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I ate rat poison and was in bad shape when I arrived at Española Humane. They gave me an emergency blood transfusion and injections of Vitamin K, saving my life. Now I smile at my foster mom, knowing I’ll be ok. Without your generosity, I would not have survived the day. THANK YOU for being there when I needed you most. www.espanolahumane.org
Mail letters to PO Box 4910, Santa Fe, NM 87502; or email them to editor@sfreporter. com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.
Is an 800-acre solar facility in an agricultural area surrounded by communities and within sight of Turquoise Trail the right choice? New Mexico’s 2019 Energy Transition Act’s goal is to preserve a livable climate. However, careful consideration, and sometimes redirection, will be required to reach this goal successfully.
The Utility Scale Solar Facility proposed by AES Corporation and Rancho Viejo Limited Partnership will include 39 semi-trailer sized, lithium-ion battery containers. Lithium batteries are a known fire risk by the industry, given there is no means of extinguishing a lithium battery fire, just suppression and containment until it burns out; which in this case would be in our dry, windy desert environment surrounded by residential communities. Other considerations include habitat destruction to countless wildlife species and risk of contamination to the groundwater that many rely on. AES and the private landowner will certainly reap large profits from this deal, but at what cost to Santa Feans and our native environment?
At each crossroad in meeting our goal of more environmentally responsible and sustainable energy sources, solar facility locations that minimize additional environmental impacts and threats to our communities, e.g., by utilizing current industrial and brownfield sites, should be the decisive factors.For more information, email SantaFeCounty4ResponsibleSolar@yahoo.com.
CAMILLA BROM SANTA FE
The doctor in San Marcos may be displeased to see an 800-acre solar farm as her neighbor, but the aesthetic blight is trivial; the serious
problems of such technologies cannot be seen and yet can be foreseen. For example of the former, how do solar panels damage living soil by unnaturally shading the landscape? (On Dec. 2, SFAI hosted Dr. Lydia Jennings, who referred to several in-progress studies investigating this.) And to cite a foreseeable problem, providing electrification via unlimited fuel and without air pollution reduces motivation to end things detrimental to humans and other Earthlings: Artificial Lighting At Night (ALAN), online/ device addiction, mining and manufacturing, constant calories, mental and physical maladies of modernity, and rapid long-distance communications and transport—generally, further separation of humanity from evolved, unbridled nature that we are adapted to inhabit. After a lifetime of doing well without complex technology, our species is now cornered, and conformed (if not enslaved) to it. Standing on the precipice, facing existential doom and technology’s autonomy, we needn’t seek to avoid inducing climate changes while extending this dysfunctional system, but consider what is necessary to free ourselves of technological slavery and salvage an indefinite future on a viable planet.
JORGE CLÚNI SANTA FEYou know what actually is at risk of catching fire? Our beautiful, ecologically rich woodlands, which have been burning at historic rates due to greenhouse gas emissions—which this solar project will help mitigate. No mention that we’re in the middle of a climate crisis and desperately need all the clean energy we can get. She doesn’t want her view changed and is making up hysterical arguments about batteries catching fire. And you report this credulously?
NIK PHILIPSEN VIA TWITTER @NIKPHILIPSENBefore commissioners vote on permitting AES’s proposed solar facility and battery energy storage system (BESS):
1. Has a professional engineer certified that
From $95K as state attorney general to $232,500—and he doesn’t even have to referee wrestling matches over public records anymore!
Agents have named a fella who allegedly robbed an ABQ bank the “Ski Bum Bandit;” don’t they know Santa Fe and Taos have all the good runs?
Make sure to ask the party chair how strong the cookies are, if you know what we mean.
Find the latest on hospital crowding, state and local politics, arts, food, the weather forecast and more every weekday.
AES’s BESS will not fail? (When a PG&E BESS caught fire Sept. 20, 2022, nearby residents could not leave their homes, open windows or run ventilation systems. AES BESSes have also failed.)
2. If panels catch fire, what’s the plan? (You cannot de-energize solar panels.)
3. How much water will AES use to construct and cool its facility?
4. Who will test soil for leached chemicals? What’s the clean-up plan?
5. Who will receive the generated energy?
6. When facility profits wane, either AES will replace panels and batteries—or abandon the project. Recycling such hazardous waste is expensive. To prevent our county’s paying decommissioning costs (if AES abandons the project), will commissions require AES to post a bond?
As a model, here are a Virginia commission’s conditions for a solar facility (with no BESS): https://tinyurl.com/5n7ucrn8
Since 2000, AES has been penalized $30 million for environmental, workplace safety and marketing offenses; and a 2018 report ranks AES fifth among toxic air polluters. https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/ aes-corp, https://peri.umass.edu/toxic-100-airpolluters-index-2018-report-based-on-2015data. Before permitting AES’s project, how will commissioners ensure that its hazards have been mitigated?
KATIE SINGER SANTA FE
I find The Fork highly entertaining and haven’t seen any notable misuse of two-syllable words in my reading of it, This dude has a unique take on food issues and continues to be a great advocate for people who are inside the food industry in our City Different. Are we a city or are we a village? We strive to be both. Such a take on community that welcomes eccentrics
and refreshing, unique perspectives on tired subjects might be misunderstood by someone who doesn’t have wit enough to realize that she has the freedom not to read a column she personally dislikes. Along with the art market, restaurants are an important part of the tourism industry that is our livelihood. That column has had some outstanding humorous as well as literary moments. Perhaps Ms. Tefo could keep her jaundiced eye on the very readable calendar of events and political/judicial coverage so praised by her and leave the entertainment provided by your excellent publication to the rest of us.
CHERYL BARTLETT SANTA FEI love The Fork. Well written and witty, two things that are hard to come by these days.
WYNN HOLTVIA FACEBOOK
She is a lovely person and really looks out for folks. I have had moments where she definitely made me feel safe as a lady out on the town in her establishment.
ADRIENNE HARVITZVIA FACEBOOK
Great place to come and chill.
STEVEN WALTER VIA FACEBOOK
SFR will correct factual errors online and in print. Please let us know if we make a mistake: editor@sfreporter.com or 988-7530.
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It’s fitting that the miraculous story of how a Northern New Mexico Jewish community came to reclaim a historic place of worship will culminate on the first day of Hanukkah. The celebration, itself a remembrance of the Maccabees reclamation and rededication of a Jewish temple in the 2nd century BCE, begins on Sunday.
