News

BBER Mourns Loss of UNM GPS Director

November 5, 2019

BBER grieves the loss of UNM Geospatial and Population Studies Director Dr. Adélamar (Dely) N. Alcántara, who passed away over the weekend while on her way back home to Albuquerque from the Philippines.

Alcántara joined UNM in 1985, serving as the New Mexico state demographer for decades. She was an integral part of BBER until she helped launch Geospatial and Population Studies in 2011, where she served as the director until her passing.

The founder of the New Mexico Asian Family Center, Alcántara was a leader in the Filipino community. She has been president of the Filipino American Foundation of New Mexico, Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation of New Mexico and the Filipino American Community Council. She also co-founded the Filipino American National Historical Society – Rio Grande. She received the 2018 Si Se Puede Award from Dolores Huerta at the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Cesar Chavez Day in Albuquerque.

Alcántara is survived by her husband Theodore (Ted) Jojola, a Distinguished Professor and Regents’ Professor in the Community & Regional Planning Program, UNM School of Architecture + Planning. She was preceded in death by her son, Manoa Alcántara Jojola.

In honor of her late son, Alcántara made significant contributions to the Albuquerque Academy and Tricklock Theater. She co-founded the Manoa Alcántara Jojola International Center for Arts & Language MAJICAL Learning Montessori School in the province of Tarlac, Philippines, where she was just visiting to help kick off the school year.

Albuquerque Academy has opened its campus to the community to grieve. Visitors are welcome to gather at a memorial marker for her son, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday, Nov. 4 through Thursday, Nov. 7. The memorial is directly behind the Academy Music building, near the Academy Blvd. and Moon St. entrance.

A community gathering is currently being organized. A formal mass and memorial arrangements will be announced in the later weeks.