Established in 1973, the Pueblo Opera Program (POP) encourages Native American exposure to and involvement in opera, and reciprocates Pueblo hospitality in the areas of music, dance and drama. Each year POP reaches more than 2,000 Native American children in New Mexico's 19 pueblos and on the Navajo and Apache reservations. Through POP, children participate in the Youth Night at the Opera program, A Day at the Opera Ranch, enjoy a visit by the Apprentice Artist Tour and write and produce their own original operas. The program was led for many years by Connie Tsosie Gaussoin, a Picuris Pueblo-Navajo, and a Santa Fe Opera Board member; it is now guided by an advisory committee which includes many individuals within the pueblos and reservations. POP has led generations of children to the discovery that through its universal themes and emotions, opera readily expresses meaning for the youth of today.