Members of Temple Montefiore in Las Vegas will begin this year’s winter festival in a newly purchased building—one they’d owned until about half a century ago—and which, by most accounts, was the first synagogue in the New Mexico Territory.
The long-sought purchase of the building, constructed in the late 1800s, comes as the Archdiocese of Santa Fe continues to sell property, in part to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of child rape by clergy and the church’s subsequent cover-up.
Nancy Terr, vice president of the Las Vegas Jewish Community, a nonprofit group that organizes local Jewish celebrations and services, grew up in Las Vegas and was one of the driving forces behind purchasing the building from the church. Terr moved to Las Vegas as a child and jokes that her family doubled the Jewish population in town when they took up residence across the street from Milton Taichert, a legend in the Las Vegas Jewish community.
By the time Terr and her family moved to Las Vegas, the closest synagogue was an hour away in Santa Fe. She says the community had sold the building to the archdiocese after the city’s Jewish population dwindled so significantly that there were “more of them in the [Montefiore] cemetery,” than there were living in the area.
Over the years, Terr says, the Jewish population began to grow again and the archdiocese would periodically rent the space for high holidays and celebrations such as Terr’s son’s bar mitzvah. Members of the Las Vegas Jewish Community board asked from time to time about buying the building
back, but were repeatedly shut down. That is, until the archdiocese began liquidating assets as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.
Board President Sheila Silverman says she wrote numerous letters to the archdiocese over the years and only got a positive reception when things got financially bad for the church.
“When they were having problems, we got the phone call,” Silverman says. “And we know the reason why, and it’s very sad.”
When Terr finally spoke to a lawyer representing the archdiocese, she says, there wasn’t an official asking price, but an urgency to sell both the building and the house next door. She says the church’s attorney implied there was another buyer interested in both structures and urged a quick sale. In another instance reminiscent of the origins of Hanukkah, Terr tells SFR the board only had a little more than $1,000 in the bank, but that she wasn’t deterred.
“[The attorney] says, ‘Well, do you have money?’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah,’” Terr recalls. “I lied.”
Terr declines to disclose the final purchase price, but says a previously reported amount of $352,000 is “close to accurate.” That figure does not account for the additional cost of buying the house next to the temple. But Terr isn’t shy about sharing that she felt like the final amount was a “crazy inflated price” and that it seemed like the archdiocese pressured the board to also buy the adjacent house.
“It was sort of a ransom and in Jewish tradition, you pay ransom whenever it’s asked,” Terr says.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe did not respond to requests for comment.
After the group set up a crowdsource campaign, the money started rolling in and the nonprofit was able to purchase the two buildings in September. Terr says she isn’t sure what the house next door will be used for, but she imagines the possibility of temple offices or a Jewish history center.
Terr anticipates the Las Vegas Jewish Community board will hold services there and continue the tradition of renting the space out to others as needed.
During SFR’s recent visit, about a dozen people prepared the temple for Sunday’s service.
Board member Amy Kaplan, who’s mother lived in Las Vegas and was buried in the Montefiore Cemetery on the western edge of town, says the building shifting back to a Jewish temple will help solidify the city’s Jewish community.
“I’m Jewish. So it doesn’t matter where I go, I’m always going to be Jewish,” Kaplan says. “So I like to be around my fellow Jews. It just gives me a sense of connection because we aren’t the same as other people. We’re Jewish.”
Board member Johanna Keenan moved to the United States as a young child from Estonia and says despite not being Jewish, she was welcomed with open arms when she moved to Las Vegas in the 1990s and her neighbor invited her to Seder.
“I was welcomed so nicely and I liked the people, so I’ve been part of the community since 1995,” Keenan tells SFR.
The new iteration of the temple, Keenan says, offers a centralized meeting place without forcing someone to offer up their home, which she says has been common practice until now.
“It’s a real miracle that we were able to get it, because we didn’t really believe that we could raise the money,” Keenan says.
Sunday’s Hanukkah services are open to all, but because of health concerns, space is very limited so reserving a spot by calling (505) 450-2758 is encouraged.
Las Vegas Jewish Community reacquires one of its old places of worship, despite having almost nothing in the bank
“Local news is the invisible glue that turns a group of people into a community.”
Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how vital access to local news and information is. It’s just part of the air we breathe, how we relate to our community, how we connect to our neighbors and friends. It’s about the businesses we rely on, the layers of government that provide vital services and need to be held accountable. Local news is the invisible glue that turns a group of people into a community, and it needs your support
As the head of an organization that supports local news in New Mexico, I am deeply concerned about the state of local journalism in our state. Since 2004 New Mexico has lost at least 12 newspapers. Rural communities have been hit especially hard, and there are four counties in New Mexico without any source of local news. This decline has had a devastating impact on the ability of these communities to stay informed about what’s going on, and to hold their elected officials accountable. When no one is watching, it is much easier for corruption and mismanagement to go unnoticed. This can have serious consequences, particularly for those who live in rural areas and already face challenges in accessing basic services and resources.
Just in the last few months, we’ve seen dramatic reductions in staff at newspapers owned by large national chains with no regard for the impact it has on the communities they serve. We’ve also seen ownership changes at local papers that have fortunately kept them in indepen-
dent, New Mexico-owned hands.
Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, we have the Santa Fe Reporter. What better example could there be of a paper that serves as the beating heart of community.? Whether doing the hard work of reporting on zoning meetings, or getting a read on the latest restaurants, the Santa Fe Reporter is there for Santa Feans. Heck, I don’t even live in Santa Fe and I read it to keep track of what’s going on in our state’s capital.
Like many of you, the Morning Word is one of the first things I read in the morning, helping me feel connected to what’s going on around the state. During the legislative session, I wouldn’t be able to keep up without the Reporter’s carefully curated updates on the latest happenings in the Roundhouse.
One last thing I love about the Reporter is its creativity. Commissioning local artists to create cover illustrations, T-shirts, coloring books and probably other things I’ve missed, SFR is always inventing new ways to strengthen the local arts scene, while providing readers with cool swag.
On behalf of the New Mexico Local News Fund, I’m honored to provide matching funds for the Santa Fe Reporter’s end of year fundraising campaign. With your contribution, you’re not just supporting a news outlet. You’re supporting Santa Fe itself. Please join me in contributing today and become a true Friend of the Reporter.
