Nacha Mendez, a singer, composer, and New Mexico State University alumna, has been named one of seven recipients of the 2025 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. The announcement was made by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The award honors artists who contribute to New Mexico’s diverse artistic traditions and make them accessible to their communities. Mendez, also known as Margarita Cordero and an enrolled member of the Chihene Nde Nation of New Mexico, performs original pan-Latin-style songs under her grandmother’s name. She is also the executive director of the Nacha Mendez Music Scholarship, which provides scholarships, music education, and mentorship to young girls interested in music.
“I consider making music a sacred act—not in a religious sense, but in how it connects me to something beyond myself,” Mendez said. “When I create, I try to stay open, to become a vessel for whatever wants to come through. As I’ve gotten older, I continue to find new ways to interpret songs or try different rhythms on guitar. That joy never leaves.”
Mendez grew up on a farm near the border towns of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. She said her early experiences crossing borders shaped her perspective on identity and influenced her approach to music.
“That experience gave me an open mindset and a flexible sense of identity,” she said. “That profoundly influenced my approach to music.”
Her interest in music began at age six when she started playing guitar. After losing part of a finger in an accident during first grade, she continued playing despite the pain.
“The guitar became more than music. It became medicine, a way back to myself,” she said. “What once brought pain now grounds me—it’s where I feel most alive. The pain and healing became the foundation of my expression.”
Mendez has performed various musical styles throughout her career. She learned Ranchera canción from her grandmother, studied classical voice and electronic music at New Mexico State University (NMSU), flamenco guitar in New York City, and served as principal singer in Robert Ashley’s opera company.
In addition to this recent honor from the governor’s office, Mendez has received several other awards including the New Mexico Platinum Music Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Award, a fellowship from Mutable Music in New York, and recognition by the New Mexico Committee of the National Museum of Women Artists.
“Receiving this award is a big deal,” Mendez said. “While I’m still growing, it feels really meaningful to be recognized for the time, effort, and heart I’ve put into making music. Thank you to everyone who made this award possible—and to our Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.”
“Something in me is shifting, and it feels like I’m standing on a new foundation. A foundation no longer built on pain,” she added. “I don’t know exactly what’s next, but I welcome the next chapter of making music—however unknown or uncharted it may be.”
