This summer, El Río was hosted by two new 21st-century science museums, and at each site public programs generously supported by Cultural Contact: United States-Mexico Foundation for Culture complemented the exhibition.

Sponsored by the Instituto Coahuilense de la Cultura, El Río opened in June at the Museo del Desierto in Saltillo, Coahuila. The public programs, or Encuentros Culturales, brought together Rio Grande/río Bravo Basin residents to demonstrate their craft and bring to life their stories featured in the exhibition. We were delighted to have with us Cipriano Vigil, Lorenzo González, and Antonio, Molly, and Lara Manzanares from New Mexico; Cirilo Gauna, Hernán González, and Leopoldo "Polo" Marín from Nuevo León; and José Isabel and José Isaac Quiroz from Coahuila. They were joined by local craftsmen Raymundo, Jesús, and J. Sinhué Delgado, Ernesto Guerrero, and Juan Flores, who offered demonstrations throughout the exhibition's stay.

Working together with our Smithsonian colleague Karla Muñoz-Alcocer, we were pleased to inaugurate El Río in August as one of the first exhibitions at Semilla: Museo-Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. On this part of the tour, we collaborated with Misiones Coloniales de Chihuahua, A.C., the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE), and the National Museum of Natural History and received support from the government of Chihuahua and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. The poster exhibition La Asunción de Santa María de Cuevas: Religión, Arte y Ciencia, produced by SCMRE, complemented El Río. Basin residents Charles Aguilar, Sr., and his son Charles Aguilar, Jr., from New Mexico; Jesusita Valenzuela Jiménez and her son Alejandro Jiménez from Texas; and José Guadalupe Bautista, Marta Cruz, Serafín Caballero, and Carlos Ornelas from Chihuahua participated in the Encuentros Culturales, bringing to life New Mexico and Rarámuri matachín celebrations, adobe, brickmaking, and vaquero traditions featured in the exhibition. They were joined by a group of Rarámuri musicians, dancers, and artisans from Norogachi, Chihuahua, who are working with Mexico-North Research Network, Inc., and by a group of women from the Spanish colonial mission, Santa María de Cuevas, engaged in sustainable devel-opment projects using local resources, supported by Misiones Coloniales de Chihuahua. The local musician Boris Díaz participated both in the exhibition opening and in the Encuentros Culturales, with a presentation of Rarámuri musical instruments. The exhibition will remain in Chihuahua until October 20, and in November it travels to the Centennial Museum at the University of Texas at El Paso. 

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