By Nick Stern, Managing Editor | Photo by Nick Stern
Small Town Entrepreneur, Alan Cordova has a Bachelor’s degree in communications and, among working at The CNM Bookstore at main campus, he has his hands in many different projects here in Albuquerque, Cordova said.
One project that seems to be growing wild is The Duke City Coalition of Facial Fur which only started in March of 2013 and has already started paying it forward and seen great success with its shows, he said.
Competitors essentially pay a fee to enter the different beard competitions and the fees come together and then get divvied up to the charity that is being donated to for that show and the competitors as well, Cordova said.
“So far we have had six shows, all successful and all the charities and sponsors that we have are all local,” he said.
As of right now we have about 79 members in the club and we are also affiliated with Beard Team USA which is the national club.
They do regional as well as national competitions,” he said.
Cordova not only started the club to be a part of the community but decided to pay it forward with the proceeds from competitions and different venues by donating portions to people who are less fortunate, he said.
Cordova explained that he knows what it is like to need help and was lucky enough to get it and he would like to help other people and local organizations the same way he has been helped before, he said.
“There had been times in my past where I felt I had to ask for help and it was available to me so why not donate portions of the events that we put on to charity?” he said.
Portions of the shows that have been put on have already gone to many different shows like Mandy’s Farm which is for women with autism, Pay it Forward New Mexico which is a non-profit organization that helps people in need, The Sons of Perdition-an all-male burlesque troop, cancer research, The Heart Institute, and the list did not end there, he said.
The best way to contact the coalition would be to find them on their Facebook page at the Duke City Coalition of Facial Fur, he said.
There are also local sponsors that help out with the prizes which go to first, second and third place winners depending on the categories and how big the turnout is, he said.
Some of the categories that have been seen at the competitions with bigger turnouts and participation have included full beards, moustaches, natural full beards, freestyle, goatees, sideburns, artificial beards, and women with beards, Cordova said.
“We do not exclude anybody by any means,” Cordova said.
Some of the shows put on by The Duke City Coalition of Facial Fur have had hundreds of people show up and at least fifty to sixty people competing in the competitions, he said.
One of the shows that are coming up should be on Feb 22 but is not set in stone yet, he said. It is supposed to happen at the Sister Bar and all the proceeds from the show will be going to the Flamingo Club that burnt down recently, Cordova said.
“So again, it is just a big circle. Everybody is just trying to help out everybody. When we put on shows, we are trying to get local businesses involved heavily,” he said.
Another show that is pretty much set in stone is planned for May four and is going to be Star Wars Themed, Cordova said.
Cordova is also involved in other projects that are always keeping him busy, he said.
Cordova also helps his wife in her project called C Squared Promotions which basically promotes local musicians and bands, he said.
He also does hip-hop and poetry collaborations with a project called Secrets which he plans on doing much more regularly and also getting a local legend involved, he said.
“It is kind of on the cusp of happening on a regular basis and I am trying to get Eli the poet who is a really well-known poet and we are going to do some performance stuff at the Guild and a few different venues,” Cordova said.
Cordova Art which is Cordova’s mixed-media art that he does is meant to be on his website soon and will be called Cordovamixedmediaart.com, he said.
He literally goes out and finds pieces of wood that are thrown away and uses them as his canvases along with other stuff that people throw out, he said.
He also plans on making pop up art shows more common in Albuquerque and hopes to rent out spots for an evening in order to host evenings with artists, he said.
These shows would basically be limited edition, once in a lifetime opportunities to spend time with artists and even get good art that is very limited, he said.
Cordova said, “Boom! You have one opportunity to come check out this artist do some nice art and get some art at reasonable prices.”
He also has a clothing company called All For Not Clothing that started all the way back in 2003, Cordova said. The company kind of coincides with Cordova Mixed Media Arts because he collaborates with other artists and plans on doing the same limited edition style clothing that people can get at the once in a lifetime, pop up, art shows, Cordova said.
The idea behind these limited shows and art is basically, “Hey check this out! I went to this art show and there were guys hanging from hooks and there was a dude next to him painting this huge mural and there was a guy on the way out and I could buy his art for like five bucks a piece!” Cordova said.
It is like a miniature, festival that people can go to and feel good about being a part of something bigger, Cordova said.