-Rashad Mahmood, Executive Director New Mexico Local News Fund
This letter is part of the annual year-end campaign for Friends of the Reporter, a community model for supporting our journalism mission. Our newspaper and website remain free. Will you give the gift of journalism? Can you help offset the cost of paper, distribution and newsgathering? Donate now and double the contribution! New Mexico Local News fund will match up to $5,000 in donations through Dec. 31.
Mto ban guns from some municipal buildings, such as libraries and City Hall, is not going anywhere fast. That’s because city councilors have raised concerns that it may violate the state constitution.
The mayor introduced the resolution last month, offering it as a way around an amendment to the state constitution that bars cities from regulating firearms. The resolution, co-sponsored by councilors Amanda Chavez and Carol Romero-Wirth, leans on a state law that bans deadly weapons from school grounds and public facilities used for school-sanctioned activities.
Webber argues that could include city facilities students visit on field trips or use for sports competitions. But amid legal questions, the council’s Quality of Life Committee voted unanimously last week to postpone considering the proposal until next month.
“I think us as a governing body, we do not have the authority to take such ac-
but everybody in our community is safe,” Garcia said.
But the councilor said he wants the state attorney general to weigh in on the legality of the mayor’s approach.
That may not happen.
Albuquerque’s then-chief administrative officer issued a similar policy in 2020, which has now become the subject of an ongoing lawsuit. Though Second Judicial District Attorney Raúl Torrez asked outgoing state AG Hector Balderas (Democrats, all) to provide a legal opinion on Albuquerque’s policy, Balderas declined, citing the ongoing lawsuit. (Torrez will have an opportunity to weigh in himself soon enough—he’s taking over as AG on Jan. 1, having handily won election to that office last month.) That lawsuit is moving slowly. A trial is set one year from now.
“In concept, I’m supportive of this,” Councilor Renee Villarreal told the committee. But Villarreal questioned how
permanent at sites used for school-sanctioned events, regardless of time of day, councilors have asked whether the ban should depend on whether students are present.
The provision would not only protect students, Webber argues, but also local residents and city employees working in facilities that—at the moment—cannot prohibit guns.
But if the biggest legal obstacle to enacting the mayor’s resolution is the National Rifle Association-backed 1986 amendment to New Mexico’s Constitution tying the hands of local governments in regulating firearms, state legislators seem uninterested in repealing it. Gun violence prevention advocates in the Legislature will be pushing during the coming session to require safe gun storage and raise the age at which New Mexicans can buy AR15-style rifles.
Advocates are also pushing for funding to better research gun violence and sup-
Either way, some councilors do not see an urgency to the proposal.
“Is a sign really going to stop a mass shooting from happening?” Garcia tells SFR after last week’s committee hearing. And the mayor’s proposal does not go as far as he had initially proposed. In a May newsletter, after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York, the mayor proposed a ban on firearms in all city facilities.
By relying on the state law banning guns on school grounds, Webber’s resolution might not end up going that far.
The Quality of Life Committee is expected to take up the proposal again next month. The Public Works and Utilities Committee as well as the Finance Committee are also expected to consider the measure before it reaches the City Council. While that was initially scheduled to occur as soon as Jan. 11, the delay in committee is likely to push back the proposal’s progress.
Santa Fe city councilors cool to mayor’s proposal for banning guns from city buildings
ond-biggest city—a community at the intersection of some of New Mexico’s most pressing stories, including immigration, a perennially close congressional race, drought and more.
Drive to nearby Alamogordo and Ruidoso and there are no reporters left at the local papers.
It’s not for lack of news.
Alamogordo made national headlines this year when a county commissioner refused to certify the results of the primary election and was subsequently disqualified from office under the Civil War-era constitutional provision barring insurrectionists from holding public posts. Further north, Ruidoso was hit by a wildfire in April that killed two people and destroyed 200 homes.
BY ANDREW OXFORD oxford@sfreporter.comColumbus, New Mexico may not seem like a particularly newsy place. But in 2011, federal agents arrested the mayor and police chief in the border community of about 1,000 residents, accusing the officials of running guns for drug cartels.
And in recent years, the federal and state governments have plowed money into the town to improve infrastructure at the port of entry, where more and more commerce is flowing between the US and Mexico.
“The elected new mayor went on a tear firing people. There were some strange open meetings problems. Not much transparency about how money was being moved through the village,” says Algernon D’Ammassa, who has lived in nearby Deming for the last 14 years and spent much of that time covering Columbus along with the rest of Luna County for the local newspaper, The Deming Headlight
But just a few years after D’Ammassa transferred to its sister newspaper down the highway, the Las Cruces Sun-News, The Headlight’s owner laid off the paper’s last employee.
That left no one to cover Columbus, Deming or anything else in Luna County, home to about 20,000 people. Change is in the air, with D’Ammassa returning to The Headlight as editor last month, following a change in ownership. But now, consider the Sun-News: Just three news reporters remain to cover the state’s sec-
What all these dwindling newspapers have in common is that each has been part of one big chain—Gannett, a Virginiabased behemoth of a media company that is far and away the biggest publisher of newspapers in the country, with over 400 titles nationwide. In New Mexico, the company owns five newspapers covering counties with a combined population of nearly half a million people.
And this month, as Gannett slashes more jobs at its newspapers around the country in the latest round of cost-cutting measures that have become a source of routine dread among its staff, the company is furloughing the few journalists it has left in New Mexico for one week heading into the holidays. The company is also offering buyouts to some of its most seasoned journalists, getting them off the company’s payroll at the cost of losing decades of institutional memory and subject matter expertise that can be a key ingredient in deep, knowledgeable reporting.
All of this means even fewer journalists are on the beat than usual, watchdogging city halls and police departments around New Mexico, or telling the stories of a culturally rich and biologically diverse part of the country.
This is not a new story.
Newspaper employment has dropped 70% since 2005 as revenue has declined from $50 billion to $20 billion annually in that same time, according to a report from Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative.
As for Gannett, the late SFR co-founder and longtime editor Dick McCord wrote a whole book in the 1990s, Chain Gang, about the company’s destruction of local newspapers.
But a quarter century later, the stakes for local journalism and the sort of civic life it helps nourish are higher than ever, with American democracy teetering and confidence in government and the media cratering. Years of corporate consolidation in the newspaper industry, with big chains swallowing up small local papers, followed by wave after wave of staffing cuts have played an outsize role in fueling this crisis.
