Spaghetti & Westerns Festival 2022 Program Guide - COLEXICO EXPERIENCE

COLEXICO EXPERIENCE

A LOCOMOTIVE DRIVEN CELEBRATION OF PASTA and WESTERN CULTURE RETURNS TO TRINIDAD, CO and RATON, NM

Welcome to the “Rocky Mountain Land of Enchantment’’. Where Old Colora do meets New Mexico, and legends of the west live on. A place we like to call COLEXICO. Consider this newspaper your invitation to join us on a journey to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of this one-of-a-kind part of the world. On October 14th and 15th 2022 we’ll be showcasing some of the greatest as pects of the region with pasta parties, cowpoke poetry readings, drag shows, honky-tonk hootenannies, western film screenings, live theatrical productions, interstate train excursions and more.

Things kick off in Trinidad, Colorado on Friday the 14th with a “sauce-off” and pasta party, where some of the regions best kitchens, eateries and cooks will put their recipes to the test with a sauce sampling at the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art. Later that evening we’ll be showcasing some of the best night life that Southern Colorado has to offer at the Well Hotel & Taproom and Trini dad Lounge. Then on Saturday morning we’re crossing the border to Raton, New Mexico via Amtrak’s Southwest Chief train to view a selection of western films at the historic Shuler Auditorium, El Raton Theatre and Isabel Castillo Center for Performing Arts.

Then when our train comes back in that evening we’ll send festival goers back over the Historic Raton Pass for a comedic movie roast at Sexy Grandma’s,

a live melodrama at Main Street LIVE and more late night honky tonk music at Trini dad Lounge. So, saddle up partner, and come hungry to the 2022 COLEXICO EXPERIENCE Spaghetti & Westerns Festival.

EXPERIENCE

Friday night Spaghetti Sauce Off and Pasta Party at

A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art | 150 E. Main St. Trinidad, CO.

Salads from Sita’s Kitchen | Garlic Knots from Sexy Pizza | Tea from Trinidad Tea Company |

Desert from Colie’s Cakes and Pastries | Cash Bar supports the “Mitch”

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Box Office Opens: Join us at the A. R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art and enjoy incredible works of art created by Arthur Roy Mitchell, Cody Kuehl, Harvey Dunn, Harold Von Schmitt & more in preparation for

night of pasta, poetry, drag and musical mayhem.

6 PM

“Sauce-Off & Pasta Party” ft. Country/Western Karaoke: Come face to face with a mountain of spaghetti and a selection of sauces from through out the Raton Basin region and cast your vote to determine who makes the best sauce in Colexico. Enjoy some country/western karaoke while you chow down, or if you’re really feeling up to it, sign up to sing yourself!

Sauce-Off Competitors: Moose’s Social Club & Martini Bar | Nana & Nano’s Deli & Pasta House | Pasta Jay’s | Sunset Bar & Grille | Trinidad Waffle Company | (Noodles prepared by Cierra Partain)

7 PM

Cowpoke Poetry with Lindy Simmons: Recently cited as a “visionary” for her “Variety Show With a Twist”. we look forward to welcoming ranch wife and cowboy poet, Lindy Simmons from Mancos, Colorado to recite some of her favorite verses. She has performed throughout the western U.S. and has published one book entitled “Be Careful What You Tell L,” a collection of true stories of cowboys of today and yesteryear.

Presented by Bruno’s Pizza & Wings

8 PM -

A Fistful of Tango: A comedic reimagining of the 1920 silent western film “The Toll Gate” directed by William Hart. Montopolis’ Justin Sherburn provides a live piano score, performing the traditional tango arrangements of Austin composer Glover Gill. Comedian Carlos LaRotta has rewritten the movie in the irreverent style typical of the Alamo Drafthouse production Master Pancake Theater.

Residential Community

COLEXICO EXPERIENCE

Friday Night Life

9 PM | THE WELL HOTEL & TAPROOM

155 E Main St.

Trinidad, Colorado

Queens of Colexico: You may have heard of cattle kings, but how about the queens? Here in Colexico we cele brate cowboys, cowgirls, and cowpeo ple of all kinds! That’s why we’re very excited to be presenting a fabulous western drag show featuring Hyste ria Brooks and her friends Beyonca De Leon, Dalen Savage, and Majesti Zaharah at the Well Hotel & Taproom, a self-pour bar with 18 taps of beer, cocktails, wine, sake & more.

train ride to raton!

9 AM | Trinidad Amtrak Platform

110 West Pine Street

Trinidad, Colorado

10 PM | Trinidad Lounge

421 N Commercial St

Trinidad, Colorado

Honky-Tonk Hootenanny: What can only be described as “Desert Island Space Punk” the Pirates of Peñasco (P.O.P) are desert Pirates from anoth er time, deconstructing and recon structing the sonic time portal via the experiment of sonic chaos and pop musics. Lead by troubadour Westin McDowell (a modern minstrel of the old Santa Fe Trail) P.O.P. is bringing tales of outlaws, wanderers, American dancehall tunes, and songs from the land of spicy food.

