Our Commitment to the Community The Border Book Festival, Inc., with its annual Border Book Festival and its yearlong events at The Cultural Center de Mesilla continues to bring the best of literature, literacy and storytelling to audiences in our borderland community as well as those from across the U.S. and Northern México.  Our scope has always been international and we are proud to feature many Mexican and Latin American writers among other world writers.  We see our mission as a global one. The Cultural Center de Mesilla “C.C.M.” our home base has filled a powerful need in our regional community. Not only do we offer a place for people to buy new, used and out-of-print multi-cultural books, bilingual books for children and adults and books in Spanish, English, German and French, we offer a haven and home to those who want to connect with community in a deep and meaningful way. Located one block from the Mesilla Plaza, the Cultural Center was once home to a Mexican garrison building and later, the well-known and loved D.C. Frietze grocery store, run by Mesilla's former mayor and our present landlords, Roberto and Eliza Frietze. The historic building is one of Mesilla's oldest adobes and is permeated with sense of history and story that is the heart of our southwestern landscape. The Center offer sodas and paletas, Mexican fruit popsicles, made locally by La Reyna Michoacana, a family owned business we are happy to support.  Our Cultural Center offers an easy-going atmosphere for people of all ages.  Our Kids Korner is a popular nook for children to read books, paint and play.  Our sala/living room has held many a lively discussion and offers a quiet respite in the summer heat or a warm corner in the cold of winter. We celebrate the artwork of painter Jean Buchanan and photographer Daniel Zolinsky as well as sell the CD’s of previous festival musicians, Perla Batalla, Gilberto González, Consuelo Luz and others.  We feature a collection of over 700 Mexican lobby cards and posters and are known for the special traditional arts we carry throughout the year including shawls from Centro Santa Catalina, a women’s sewing cooperative from Juárez, México as well as t-shirts and huipils that support the work of Los Amigos de Las Mujeres de Juárez, a local group that assists the families of the disappeared in Juárez. We also feature t-shirts from nearby San Albino Church in Mesilla as well the Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas, as they struggle with eminent domain issues that threaten this historic downtown neighborhood.  We are the southwest outlet for Lucha Libre masks and offer traditional art for sale that reflect the special nature of our borderland region including Day of the Dead sugar skulls and handiwork that celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  You might find a handmade rosary here or a pendant that fuses Jewish and Christian images.  You will always find a friendly group of volunteers who love books and all cultures. Our events have reached hundreds of people who have never come out before to support the arts. We have reached nearby rural communities in Mesilla, Vado, Chamberino, La Union, Anthony, Derry and many have joined us from our sister city, El Paso. The Puro Pedro Party, an homage to singer/actor Pedro Infante, on April 15, 2007 brought out over 600 attendees.  We didn’t have enough room at our venue, the Mesilla Community Center, and turned away hundreds who came to honor the Legend of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.  We will be starting a film series called Cine-Mex that will feature Mexican movies in Spanish on Sunday afternoons.   The need for events in Spanish is a reality and one we hope to address by increasing our bilingual and Spanish programming. Our community is changing daily and we hope to address the needs of many who are underserved.  We are activists for peace and we don’t shy away from our mission to bring the arts and literature to the forefront to heal and transform community. Our mission statement affirms that literature and the arts can transcend the many perceived borders-racial, ethnic, generational, cultural, socio-economic, and gender-based-that divide our community.  Asi es.  So it is.  And, as a result, our work continues. We need your help, support and goodwill.  Join us as a volunteer.  And become a member of our organization for only $15 a year.  This contribution allows us to continue our community work and to bring the best of arts programming to our area.

Home / Festival / Community / Upcoming Events / Writers & Artists / Director's Notes / History / Contact / Sponsors The Border Book Festival does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sex, age, or disability. If you need accommodation due to disability to attend and participate in any of these events, please call us at (575) 523-3988. For TTY communication, call us using the New Mexico Relay Network at 1-800-659-8331 and ask them to place a call to us.