Seven mariachis are featured on the painting selected Friday as the winner of the annual Santa Fe poster contest.

They beat out three burros, four Rail Runners, a couple of Plazas and one Zozobra as the best image to promote the city's creativity and its 400th anniversary celebration.

A panel of judges comprising the Santa Fe Arts Commission and others spent the lunch hour evaluating about 89 entries in this year's contest before selecting the painting by Lori Aguirre Snable.

"I was really surprised because when I dropped off my painting, I saw all the other art work there and it seemed like it was such a high level of work that was entered this year," she said Friday afternoon as she celebrated with a glass of wine at Del Charro Saloon downtown.

The painting is loosely based on a photograph Snable took at Fiesta, but she took the artistic license to relocate the musicians so they are in front of the New Mexico Museum of Art. She also changed some of their faces, including one that she said ended up as the face of her grandfather, a native of Jalisco, Mexico.

"I have always loved the traditions and the music and everything that goes along with the feeling of Santa Fe," said Snable, 57, who took art classes here 20 years ago, visited frequently and became a full-time resident six years ago.

City Council chambers looked like a trunk sale Friday morning, with paintings and photographs leaning against walls and chair backs.

Clipboards in hand, judges first narrowed the field to about 34 entries, then trimmed those to a group of nine before asking city staff to place the final three on easels for a group discussion.

The other two finalists were The Weaving of Seasons, by S.J. Shaffer, a painting of a large adobe church with dozens of figures approaching under an orange sky, and Fiesta de la Primavera by Lynne Loshbaugh, a whimsical multi-media piece that featured bare feet, a couple riding in a car and four dogs.

So why did Santa Fe Mariachis beat out the other two pieces? The judges liked what it said to them.

"Every time I see mariachis I'm like Pavlov's dog. I yearn for a margarita," said judge Peter Pacheco. "I think it is beautiful and it speaks of celebration. With the 400th anniversary coming, it's appropriate."

"It speaks to music and I like that," said Carol Rose, wife of Mayor David Coss.

"And to architecture. I like that," said Joey Chavez.

Other judges noted they thought the depiction of the region's blue sky and the tiny pair of New Mexico and U.S. flags in the background gave it appeal.

The city will now photograph the painting to create a high-resolution digital image, then add some text and print about 1,000 copies of the poster to be distributed by city officials as gifts. As the winner, Snable gets 250 copies of the poster and a check for $1,000.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.



WATER-THEMED WINNERS

Santa Fe officials also recently selected the winners of the 6th Annual Children's Water Conservation Poster Contest from more than 500 entries.

This year's Grand Prize winner is Sam Connan, a fifth-grade student from Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences.

Other winners are:

First grade: first place, Oona Hook, Eldorado Elementary School; second place, Amaryss Sandoval, Eldorado Elementary School; third place, Maria Sanchez, Agua Fría Elementary School

Second grade: first place, Maya Gorman, Agua Fría Elementary School; second place, Ever Prishkulnik, Wood Gormley Elementary School; third place, Natalie Nathanson, Wood Gormley Elementary School

Third grade: first place, Griffin Ferguson, La Mariposa Montessori; second place, Kai Taishoff, Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences; third place, Sophie Hare, La Mariposa Montessori

Fourth grade: first place, Marisa Tedori, La Mariposa Montessori; second place, Margaret Sandoval, Agua Fría Elementary School; third place, Miya Homashige, La Mariposa Montessori

Fifth grade: Grand Prize, Sam Connan, Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences;second place, Briana Ritter, La Mariposa Montessori; third place, Brass Burapa-Coggins, Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences

Sixth grade: first place, Jorri Stephenson, Gonzales Community School; second place, Ceryn Schoel, La Mariposa Montessori; third place, Tatyana Stavrowsky, Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences.

A ceremony is planned for May 13 at 5 p.m., in the City Hall Council Chambers, 200 Lincoln Ave. The winning posters will be on display at City Hall from May 4 through May 29.

First- and second-place winners will be included in the 2010 water conservation calendar. First-place winners receive a $100 U.S. savings bond; second-place winners receive a $75 savings bond; and third-place winners receive a $50 savings bond.