Old Town fiestas will honor Al Hurricane Jr. at 320th celebration
Old Town’s 320th fiesta tied a Catholic tradition to New Mexico music, honoring Al Hurricane Jr. at Historic Old Town Plaza. The tribute came days after his death at 66.
Old Town Albuquerque’s 320th annual San Felipe de Neri Church Fiestas are honoring Al Hurricane Jr. at Historic Old Town Plaza, folding one of New Mexico’s best-known music names into a celebration that has anchored the city’s Catholic and community calendar for generations. The tribute gives the longtime summer gathering added weight for families who see the fiestas as both worship and a living record of local sound.
The free fiestas ran June 5-7 at Historic Old Town Plaza, 200 N. Plaza St. NW, beneath the shadow of San Felipe de Neri Church, whose present building was constructed in 1793. Parish leaders describe San Felipe de Neri as the spiritual heart of Albuquerque for more than 300 years, a history that helps explain why a music tribute landed so naturally inside the celebration. Last year’s fiestas marked 319 years of faith, tradition and community in Old Town, underscoring how the event keeps linking present-day Albuquerque to its oldest institutions.
Al Hurricane Jr. died May 19 at age 66 in Albuquerque, leaving behind a legacy tied to his father, Al Hurricane Sr., and to the broader history of New Mexico music. Known as El Godson, Hurricane Jr. was more than a performer to many local families; he was a bridge between eras, carrying a sound that lived in plazas, kitchens and neighborhood gatherings as much as on stage. Honoring him at the fiestas placed that legacy in public view, in the middle of one of Bernalillo County’s most visible cultural traditions.
The tribute concert included Father Michael Chiagorom, Gilbert Lechuga and The Shysterzz, along with Jerry Dean and the Sanchez brothers. Music began at 6 p.m., and the main tribute followed at 8 p.m., bringing the family and friends of the late musician together on the plaza for a communal farewell. In a city where event calendars often spotlight sports, shopping and nightlife, the fiestas showed again that Old Town remains a place where Catholic ritual, multigenerational memory and New Mexico music still meet in the open.
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