The result has been that some communities in New Mexico—even those with newspapers that boast long histories— have no local news coverage amid pivotal elections and a devastating pandemic.
As Gannett furloughs its journalists in New Mexico, SFR interviewed current and former employees to put into perspective just how disastrous years of layoffs and budget cuts have been at the newspapers this corporate giant has bought, then gutted in the state—not just for reporters but for the communities they serve. The stories that go unreported for lack of staffing and resources continue to worry Gannett employees and expats and should worry all of us. And what remains is a devastating portrait of what happens when so many communities are left to rely on one big, faraway company for a crucial public service.
Understanding how Gannett, perhaps best known for publishing USA TODAY, came to own small rural papers such as Ruidoso News is like unpacking a matryoshka of mergers and acquisitions over
the last several decades.
Previously part owner of the newspapers with a investment-fund-owned corporate giant, MediaNews Group, Gannett became sole owner in 2015.
But perhaps the first thing to know about the company that owns all these newspapers is that it is not really a newspaper company at all, says Jay Rosen, who teaches journalism at New York University and writes the blog PressThink.
“It’s more of a financial firm. It’s more in the category of a private equity company or a hedge fund than a newspaper company,” Rosen tells SFR.
New Media Investment Group, which already owned another sprawling chain of newspapers, purchased Gannett in 2019. New Media Investment Group is managed by a private equity firm that was in turn controlled by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.
What would any of them want with a bunch of newspapers?
“They look at a dying asset like a daily newspaper and see an opportunity to milk the last years of profit,” says Rosen.
While perhaps not lucrative, newspapers at least have cash flow, he says. Papers sell advertising, subscriptions and obituaries. That gives investors cash, particularly if they are not concerned about how much money they might need to spend to cover the news.
“The business side of the operation is given these targets for how much profit they need to make to satisfy the owners and then they just cut people and resources until they can make that level of profit. They don’t insert into that process, ‘Well, what do we need to cover this community?’” Rosen explains.
A vicious cycle emerges, the professor adds. With fewer reporters, there is less
news for subscribers to read. Papers lose subscribers and the advertising becomes less valuable, leading to yet more cuts.
At Gannett, those cuts keep coming. During the company’s latest earnings call, company officials said they slashed 468 employees in the third quarter alone, reducing Gannett’s workforce in the United States by 6.5%. The company eliminated about 400 open positions in the same quarter, too. That’s on top of the furloughs Gannett is rolling out this month.
Asked if the company intends to hire more reporters at its newspapers in New Mexico, Gannett Chief Communications Officer Lark-Marie Anton tells SFR: “Gannett is committed to covering the communities we serve.”
“We continually align our resources to
best deliver trusted news to our audiences while advancing the longevity of local news for current and future readers,”
Anton writes in an email.
But she declines to discuss specifics about personnel.
In some respects, New Mexico is still better off than most when it comes to local journalism.
The state’s two biggest daily newspapers—The Santa Fe New Mexican and Albuquerque Journal—are locally owned, employing reporting staffs that have shrunken over the last couple decades but are still larger than the state’s Gannett newspapers. And the state has a long list of smaller, locally owned newspapers that are hanging on. (SFR has been owned since 1998 by two business
partners who live in Oregon and also own Willamette Week.)
Meanwhile, nonprofit news organizations powered by big grants and small donors are helping fill the void left by shrinking newsrooms.
Source New Mexico, Searchlight New Mexico and New Mexico In Depth have all encouraged local newspapers to reprint their reporters’ work. Organizations like the New Mexico Local News Fund are paying to put reporters in newsrooms around the state.
This approach has brought depth and breadth to smaller newspapers.
But these trends reveal a divide.
In its annual report, Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative noted the footprint of digital-only news organizations remains small and largely a
big-city phenomenon. Meanwhile, lack of access to the internet means some communities cannot easily or regularly get to news from digital-only newsrooms.
“What’s being lost is the voice of the very local—your local news, which may seem insignificant, but everything is local,” says Doris Cherry, who wrote for Lincoln County News off and on from 1978 until the paper closed last year after the death of its publisher, Peter Aguilar.
The newspaper based in Carrizozo was not part of Gannett’s empire; it was independently owned. And with its closure, the only paper left in Lincoln County is Gannett’s Ruidoso News.
But the paper does not have a reporter based in the community or in neighboring Otero County. That means the company that owns the region’s two newspapers has no one covering an area the size of Vermont that is home to White Sands Missile Range, White Sands National Park, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, resort communities and the Lincoln National Forest.
There are similar, massive coverage gaps in Las Cruces now, too.
The Sun-News serves the biggest population center in New Mexico’s Congressional District 2, one of the most closely contested in the nation, but its daily paper has no dedicated politics reporter. It sits near the the Permian Basin and the Rio Grande and has an agricultural industry grappling with drought but has no dedicated environment reporter. It sits near the US-Mexico border but has no border or immigration reporter.
Cherry doesn’t romanticize the work of running a small-town paper. She started writing for Lincoln County News when a professor and classmate at New Mexico State University bought it in the 1970s. And there were days she put 100 miles on her car driving the county’s mountain roads.
“It was basically a public service,” Cherry says.
In its last years, the paper struggled with high printing costs that are taking a bite out of publishers across the country.
Where a big corporate chain and its shareholders might see a waste of money, Cherry sees a community with news that needs covering.
And she offers a warning.
“If you get corrupt officials in your local government, then confidence goes out the window on everything. You’ve got to watch them,” Cherry says.
Back in Columbus, watchdogging local government meant going to village council meetings, where officials sit at folding tables and there is no webcast. But as in Ruidoso and Alamogordo, for a time at least, there was no one doing this work.
“Here I was driving to report on news in Las Cruces and my own community didn’t have people reporting on their news,” D’Ammassa says. “I would have people coming to me in the grocery store asking, ‘What is going on?’”
Gannett didn’t tell subscribers when the last reporter was gone or explain its vision for a newspaper that was founded in 1881, when Deming was little more than a junction on the railroad, D’Ammassa says. Readers noticed because they stopped getting local news and instead got stories from the company’s other newspapers.
