Sunday, April 12, 2026 3:00 pm NHCC | Wells Fargo Auditorium 2026 AfroMundo Festival: “Futurism: Manifesting the Envisioned” Featured Regions: U.S. & U.S. Territories: Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Mariana Islands Panel Discussion with Darlene T. Gomez, attorney for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives; Abraham Paulos of BAJI (Black Alliance for Just Immigration); Dr. Estévan Rael-Gálvez, President and founder of Native Bound-Unbound; and Azadeh Shahshahani, Legal and Advocacy for Project South. Moderated by Dr. Belinda Deneen Wallace, Director of UNM’s Liberal Arts and Integrative Studies Program. The 2026 AfroMundo Festival is free to the general public with limited seating and includes films, concerts, literature, oral traditions, panel discussions, culinary and other arts to foster a greater understanding of our shared humanity. PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATION HERE! Panel discussion with: Darlene T. Gomez is a lifelong native of Northern New Mexico, having been born and raised in Lumberton where her ancestors homesteaded before New Mexico was incorporated into the United States. She has been practicing law for over 19 years and specializes in Indian Law, Complex Family Law, and advocating on behalf of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Relatives (MMIWR). Darlene attended the University of New Mexico School of Law where she first began her pro bono work fighting for clean water in her hometown of Lumberton. She was the inaugural recipient of the Carlos Vigil Scholarship, among numerous other awards while in school. Darlene is tirelessly passionate about giving a voice to the voiceless through her pro bono work. She has been a fierce advocate for primary and secondary victims of the MMIWR crisis since 2001 and spends much of her time organizing rallies, mentoring and advocating for secondary victims, preparing and distributing press releases, and serving as the attorney for 15 families of MMIWR victims. She is a founding member of the New Mexico MMIW Task Force and serves as the general counsel for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Medicine Wheel Ride. She is widely considered a leading expert in MMIWR throughout the US and her persistent efforts on behalf of victims have led to an increase in domestic as well as international media attention for the MMIWR Public Health Crisis https://dargomezlaw.com/mmiw/ Abraham Paulos is a nationally recognized communications strategist, writer, and advocate who has spent over two decades driving the movement for human rights and immigrant justice. His work centrally focuses on the complex intersection of immigration, race, and criminalization, with a specific emphasis on the unique challenges faced by Black migrants. Abraham currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). His career features influential leadership roles, including serving as the Executive Director of Families for Freedom. He has also been a resear...
NHCC is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Hispanic arts and culture.
