for water conservation typically prevail.

Ancient Agriculture has been meticulously translated, illustrated and compiled for contemporary use. Areas of focus include working the land in harmony with nature and producing more food through soil improvement, cultivation of vineyards, and awareness of astrological influences. The interweave of ancient farming traditions and modern realities of global warming makes this treasure trove of the past a seedbed for a whole new generation of farmers and gardeners striving for agricultural sustainability.

Gary Nabhan, writer and environmentalist, Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University has called the book, “The most influential treatise on sustainable agriculture in semi-arid lands ever written. Herrera’s Ancient Agriculture in English should be a cause for celebration among all those who tend this thirsty earth. It is an agricultural treasure.”

The book presents old world techniques for new world gardeners and farmers who are striving for agricultural sustainability. The talk will be an introduction to audiences to the history of acequias, which will be further explored in an Acequia/Water Symposium at the end of February 2007 that will be hosted by the Cultural Center de Mesilla.

The following day, Sunday, December 17 from 9:00 am to 1:00 p.m., the Cultural Center will offer a workshop with John Randall on The Value and Care of Out of Print books. The cost of the workshop is $25 with a 10% discount for BBF members. Reservations are necessary and can be made at 505-523-3988 or online at bbf@zianet.com

Workshop participants will be the first to view 43 books that will be featured in a Holiday book sale that will begin at 3:00 pm at the Center. They are Children's books, art books, fine bindings, and signed first editions and signed limited editions of literature. Their publication dates range from 1521 to 1990, and their prices range from $20 to $500. Each of the books is illustrative of a particular aspect of book collecting, and Randall will use them in this way in the seminar. After the seminar, they will go on sale.

For more information contact the Cultural Center de Mesilla, bbf@zianet.com
505-523-3988, www.borderbookfestival.org