“You’re in Deming. You open your paper and you’re reading stories about Las Cruces. Or Carlsbad. You’re not reading stories about Deming,” he says.
But Deming is showing that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Gannett sold The Deming Headlight and Silver City Sun-News in October to the owner of Silver City Daily Press
The new owners closed the Silver City rival, which Gannett had not staffed with any reporters for years, and resolved to put journalists back on the beat at The Headlight, hiring D’Ammassa as editor.
The paper has hired back longtime writer Bill Armendariz and the brightly redesigned pages feature local stories. One recent edition featured the news that the Deming City Council launched
an audit of utility bills and fired the town’s community services director after he accused the municipal government of overbilling customers. On the next page, the paper featured an interview with two new county commissioners. Other stories highlighted the shortage of referees for school sports and the annual Turkey Trot raising money for the local food bank.
It may not make headlines in Santa Fe but for Deming, it means something.
“There’s important news going on out here,” D’Ammassa tells SFR. “There’s city news. There’s agricultural news. And for a while, there was no one out here covering it. And the community noticed. And they minded.”
Rosen, the journalism professor, says this kind of local ownership adds a new factor to the equation of running such a newspaper—one that doesn’t emphasize cuts at all costs.
“These owners want to live in this place,” he says. “When you have a different set of priorities like that, you’re not trying to cut your way to the future. You’re trying to get to a future where you can add reporters because you want the community to have a good newspaper.”
D’Ammassa says he eventually wants to hire another reporter.
And while Gannett has emphasized a “digital first” approach, leaving the physical newspaper as something of an afterthought, D’Ammassa says The Headlight is proudly “print first,” focusing on the newspaper’s many readers who still want to read by holding it in their hands.
He acknowledges it’s a tough business. But he doesn’t believe newspapers like his are necessarily unsustainable to the point they have to be completely gutted.
“Used book stores find a way to stay open. Small newspapers find a way to stay open,” he says. “It’s a struggle with that kind of business model but it’s an essential service, so we find people keep wanting to support it.”
Andrew Oxford previously worked for two years at The Arizona Republic, a Gannett newspaper.
You’re in Deming. You open your paper and you’re reading stories about Las Cruces. Or Carlsbad. You’re not reading stories about Deming .
-Algernon D’Ammassa, Editor, The Deming Headlight
Real talk? It’s a great time to be a Santa Fe drag fan, what with all the ongoing brunches and parties and performances and whatnot. Our little city has always had a solid scene, but the queens and kings are really going for it all lately. Up next for the drag faithful, find HRA Santa Fe’s annual holiday party, this year in the form of Pride After 5—a queen-a-thon with Bingo for all and a special evening of food and drinks from the folks at Opuntia. Attendance is free, but $20 buys you six cards for Bingo-ing, plus there’s a raffle and all proceeds go to the HRA, which puts on some of the finest queer-centric events in this or any town. (ADV)
Pride After 5 Drag Bingo: 5:30-9 pm Thursday, December 15. Free-$20. Opuntia 1607 Alcaldesa St., (505) 780-5796
While we’re all overwhelmed by advertisements about gift-giving, there’s something oddly satisfying about seeing the birds in Jhenna Quinn Lewis’ paintings cheekily taking treasures for themselves. Lewis’ influences—from the Renaissance masters of lighting to Hiroshige’s delicate prints—come through clearly in her images of birds against trompe-l’oeil wallpaper backdrops. What sets her pieces apart, however, are the luminous earrings her birds clutch in their beaks: as if just snatched off the ear of an unsuspecting owner. You’ll also find still lifes of plums, pears and feathers on display at her new solo exhibition—but those birds are especially unmissable. (Siena Sofia Bergt)
Jhenna Quinn Lewis: Avifauna: A World Within: 5-7 pm Friday, December 16. Free. Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road, (505) 983-1434. meyergalleries.com
You’ll have to move quick if you want to get tickets to Wise Fool New Mexico’s upcoming Winter Cabaret performance—it’s reportedly the most-attended event each year for the local circus/performance school and community space. It’s also a chance for the instructors and students to showcase what they’ve been working on all year in a family friendly setting while raising a couple bucks for Wise Fool’s ongoing programs, both in-house and in Santa Fe public schools. We’ve all been talking more about gifting memorable experiences rather than forgettable materialistic tripe, right? Let’s do that. (ADV)
Wise Fool New Mexico Winter Cabaret: 5 pm Saturday, Dec. 17. $5-$20. Wise Fool New Mexico 1131 Siler Road B, (505) 992-2588
At 70, actor/musician Gary Farmer (Cayuga of the Wolf Clan) tells SFR, he’s just about busier than he’s ever been. With roles on breakout shows like Reservation Dogs and Resident Alien—not to mention a longstanding career in film and television that spans decades—people are recognizing him in airports and coffee shops; they’re asking for selfies and telling him they love his work. He remains, however, as approachable and good-natured as ever, and he’s kept up with his music, too. Blues, to be more precise.
“I started off doing music because I wanted to rekindle the relationship between Native America and Black America,” he says, “and I figured that’s where the blues came from.”
Farmer founded Santa Fe née California blues act The Troublemakers in the early aughts with buds from in and around San Diego and LA. Between shooting projects, he’d write with the fellas, and a 2004 sojourn to Santa Fe to play Indian Market ended with Farmer, “never really leaving.” It’s been one of his home bases since then, with Ontario, Canada, serving as his other HQ. But he’s in Santa Fe for now before heading back to screen work, and he’s got a new Troublemakers record titled Fool For Love set to release this weekend with a show at Tumbleroot.
Fool finds Farmer and his motley crew of musicians like Derek Miller, Jamie Russell, Brant Leeper and Jaime “Bird” Yellowhorse stretching out. You’ll find familiar blues riffage and harmonicas, a 12-bar structure and backup vocals from singers Elyse Blanco and Suzanne Birrell. But you’ll also hear doo-wop themes and poppy jazz sensibilities among the album’s more traditional sounds. Farmer gets lovey-dovey on some tracks, singing to lost loves—or maybe even future ones—but he gets political, too, on songs like “Need a Gun,” the lyrics of which question the very nature of what a man needs while framing it in the context of contemporary strife.
