ON MOVING
NHCC jack-of-all-trades retiring after 17 years
Sometimes you have to embrace change.
And beginning Aug. 1, Joseph Wasson Jr. is surely going to try. While having more time during his day will be foreign, he is looking forward to not having a set schedule.
After 17 years at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Wasson will retire and close the chapter on his life in public service. He is also part of the group of original employees that helped oversee the opening of the center in 2000.
“I started working at the center during its grand opening,” he says with a wide smile. “I would say the center has its peaks and valleys. We’re at the best place we’ve been in a long time. With the growth of the center over the past five years, we’ve become a popular destination.”
Wasson works with the NHCC staff daily to produce hundreds of shows a year.
NHCC Executive Director Rebecca Avitia says one of Wasson’s strengths is that he takes time to know people.
“Not just as performers or colleagues, but as human beings who matter, with hopes and talents,” Avitia says. “It’s his focus on his community and culture that stand out in every aspect of what he does, at the NHCC and the many other places he’s worked over the years. He is a genuinely good person.”
Wasson is the co-director of the performing arts program.
That means that he’s a jack-of-all-trades.
Need a stage lighted? How about sound for a concert? What about logistics for any type of performance?
Wasson can do it all — and he completes everything to a high standard.
Wasson honed his skills at the NHCC. And it’s been sort of a lifelong calling for the native New Mexican.
As a child growing up in the Northeast Heights, Wasson and his brother would accompany his mother to flamenco classes at Clarita Garcia de Aranda’s humble studio at Edith and Candelaria. This is where Garcia de Aranda taught dance classes in the 1950s. It was the beginning of flamenco in Albuquerque.
“My mom was one of the original flamenco dancers back in the ’60s,” he says. “My brother and I would go to class, and we’d go out back and search for lizards and stuff like that.”
Wasson is grateful his parents exposed him to the arts at a young age. The Wassons were also ticketholders to the Albuquerque Civic Light Opera, as well as other organizations.
Then in 1977, his mother saw an audition notice for La Compañía Teatro de Alburquerque, one of the first Latino theater companies in Albuquerque.
She got cast in “Bolas de Sangre,” and Wasson and his brother tagged along.
“Before I knew it, we were doing tech work,” he says with a laugh. “We had no idea what we were doing, but we learned on the job. From lights to sound, they had us doing everything.”
Working with La Companía also furthered Wasson’s interest in sound.
He and his brother started a DJ service.
Then he had a stint at the University of Albuquerque for a year — but dropped out.
Eventually, he went Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, now called Central New Mexico Community College, where he got an accounting degree.
“Every time I would look for work, it led me back to theater,” he says. “I started touring with different companies as their tech guy. I toured with (flamenco dancer) Eva Encinias-Sandoval, as well as La Compañía.”
Then Wasson began working at the city of Albuquerque, where he helmed city events such as Summerfest and then was the manager of the KiMo Theatre.
“I enjoyed every moment of it because it was always for the community,” he says.
While at the city of Albuquerque, Wasson was appointed to a planning committee for the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
Looking back on his career at the NHCC, Wasson is grateful to have the opportunity to grow. Avitia noticed his hard work and nearly three years ago promoted Wasson to co-director of the department.
She said Wasson leaves behind an impressive legacy.
“In numbers, he has brought over 2,000 performances to the NHCC, which were enjoyed by a total of over 1,300,000 visitors,” Avitia said. “Most importantly, though, he has made the smallest, youngest dancer to perform on our stage feel like a prima ballerina, while making the biggest stars to grace our stage part of the NHCC family over posole at a local restaurant. With Joseph’s retirement, we’ll be gaining the best of volunteers, and seeing our good friend spending a lot more time with his beloved family.”