Isotopes strike a chord with latest Copa victory

The Isotopes understand the role that art plays in connecting with the local Albuquerque community.

“If you talk to people in New Mexico, they won't really tell you that they're artists. It's just sort of in the soil here. Everyone is in some way connected to art,” said Ana Romero, the co-founder of the New Mexico Academy of Rock and Blues (NMARB).

In recent years, Isotopes Park has become more than just a home for a Triple-A ball club. It’s become a cultural center for those who appreciate the local arts scene. From music to murals, the blending of baseball and culture in Albuquerque is amplified during the club’s Copa de la Diversión celebrations.

Under their Mariachis identity, the Isotopes have built something of a Copa dynasty. The club’s campeón victory last year was its third. They also won in each of the first two seasons of the program in 2018 and 2019. This year's prize also came with a $5,000 donation from Nationwide, the official insurance partner of Copa de la Diversión.

For Isotopes general manager John Traub, deciding on which foundation would be the beneficiaries of the endowment was a “no-brainer.”

“[NMARB does] a lot of great things in the community with kids and exposing them to music and culture and art,” Traub said. “We've had players go out to their businesses and learn music along with the kids. And they do these player experiences where we bring them out into the community. They're great things.”

NMARB was founded by Romero and her husband, Keith Sanchez, in Albuquerque 12 years ago. It began as a music-based educational program but has since evolved to include all different types of art. The program has brought in poet laureates to teach lyric writing and songwriting to the participating children, funded photo-poetry exhibits that helped the students understand both the art and technology and has even had demonstrations on museum curation.

The organization’s connection to the ballclub has been forged by Isotopes director of community relations Michelle Montoya over the past few years. Sanchez and Romero’s 13-year-old son, Tobias, actually painted a mural in Isotopes Park on the wall behind the right field foul pole before the start of the 2023 season.

13-year-old Tobias Sanchez did an incredible job creating his “Orbit’s Dream” mural for our brand new Craft Corner! 🎨 Alongside his mentor and muralist Francisco Lefebre, Tobias created a masterpiece that showcases the beauty of New Mexican culture. pic.twitter.com/NXl2Divhmi

— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) April 6, 2023

Thanks to the club’s outstanding Copa efforts, the $5,000 donation from Nationwide allows the foundation to expand its reach within the community.

“We're able to reach out to pay stipends to all these incredible artists, journalists, writers, photographers to bring the kids in and teach them that these are [potential] career paths and teaching through a more alternative form of education that's experiential,” Sanchez said. “We're trying to make it so that kids have access to not only arts programs, but literacy. … through a cultural lens of their own community.”

Romero and Sanchez were joined by dozens of the foundation’s students and their families at the club’s latest Mariachis celebration on Sunday. Albuquerque’s May 5 celebration last season was one of the biggest events on the Copa calendar. And this year was more of the same.

In addition to postgame fireworks and the high-energy performances by musicians and dancers in the ballpark concourses and on the field between innings, there was a concert featuring local hero Al Hurricane Jr., who has been recording music in New Mexico for 50 years, on the right field berm.

There was also a Mariachis jersey giveaway for the first 3,000 fans in attendance, which, according to Traub, caused a line to form outside the ballpark as early as 5:30 a.m.

“It was just one of those memorable, incredible evenings at the ballpark that will go down as one of the tops in the season for sure and of our existence, no doubt,” Traub said.

Prior to first pitch, Nationwide was able to present Romero and Sanchez, along with a number of students from the organization, with a large check on the field.

“[The students] just felt like VIPs,” Romero said. “And so some of them had never been to a ballgame before. They felt so important and so seen. And so, like, they mattered. And it was fantastic. They stayed for the whole thing. They asked lots and lots of questions. And they were in awe being on that field. They were so nervous. And it was just so much fun.”