Realtor prepared to tell Southern New Mexico's stories

Cristal Garcia spent 15 years helping design buildings. Then she began helping people find homes. Now she's taking on a new challenge; helping the rest of the country discover the people and places that make Southern New Mexico special.

And she's doing it on national television. Garcia, a Las Cruces realtor with EXIT Realty Horizons, has become a local host for The American Dream TV, a nationally distributed television program featuring real estate, lifestyle and community stories.

It's a role she never anticipated, particularly because she has no background in broadcasting. But when she considers the path that brought her here, she sees a common thread.

"Everything that I've done has been community driven," Garcia said. "So I think that's a good fit for the show."

Born in El Paso and raised in Sunland Park, Garcia spent 10 years in San Diego and five in Phoenix before returning to Southern New Mexico, where her family lives. She worked in architectural design for 15 years before deciding to pursue a related career in real estate.

"I was like, well, something that had to do with houses," she recalled. "I was like, real estate. Let's do real estate."

Six years later, she works with clients across a broad stretch of Southern New Mexico, from Sunland Park to Sierra County. She also serves on the Doña Ana County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Her newest venture began when representatives of The American Dream TV contacted her as part of a nationwide search for real estate professionals to serve as local hosts. The program, created by media entrepreneur Craig Sewing, features realtors and other real estate professionals telling stories about their communities. The show has received Emmy nominations and Telly Awards and is distributed through television networks and streaming platforms.

Garcia went through an interview process and officially joined the program in late August.

"It's a super positive show about our communities," she said. "I loved it. I was like, yes, I'm in."

Although real estate is part of the program, Garcia said the stories she wants to tell extend far beyond houses and property listings.

"It's about our people," she said. "So it's going to show lifestyle, community, a little bit of real estate."

That could mean a family business passed down through generations, a local entrepreneur who overcame obstacles, a community festival, a successful high school athletic team or a farmer whose work reflects the region's agricultural heritage. Garcia and her assistant, Susana Medina, have begun researching potential subjects, concentrating primarily on Doña Ana County.

"We just brainstorm together and we come up with lists of businesses that we potentially want to showcase," Medina said.

The possibilities already include pecan farms, local festivals, restaurants, boutiques, farmers markets and entrepreneurs with unusual stories. One prospective subject is a woman who moved to the area, struggled in the finance industry and eventually found success making and selling candles.

Garcia said discovering those stories has become one of the most enjoyable parts of her new responsibilities.

"Starting to research this, I was like, I didn't even know that was there. I didn't even know that story of that person," she said.

The production process begins with a preliminary interview, during which Garcia and Medina learn about the prospective subject and determine whether the story fits the program's emphasis on lifestyle, community and real estate. If they decide to proceed, they develop a loose script to guide the filming, while leaving room for the subjects to tell their stories naturally.

A production crew spends four to eight hours filming material that ultimately becomes a segment of approximately five minutes in a 30-minute program featuring several communities. The footage is sent to the production company in San Diego for editing, with Garcia providing input on which elements of the story she considers most important.

Her first segment has already been filmed. It features the New Mexico Open golf tournament at Turtleback Mountain Resort in Elephant Butte, including the visiting golfers, the course, the surrounding community and nearby homes.

Garcia expects to produce a new segment approximately every two months. The hosting opportunity is also a business investment. Garcia pays a licensing fee to participate and use the resulting video content, which can provide additional exposure for her real estate business. The program's business model includes partnerships with participating real estate professionals, who can use the exposure and video content in their own marketing.

Garcia said her interest goes beyond promoting her business.

"This show isn't really about me," she said. "It's about our people."

Her transition to television has been made easier by the changing nature of the real estate industry. Garcia already spends much of her professional time producing videos, virtual home tours, social media posts and even live virtual open houses.

She estimates that about 90 percent of her real estate marketing involves digital platforms. That experience has made her comfortable in front of a camera, although she admits the arrival of a professional production crew can still be intimidating.

"I get a little nervous when the big production teams come," she said.

The program provides online training in storytelling, identifying potential subjects and conducting interviews. Garcia said she particularly enjoys meeting people and learning about experiences that might otherwise go unnoticed.

The stories don't necessarily have to involve successful businesses. A family overcoming adversity, a local athlete achieving something remarkable or a community organization making a difference could also fit the program.

Garcia’s most important consideration is whether the story reveals something meaningful about Southern New Mexico, with a particular audience in mind.

"I want people, especially the younger crowd, to see their neighbor on TV and know that they can make it here," she said. "That they don't have to leave. This is possible here in Las Cruces."

It's a perspective shaped by her own experience of leaving Southern New Mexico, building a career elsewhere and eventually returning home. Now, with a television camera following her into businesses, neighborhoods and communities across the region, Garcia hopes to introduce viewers to opportunities and accomplishments they might never have known existed.

"I want people to know the American dream is alive and well here in Southern New Mexico," she said.

Perhaps, when young people see someone from their own neighborhood telling a story on national television, they'll begin to imagine the stories they might tell someday.