A Sense of Community at MIM June 1, 2019 Longtime MIM fan and member performs at Experience Spain Circle of Friends member Rómulo Conde loves music and comes to nearly every Signature Event at MIM to share the world’s music and cultures with his kids. Born in Germany to parents from Galicia, Spain, Conde grew up playing the Galician bagpipe and continues to play today. In 2014, Conde moved to Phoenix and first discovered MIM when he and his wife attended Galician bagpipe virtuosa Cristina Pato’s concert at MIM’s Music Theater. Conde and his family then began attending MIM’s Signature Events and soon became regulars. “MIM’s Signature Events are a way to travel without ever leaving Phoenix,” says Conde. “It’s nice to connect with others in the community by playing music. Music brings people together from all kinds of different backgrounds.” When MIM’s public programs team began planning for January’s Experience Spain event, they thought of Conde as a performer, and community partner Asociación Cultural Española de Arizona (ACEAZ) recommended him as well. At Experience Spain, local Spanish-Galician music group Muiños, composed of Conde, a vocalist, and another bagpiper, performed the Celtic-influenced music of Galicia and Northern Spain. At Signature Events, Conde, his wife, and their children, ages 2 and 4, enjoy face painting, watching live musical performances, and building instruments at the craft table. Through their membership and love for MIM’s family-friendly Signature Events, Conde and his family feel a sense of community at MIM. “I think it’s an important aspect of any museum to be a fixture in the community, to be a platform for collaboration and connection,” says Randi Ringnes, MIM’s public programs manager. “And our programs are just that; they are a way for people to engage even deeper with the museum and each other.”
