Mesilla Mayor Russell Hernandez to receive Las Cruces International Film Festival “Hometown Hero” award during April 11 ceremony

Minerva Baumann, New Mexico State University

LAS CRUCES - Mesilla mayor and restaurateur Russell Hernandez will receive this year’s Las Cruces International Film Festival “Hometown Hero” award at a ceremony during the 11th annual film festival, April 8-12.

Each year, the festival presents a “Hometown Hero” award to recognize someone with ties to the Las Cruces area who has made significant contributions both in the Las Cruces community and beyond. Hernandez is a fourth-generation resident of southern New Mexico and co-owner of Salud! Restaurant in Mesilla.

Hernandez will receive the award during the LCIFF awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at the Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Main St.

“The Las Cruces International Film Festival is proud to honor Mesilla Mayor Russell Hernandez and his extraordinary life,” said Ross Marks, New Mexico State University professor and executive director of the festival. “As CEO and co-business owner of Salud! Restaurant, Mayor Hernandez has a passion for preserving Mesilla’s heritage and works tirelessly to ensure that his community remains a welcoming and prosperous place for all.”

Past recipients of the LCIFF “Hometown Hero” award include Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Russell Allen, Belia Alvarez and Curtis Rosemond, Irene Oliver Lewis, Greg Smith, Xochitl Torres Small, Marcie Dickerson and Wanda Bowman.

This year’s five-day festival will screen 160 films and runs April 8-12 at the Allen Theatres Cineport 10. Marks expects to see more than 12,000 movie fans this year. VIP passes are $200, All-Access Passes are $100, Day Passes are $35 and admission to the Outstanding Achievement celebrity screening is $35. This year’s recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment award is Michael Rooker, who gained widespread international fame in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and its sequels. Tickets are available now.

There is still time to get tickets for the LCIFF Poster Party from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 6, at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. The original art will be auctioned off, and artist Asiah Thomas-Mandlman will be on hand to sign limited edition prints of the poster. Admission is $30.

The festival is presented by NMSU and Visit Las Cruces and entirely run by NMSU film students under the guidance of Marks, who founded the festival 11 years ago. He teaches courses for NMSU students to learn how to prepare and produce a film festival. The LCIFF is now the largest student-run festival in the country.

Minerva Baumann writes for New Mexico State University Marketing and Communications and can be reached at 575-646-7566, or by email at mbauma46@nmsu.edu.