“I’m kind of surprised myself,” Farmer tells SFR of the six new tracks, “but I’m fascinated with music generally. I’m finding I’m somewhat jazz, pop; rock is what I grew up with. After all these years, music has become...I don’t need it to survive, but not needing it to survive is freedom. I’m full of ideas.” (Alex De Vore)
7:30 pm Saturday, Dec. 17
Pay what you can ($10 for CD) Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 303-3808
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9TH ANNUAL GUADALUPE GROUP ART SHOW
Eye on the Mountain Art Gallery
222 Delgado St., (928) 308-0319 ‘Tis the Season for all (multimedia) things Guadalupe. 11 am-6 pm, Mon-Sat, free
A NEW MEXICAN BURIAL
No Name Cinema 2013 Pinon St. nonamecinema.org Photo survey of cemeteries. During events or by appt., free
ANDREW
LewAllen Galleries
1613 Paseo de Peralta (505) 988-3250
Gilded tapestries merge boldness with a delicate touch.
10 am-6 pm, Mon-Fri; 10 am-5 pm, Sat, free
Aurelia Gallery
414 Canyon Road (505) 501-2915
Exploring the line between seriousness and whimsy.
11 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri; Noon-5 pm, Sat-Sun, free
BRONZE AND CERAMICS BY ROBERT BRUBAKER
art is gallery santa fe 419 Canyon Road (505) 629-2332
Anthropomorphic sculptures. 10 am-4 pm, free
CAMILLE
MOTHERLANDS form & concept
435 S Guadalupe St. (505) 216-1256
Transmuted, multi-media American landscapes.
10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
CATHERINE EATON SKINNER: EARTH AT OUR BACKS
Pie Projects 924B Shoofly St., (505) 372-7681
Encaustic painting, photography, sculpture, found objects and beyond.
11 am-5 pm, Tue-Sat, free
DENNIS
LewAllen Galleries
1613 Paseo de Peralta (505) 988-3250
Fine art engravings meet ruminative caricature.
10 am-6 pm, Mon-Fri;
10 am-5 pm, Sat, free
EARTH’S OTHER Currents 826 826 Canyon Road (505) 772-0953
Print works exploring earth and otherworldliness.
Noon-5 pm, Thurs-Sun, free
Cafe Pasqual’s Gallery
103 E Water St., Second Floor (505) 983-9340
A group show featuring carved figures, photos, watercolors and more.
10 am-5 pm, free
ESSENTIALLY ISENHOUR
Ventana Fine Art
400 Canyon Road (505) 983-8815
Landscapes examining the peaceful solitude of abandoned buildings.
9:30 am-5 pm, free
FALL
Charlotte Jackson Fine Art
554 S Guadalupe St. (505) 989-8688
Max Cole and more.
10 am-5:30 pm Tues-Fri; 10 am-5 pm Sat, free
GEORGIA ELECTRA
825 Early St., Ste. D (505) 231-0354
Marble, bronze, photography, painting, jewelry and beyond from 15 local artists.
10 am-4 pm, Sat-Sun, free
GERD J.
Alberto Zalma Art Shop
407 S Guadalupe St. (505) 670-5179
New Mexico in analogue black and white.
11 am-7 pm Tues-Sat, free
HOLDING
FOMA Gallery
333 Montezuma Ave., Ste. B (505) 660-0121
Literal and figurative fracturing from photographer Laura Cofrin and painter Jennie Kiessling.
11 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
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We’d love to hear from you. Send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.
Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.
ANDREW SHEARS
Evoke Contemporary 550 S Guadalupe St. (505) 995-9902
Intimate dream imagery. 10 am-5 pm, free
INTERPLAY
SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505) 989-1199
Immersive digital art. 10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, free
JANE SHOENFELD
Strata Gallery
418 Cerrillos Road, Ste. 1C (505) 780-5403
Pastels from the artist/poet. 10 am-5 pm, free
JARED WEISS: THE PARTY’S
OVER Ellsworth Gallery 215 E Palace Ave (505) 989-7900
Strange moments in the desert. 10 am-5 pm, free
JERRY UELSMANN
Scheinbaum and Russek 812 Camino Acoma (505) 988-5116
Honoring the late surrealist. By appt., free
MARK HEINE
Keep Contemporary 142 Lincoln Ave., (505) 557-9574
The symbolism of sirens. 11 am-5 pm, Wed-Sat; Noon-5 pm, Sun, free
SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505) 989-1199
Paintings and works on paper. 10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, free
MEGAN BENT: PATIENT/ BELONGINGS form & concept
435 S Guadalupe St. (505) 216-1256
Disabled reflections on COVID.
10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
Wild Hearts Gallery 221 B Highway 165, Placitas (505) 867-2450
Ceramics inspired by nature.
10 am-4 pm, Tue-Fri; 10 am-2 pm, Sat-Sun, free
NEAL AMBROSE-SMITH
Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art 558 Canyon Road (505) 992-0711
Icons meet geometric patterns.
10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
ONE-OF-A-KIND II
Obscura Gallery 1405 Paseo de Peralta (505) 577-6708
Unique photo-based artworks. 11 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
OUTRIDERS: LEGACY OF THE BLACK COWBOY
Harwood Museum of Art 238 Ledoux St., Taos (575) 758-9826
Drovers with African heritage. 11 am-5 pm, free
PAINTINGS IN CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER AND ART HISTORY
GVG Contemporary 1368 Rufina Circle (505) 982-1494
Non-objective and narrative art.
Noon-4 pm, Fri-Sat, free
Hecho Gallery 129 W Palace Ave. (505) 455-6882
A juried show of local artists.
10 am-5 pm, Weds-Sat, free
RITES OF PASSAGE: RAVEN|BLACKWOLF|WHITE BUFFALO
FaraHNHeight Fine Art 54 E San Francisco St., #4 (575) 751-4278
Indigenous fine art group show.
11 am-6 pm, Fri-Mon, free
ROBERTO CARDINALE: ARCHITECTURAL SCULPTURE
Patina Gallery 131 W Palace Ave. (505) 986-3432
Sculpting Breuer’s architecture. 11 am-5 pm, free
SANDRO GEBERT: IDEOGRAMER
Gebert Contemporary 558 Canyon Road (505) 992-1100
Contemporary 2D mixed media. 10 am-5 pm, free
SHARING THE PROCESS
ViVO Contemporary 725 Canyon Road (505) 982-1320
Artist/audience relationships. 10 am-5 pm, free
SHIRIN NESHAT: LAND OF DREAMS
SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505) 989-1199
NM Pics with Farsi calligraphy.