DON’T BE LATE!

TRAIN RIDE TO RATON! All aboard! Join us at the Trinidad Amtrak Platform and prepare for a train adventure over the Historic Raton Pass through the Rocky Mountain Land of Enchantment to Raton, New Mexico during the peak season for vibrant fall colors. Arrive at 9 AM and prepare for a 9:24 AM departure. Lasting for roughly one hour, this ride offers a perfect opportunity to meet other festi val goers and take in the picturesque scenery of Colexico, the land where Southern Colorado meets Northern New Mexico.

EXPERIENCE

western Film submissions

Vengeance Saloon (NM Made)

Directed by James E. Blackburn | (10 Min 54 sec)

Set in the New Mexico Territory in 1885, this classic Western tells a tale of retribution for sins of the past. A lone stranger, Clem Morgan rides into a deserted, dried up western town af ter receiving a mysterious, threatening letter. Moments later a horse is heard and in walks another gunfighter, Jared Linson. The two men are acquainted, and sit down to share a whis key. They soon realize they both received the same letter. The author of the letter is soon re vealed and a gunfight ensues. Vengeance and justice are served in the Vengeance Saloon. When you go looking for trouble, you may just find that trouble is looking for you.

The Bank Robbery

Directed by John Marrs | (12 min 9 sec)

When the incompetent Clint Bodine Gang (They have their own wanted poster and ev erything) try to rob a bank, the results are hilarious. This film was shot in two days with a budget of $1,500.00. It was filmed entirely on location at Gammons Gulch Movie set in Benson, Arizona.

The Lost Bicentennial Belt: Successful Outlaw

Directed by David Luis Leal Cortez | (5 Min 45 sec)

Successful Outlaw is a work in progress that fol lows the life of Taos biker, builder and master sil versmith, Daniel “Pepe” Rochon. The Lost Bicenten nial Belt describes a missing treasure he and others created in 1976. My goal is to make a character driven, transcendental documentary that elucidates and expands one’s ideas about sustainability and creativity, and the blending of the two.

ColexiKids Experience

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron at 11 a.m. at Isabel Castillo Performing Arts Center

Free for kids 12 years and under

In the late 19th century, a feisty stallion named Spirit is held captive by a cruel colonel, but manages to escape, and he befriends a Native American youth and a mare named Rain, and they set out to return to their rightful places in the West

Screening at The Shuler

11 a.m. Saturday, October, 15

The Hanging of William Cane

Directed by Preston Walden |

(28 min 12 sec)

Based on the short story by best-selling author R.J. Hendricks II, William Cane’s desperate need for financial stability to provide for his family leads him to robbing a bank. Will this bad decision be his final one?

Return to Remembrance

Directed by John Marrs

After the Civil War, CSA soldier Captain Trace Mitchell heads to Arizona in search of his wife and child. All he has to go on is a letter from his wife that was written long ago. Arriving in the town of Remembrance, he finds it deserted ex cept for a woman named Joelle. Can these two strangers survive alone? This film was shot in two days with a budget of $4,000.00. It was filmed entirely on location at Gammons Gulch Movie set in Benson, Arizona.

The Legend of Six Gun Shooter Shamus

Directed by Ethan Messecar | (8 min 27 sec)

A retired sharpshooter practices his aim, but finds he’s eerily out of touch.

EXPERIENCE

neo-western Film submissions

Roller

Roller takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland after a global governing Network fried the airwaves rendering all digital technologies useless. Long before this event the Network had banned all analog technologies and through police and security force removed and destroyed millions of radios, records, TVs, guitars, CDs, anything that emit ted an analog frequency. The only escape was to head to the outlying territories outside of the Network’s coverage. “Dead zones” where building cell towers is irrational. This is where we find the Outlier searching for a lost relic. Some thing that was important to him he lost in the Analog Ban.

Screening at The Shuler

2 p.m. Saturday, October, 15

Rook

Annie is a Colorado bar owner on the brink of bankruptcy when her delinquent brother shows up with a lucrative offer in hand; a gold heist worth half a million dollars. Despite their turbu lent family history - and the fact that she’s dating a cop, Annie agrees. After several colossal mis steps, Ben, Annie, and a few of their cohorts must dodge bullets and blades from the gold-mining backwoods brothers they stole from

Mora is Burning

Synopsis for Colexico Experience Spaghetti and Westerns Film Festival

Directed by David Luis Leal Cortez

United States Forest Service planned burn blows out of control to become the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, devastating large parts of three mostly rural counties. These mountain forests and valleys lay mostly within the boundaries of historic land grants, in theory under protection of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The rights of these communities have been under fire, both literally and figuratively since the treaty was signed. The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire is the tragic outcome of decades of heavy-handed federal land policy that has the potential to act as a fatal blow to these struggling communities.

