Photo Courtesy of Denise Avila

Last week Thomas Friedman came out with another great opinion piece, “The New Untouchables” in which he argues that the “huge ethical breakdown on Wall Street, coincided with an education breakdown on Main Street” and that our middle-class workers are rapidly losing their ability to out-compete middle wage workers in foreign nations.  He suggests that The New Untouchables are those who, “have the ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work”, those with a creative and entrepreneurial mindset, in other words.  Furthermore, he makes the point that,

“Those who are waiting for this recession to end so someone can again hand them work could have a long wait.”

The days of work being handed out to those who happen to be standing nearby are over.  Instead we are tasked with using our ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to seek out new market opportunities and leverage our creative talents into new ventures.  And this call to join the Creative Force is being answered loud and clear by cultural entrepreneurs.

In New Mexico cultural entrepreneurs like Patricia Michaels are building into this new economic reality.  Ms. Michaels designs her own fashion pieces,  has them all sewn here in the US, and leverages the appeal of Native  American community values and expressions to connect with buyers.  Her shows are lively events where customers shake hands with the woman behind the wearable art, listen to the stories of Taos Pueblo that are hand-painted onto the fabrics, and leave with a little piece of Native America elegantly draped around their neck, or tossed across their back.  High fashion + deep meaning = satisfied customers.

Patricia readily talks about her vision for building her cultural enterprise, “I want the world to feel the Native American culture in a way in which they are being invited into a common ground.”

Hand Painted Fabric by Patricia Michaels, Photo by Jennifer Esperanza

Patricia Michaels is uniquely gifted in her ability to translate her Native heritage into wearable art that meets a growing demand for meaningful fashion products.  Friedman advises that, “Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables — to invent smarter ways to do old jobs,  new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies — will thrive.”

And Patricia Michaels is just one example of a thriving cultural entrepreneur.

It’s not just the natural beauty that makes the Jemez Valley spectacular, but that it is home to three significant cultures – Native American, Spanish, and Anglo – which makes it a natural hub for cultural entrepreneurs like Tanya Struble and Therese Councilor.

Tanya and Therese fell in love with the Jemez area and had a dream to run their own business.  In 1995, when the prospect came up to purchase the former springs they jumped on the opportunity.  Tanya commented, “we wanted to keep the history of this place alive so instead of bulldozing and starting over, we renovated using similar materials or reusing materials.”  After two years, they finished the renovation and opened what is known today as the Giggling Springs, a destination for those looking for solitude and relaxation.

Giggling Springs offers a respite with a pool fed by the hot springs – which are rich in minerals and are known to have healing properties in Native American cultures.  You can have your pick of floating on noodles or swinging in a hammock to let your worries drift away.  In the backdrop, the running water of the Jemez River will serenade you and provides a place to cool down after soaking in the springs.  Giggling Springs also offers massage services, a gift shop and a small snack shop where you can order a homemade smoothie to be delivered to you poolside.

The history of the hot springs started with the Jemez Native Americans who called it “the place of boiling waters.”  It was then taken over and run by a Spanish family in the mid to late 1800’s.  It was the Spanish who built a building over the hot springs to make it more “civilized.”  It is this building that still stands today on the property, but is not used because of its fragility.  Then around 1905 an Anglo family took the place over and ran it until 1950 when the family closed it.

Tanya and Therese have kept the original building in tact on the property, but it is used just as show from a distance as it is deteriorating.  They feel they only have about two more years until the building completely crumbles.  One of their more recent challenges is to find funding to preserve the original bathhouse of the Jemez area.

When asked what they see as the future for cultural entrepreneurship in the Jemez area, Tanya said, “In recent history, we have worked together to promote the Jemez Mountains as a ‘destination resort without walls’.  Most tourists are extremely interested in the Native American culture and art.  As a tourist based economy, we need to work together…diversity in culture and art exist here, just no one knows about it!”