10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, free
SMALL WORKS GROUP SHOW
Giacobbe-Fritz Fine Art 702 Canyon Road (505) 986-1156
Giftably-sized pieces. 10 am-5 pm, Mon-Sat; Noon-5 pm, Sun, free
A SPOON TO DARK MATTER
Susan Eddings Pérez Galley
717 Canyon Road (505) 477-4ART
Gender, identity and sexuality.
10 am-5 pm, free
THE THREE OF US
Santa Fe Public Library Main
Branch
145 Washington Ave. (505) 955-6780
Paintings and photographs.
10 am-8 pm, Tues-Thurs; 10 am-6 pm, Fri-Sat, free
TONY VACCARO CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION
Monroe Gallery of Photography 112 Don Gaspar Ave. (505) 992-0800
A 100th birthday celebration. 10 am-5 pm, free
UNDER A ROCK, ALONG THE SHORE form & concept 435 S Guadalupe St. (505) 216-1256
Landscape and the body. 10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
WENDY
El Zaguán
December 17, 1:00–5:00 p.m.
Santa Fe artist Skylar Patridge signs her DC, Marvel, and independent comics work on Saturday, December 17, 1:00–5:00 p.m. The shop will have a variety of Skylar’s work to purchase—and she’s bringing some special items as well!
545 Canyon Road (505) 982-0016
A two-woman show. 9 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri, free
WINTER SHOW
G2 Gallery 702 Canyon Road (505) 982-1212
Martinelli, Hiramatsu and more. 10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sat, free
ENTREFLAMENCO:
CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022
El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302
Dinner and dancers. 6:15 pm, $25-$45
GEEKS WHO DRINK
Second Street Brewery (Railyard) 1607 Paseo de Peralta (505) 989-3278
UK-style pub quiz. 8-10 pm, free
WEE WEDNESDAYS
Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail (505) 989-8359
Weekly theme: hibernation. 10:30-11:30 am, free
KARAOKE NIGHT
Boxcar
530 S Guadalupe St. (505) 988-7222
Classic karaoke options. 10 pm, free
LIAM KAZAR
Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St. (505) 303-3808
Exuberant rock. 7:30 pm, free
STRANGERS FROM AFAR
RECORD RELEASE CONCERT
Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle (505) 395-6369
Psychedelic country/folk. 8-11 pm, free
FIND INNER PEACE DURING THE HOLIDAYS Online deeprootsstudio.com Visualize enjoying the season. 5:30 pm, $40
Surely you’ve heard tell of Santa Fe poet Arthur Sze? Why, he’s one of the most prolific and appreciated poets of his time with nearly a dozen books under his belt, a slew of accolades and, most recently, a spot as one of the winners of the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize—an honor celebrating lifetime achievement that comes with a $100,000 gift. In other words, Sze knows words and he knows the human condition. That’s why we thought it would be kind of fun to bug him about his work, his prestigious prize win and what happens now for such a celebrated wordsmith. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. (Alex De Vore)
What have the last few years been for a creative type such as yourself? Obviously, because of COVID, the normal social interactions have been disrupted and reconfigured. In my case, it has made me go out into nature more. I’m living on Upper Canyon [Road] and I’m part of the Acequia del Llano Association, a kind of collective where everyone cleans their section of the ditch, so even at a distance, people have been working together. Of course, I can write in my studio at any time, so I’m not as affected by COVID, but it has pushed me out more into nature. I’d been traveling a lot, so staying put made me pay greater attention to what’s right around me, which is really wonderful. But that’s one of the things poetry does—one thing it can do is awaken the reader to miracles that are right at hand. Not traveling across the country doing readings, but just getting up and walking, hunting mushrooms, working with the aceuqia...has made me look inward more deeply and attentively.
With a prize like this that accentuates lifetime achievement, how do you feel it punctuates your career? Is it a semicolon?
I think the semicolon is a nice way of expressing it. On the one hand, I’m grateful to receive the award. It’s coming a year after The Glass Constellation, which is my 11th book and it collects all of my poetry
after 50 years of writing. It is wonderful to achieve this, but I also feel, in addition to the excitement, a strong sense of responsibility to continue to evolve, to continue to grow. There’s this sense for me that I can’t ever stand still and say, ‘Look at what I’ve done.’ I want to keep writing and growing and creating. This is great up to now, what can I do next, how can I continue to evolve?
For me, one of the great things is I’m really as excited about writing today as I was 50 years ago when I started out. When I’m writing early in the morning, anything can happen on the blank page. I feel like I’m continually discovering.
Interestingly, most of my best poems in my experience, when I finish them, I feel a sense of exhaustion. I’ll think I’ve done everything I can do and if I keep going, I’m just going to muck it up. I have to let it go. That’s a really good sign. In my early years, I would have elation. Now I know that’s a bad sign, that you’re stepping out of the process too soon…you’re already evaluating. But it’s never perfect, it’s never complete, I let it go. Part of that which is imperfect is what keeps the writer going.
Poetry seems a solitary pursuit. Do you find yourself amped up after gallivanting with a cohort of peers like you did recently at the awarding of the Ruth Lilly Prize?
I mean, writing is solitary, obviously, and [when I was teaching] I used to tell my students it’s the terror of the blank page. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done before— you’re facing a blank page and you have to create from scratch, and there’s a sense of terror to that. It is solitary, and I have to go into the deepest part of myself; I have to think of a poem as language at its most intense and essential and putting the most emotional torque behind the language I can. On the other hand, all artists come together—the painter in the studio, the poet writing, the composer. It’s collaborative work in the sense that we’re trying to make our small contribution to the culture.
When I meet other poets, there is oftentimes a sense of camaraderie. They... know what it’s like working so many arduous hours writing. That can be fun, but...the spark might be just walking in the street and seeing something, witnessing something, hearing something—thinking there’s a musical phrase to that image; an incident I’ve witnessed. Talking with other artists is fun, but I don’t feel like I can’t wait to write off of something like that. My ritual is to make a Thermos of coffee in the evening and to write first thing in the morning—it’s early, 5 to 7, when I’m not fully awake, when I’m still in dreamtime. I can’t be too intellectual, I don’t quite know what’s going on. That’s my most fertile period, and I need to give myself that window every day. Some mornings, nothing will happen, and that’s OK. Others, that two hours has flown by. I’m giving myself that space each morning.