1 PM “Country Lunch” with Dylan Earl at Isabel Castillo Performing Arts Center

Dylan Earl is a post country/countrypol itan/twangcore songwriter from Lake Charles, Louisiana and is currently based out of Fayetteville, Arkansas. He’s a sto ryteller standing proud in a tradition, but with both eyes fixed firmly on a future that is wide open. You’re going to love him.

ColexiKids Experience

Free for kids 12 years and under

Spirit: Untamed at 2 p.m. at Isabel Castillo Performing Arts Center

A young girl befriends a wild mustang named Spirit after moving to a small frontier town named Miradero. Together with her two friends and their horses, she pursues a life of exploration, adven ture, and danger on the wide-open plains.

133 Cook Ave, Raton, NM brunospizzaraton.com

Family and locally-run American Diner. Serving handmade pizza & wings in 9 flavors.

COLEXICO EXPERIENCE

Saturday Night Life

6 PM | Sexy Grandma’s Pizza & Tap

516 E Elm St.

Trinidad, Colorado

ENIGMATIC WESTERN GRINDHOUSE OF “WILD WILD WEST”: Howdy Y’all and welcome to the Enigmatic Western Grindhouse! Join some of today’s best comedians as we suffer through the worst Western Films of all time with comedic commentary as we watch. This month’s film is Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1999 production of “Wild Wild West” staring Will Smith and Kevin Kline, with comedic commentary by Jeremy Pysher, Jay Gillespie & Nathan Lund. There will be food available from Sexy Pizza and drinks available from Grandma’s House Brewery.

8 PM | Main Street Live

131 W Main St.

Trinidad, Colorado

Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch: This melodrama takes place in the lobby of the Roaring Gulch hotel where the hero, Harry Heartstone, is found in hot pursuit of the villain, Snipe Vermin. The story takes an unusual turn because the villain and hero are twin brothers, and it is inevitable that the two should meet in a face-to-face gunfight! Colorful characters in Roaring Gulch include the lady sheriff, Willie Lovelace; the evil proprietress of the hotel, the Widow Black; a stranded actress, Martha Muldoon; and the nutty sidekick of Snipe, Bill Filbert. A delightful, roaring good time!

10 PM | Trinidad Lounge

421 N Commercial St.

Trinidad, Colorado

Honky Tonk Hootenanny w/ The Roswells: Classic country music from the 1940s-1960s. Harmonies, Guitar and Pedal Steel from New Mexico featuring Greg Glassman, Kateri Lopez, Dave Devlinm Laura Devlin, and Bud Melvin

COLEXICO EXPERIENCE

SPAGHETTI WESTERN! :The Big Gundown (1966) Dir Segio Sollima | By Roger Norquist

Skilled bounty hunter Jonathan Corbett (Lee Van Cleef) is invited to a party by a railroad tycoon named Brockston (Walter Barnes). Brockston plants the seed that Corbett should consider a run for the Senate, but not before doing one last bounty hunt, Cuchillo (Tomas Milian). Fans of westerns are familiar with the Italian westerns. Spaghetti Westerns, as they were called, captured the American imagination with action and stories the likes mainstream America had not seen before and American directors were not ready to portray. While American Westerns created heroes, Spaghetti Westerns created superheroes.

American Westerns were about tradition and honor in a lawless land. Italian Westerns were about the lawlessness around society. Politicians were as vile as murderers, murderers valued honor, and society proved to be just as wild as the wilderness. At the end of some movies, the lines of good and bad were blurred beyond recognition. The West was won by the Italians. Sure, John Ford and John Wayne were there, but the spaghetti westerns of the 60s and 70s dominated the scene with violence, anti-heroes, and charming villains. The Italian westerns are the best example of how brutal the wild west could be for those not prepared. (Screening at El Raton at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 15)

CLASSIC WESTERN! :The Searchers (1956) Dir John Ford | By Roger Norquist

The Confederate veteran, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), visits his brother, Aaron, on their Texan homestead. Ethan’s peace is interrupted when a murderous Comanche raiding party massacres his family and abducts his nine-year-old niece, Debbie (Natalie Wood). Ethan and his young companion, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), ride through the un forgiving desert to track down their lost Debbie; however, is the child they lost still the same woman they seek? This is the greatest western ever made. This is the height of John Wayne’s career. The height of John Ford’s career. Every western after has been trying the emulate the hero-villian dynamic, the violence, the breathtaking landscapes. Only Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in The West comes close.

The Searchers interweaves peaceful moments with comedy and colors them with savage violence. John Wayne is vile as the villain, the romantic relationship is a primetime rom-com, and the battles are chaotic and surprising. There truly doesn’t seem to be a wasted moment. There are few films that hold up to the hype which people place on older movies. Many fail to pass the test of time due to progress in film language and technique. The fake outdoor sets and “night shots” look incredibly bad by today’s cinematic standards but that was the height of filmmaking techniques at the time. And that is just fine. Western movies were a way to remember an era that was never coming back and, in a way, that is what we are doing by watching old westerns. (Screening at El Raton at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15)