By Randy Burge
Monday, May 21, 2007

Kiko Torres, one of Albuquerque's rising young entrepreneurs, greets every morning with ideas in his head, enthusiasm in his step and a smile in his heart. Spending 10 minutes with Torres is like getting a day's worth of creative rays.

He owns Masks y Mas, a retail and wholesale store selling select Mexican and other imported folk masks and art at 3104 Central Ave. S.E. in the historic Nob Hill business district.

Torres and his partner, Tara, continually work to improve their offerings and to branch out into new areas. They recently launched a gicl‚e printing business in a new gallery and print space near Mask y Mas for artists, photographers and their collectors who want affordable, high quality reproductions.

I am a strong proponent of the "Creative Class" analysis showing that a healthy art and music scene in a region is essential, cross-culturally, for stimulating a thriving entrepreneurial technology economy as noted in regions from Austin to Boston.

Creative inspiration comes from all quarters and outlets, whether it is through artistic expression or through creative problem solving in a business for customers or growth.

Thinking outside of the creativity box, while cliche, requires seeing the world a little differently than you normally do. Looking at it another way, to do otherwise and stay in the "perspective" box hearkens the Einstein comment that insanity is repeating the same action over and over again, expecting a different result.

Appreciating folk artists' angles and ingenuity in crafting their offerings pulls me out of my normalcy zone. If nothing else, a colorful, funky art piece from inside or outside of my own culture, reminds me that I need to think about my problems from beyond the comfortable margins that we each set for ourselves in our organized-desk ways.

Torres is doing his part to fuel the creative class in Albuquerque with the rich, mostly Hispanic objects of art that surround you like a kid inside a fiesta pi¤ata when you step into his store.

Along with several pieces in his excellent Day of the Dead offerings, I have my eye on one or two of his African ceremonial masks that someday may keep their eyes on my creative spirit. I have a prominent place picked out for the masks above my desk for that purpose.

Kiko's passions for life run deep in his family, who until recently were neighbors of mine in the University of New Mexico area. His mother, Nieves, earned her doctorate from UNM in early childhood education development in the past year. She established and coordinates a successful English-as-a-second-language teaching program for Mexican immigrants in Albuquerque among her other UNM duties.

His father, Eliseo, is the vice president of student affairs at UNM and a noted author and speaker about the curanderismo, or Mexican folk medicines and healing customs.

His sister, Sandra, had a silver shop on Central. Now she sells real estate locally.

I would be remiss not to brag on Torres. His store is one of the best in the region, not just the state, cultivated with his keen eye for quality and expressiveness. Having lived in Santa Fe for many years, I can tell you his prices are great deals as well.

Mask y Mas is like an early Jackalope, for those familiar with the legendary New Mexico folk art market started by Darby McQuade years ago out of the back of his pickup truck.

I was in Mask y Mas last week when a breathless couple from Atlanta came blowing in with one hour before their flight home. They were referred by Tinker Town to end their quest for Day of the Dead keepsakes.

At every encounter with Torres, I am eager to catch up on his latest venturings. He embodies the creative class. Keep an eye on him - he is going places commercially and culturally.

My advice: Get into Mask y Mas and get out of your box.