GLORIA MORA: MIS CRISMES
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art 750 Camino Lejo (505) 982-2226
Bilingual holiday memories. 1:30 pm, free
ENTREFLAMENCO:
CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022
El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302
Twist and stomp. 6:15 pm, $25-$45
CARLOS MEDINA TAPING
Jean Cocteau Cinema
418 Montezuma Ave. (505) 466-5528
The comedic legend’s special. 7-9 pm, $10-$30
CHANUKAH POP-UP SHOP
Mikvah Moshe 1505 Galisteo St. (505) 983-2000 Get your gelt. 5-7 pm, free
CHESS & JAZZ CLUB
No Name Cinema 2013 Pinon St. nonamecinema.org Chess sets provided. 6-8 pm, free
GEEKS WHO DRINK
Social Kitchen & Bar 725 Cerrillos Road (505) 982-5952
UK-style pub quiz. 7-9 pm, free
HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA
Capital High School 4851 Paseo del Sol (505) 467-1070
Buy treats from Mrs. Claus. 7 pm, $5-$7
SALON
San Miguel Chapel 401 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 983-3974
Lecture and performance to benefit the Historic Santa Fe Foundation. 6 pm, $20
PRIDE AFTER 5
Opuntia Café
1607 Alcaldesa St., Ste. 201 (505) 780-5796
Just try and beat the queens. (See SFR Picks, page 17) 5-9 pm, free entry, $20 to play
PAJAMA STORYTIME
Santa Fe Public Library Southside 6599 Jaguar Drive (505) 955-2820
Cozy storytime for families with children ages 5 and under.
6:30-7:30 pm, free
SEEDS AND SPROUTS
Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail (505) 989-8359
Wee ones learn to make nature prints.
10:30-11:30 am, free
BOB MAUS
Cava Lounge, Eldorado Hotel 309 W San Francisco St. (505) 988-4455
Blues and soul and stuff. 6-9 pm, free
DAVID GEIST Osteria D'Assisi 58 S Federal Place (505) 986-5858
Genre-bending piano repertoire. 7-10 pm, $5
JOHNNY LLOYD
Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St. (505) 982-2565
Folk, country, beards. 4-6 pm, free
ROBERT WILSON
Pink Adobe 406 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 983-7712
Local Americana. 5:30 pm, free
SHARING THE PROCESS (RECEPTION)
ViVO Contemporary 725 Canyon Road (505) 982-1320
Artist/audience relationships. 5-7 pm, free
SOLO EXHIBITION: JHENNA QUINN LEWIS
Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road (505) 424-9463
Quiet, intimate interiors on canvas. (See SFR Picks, page 17) 10 am-5 pm, free
ENTREFLAMENCO: CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022
El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302 Christmassy castanet action. 6:15 pm, $25-$45
ANNUAL SITE SANTA FE MEMBER PARTY
A
Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262
Amphibian amore. (See A&C, page 27) 7:30 pm, $15-$75
FINDING THE HEART OF MEDITATIVE WORK
Online meditationnm.wordpress.com
Explore your subconscious. 7-8:45 pm, free
SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta (505) 989-1199
Featuring Jasmin Williams. Guess you better become a member real quick, huh? 6-8 pm, free
FINE ART FRIDAYS
Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail (505) 989-8359
Get creative with Tandy Leather. 2-4 pm, free
FOOD AND TOY DISTRIBUTION
LAMRIM
Thubten Norbu Ling Buddhist Center 130 Rabbit Road, (505) 490-6152
Meditate on enlightenment. 5:30-6:30 pm, free
YOGA FOR KIDS
La Farge Library 1730 Llano St. (505) 820-0292
Kinesthetic creativity. 10:30 am, free
DERET ROBERTS: IN CIRCLES (OPENING)
Keep Contemporary 142 Lincoln Ave., (505) 557-9574
Light struggles against shadow. 11 am-5 pm, Weds-Sat; Noon-5 pm, Sun, free
DEVOTIONAL ART (OPENING)
Blue Rain Gallery 544 S Guadalupe St. (505) 954-9902
Tradish icons for the holidays. 5-7 pm, free
LIVING DESERT: SEAN HUDSON (OPENING)
Smoke the Moon 616 Canyon Road smokethemoon.com
Colorful, geometric landscapes. 6-8 pm, free
Santa Fe Indigenous Center 1420 Cerrillos Road (505) 660-4210
For Native folks in SF County. 10 am-1 pm, free
HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA
Capital High School 4851 Paseo del Sol (505) 467-1070
Snap a Santa Claus photo. 7 pm, $5-$7
Santa Fe Botanical Garden 715 Camino Lejo, (505) 471-9103 Farolito walk and more. 4-7 pm, free
VITAL SPACES WINTER MARKET
Farmers Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta (505) 983-7726
Biscochitos and gift-buying. 4-9 pm, free
Santa Fe Improv 1202 Parkway Drive, Unit A santafeimprov.com
Yell out some scene prompts. 7 pm, $15
ARIN RAY
Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle (505) 395-6369
Hip-hop/jazz/neo-soul. 10 pm, $22
Want to see your event listed here?
We’d love to hear from you. Send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.
Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.
NM DRAG KINGS PRESENT: HOLIDAYZ
Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave. (505) 466-5528
Let's hope they’ve been naughty. 9 pm, $20-$50
COMMUNITY APPRECIATION SHOW
7 Arts Gallery 125 Lincoln Ave., (505) 437-1107
Concluding seven years of exhibits. 3-7 pm, free
DANAE FALLIERS: ARTIST TALK
EL MUSEO CULTURAL MERCADO
El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe 555 Camino de la Familia (505) 992-0591
Art and antiques. 8 am-4 pm, free
FACULTY LOUNGE IMPROV
Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave. (505) 466-5528
Funny folks make up stuff. 7-9 pm, $15-$60
FAROLITOS AT LOS LUCEROS
Los Luceros Historic Property West of Hwy. 68, Alcalde (505) 476-1165
No, they aren’t luminarias. 6-9 pm, $10
HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA
WINTER BIRD WALK
Santa Fe Botanical Garden
715 Camino Lejo, (505) 471-9103 Birdwatching, crafting and more. Advance registration required. 10-11:30 am, $0-$10
WONDER ON WHEELS: A MUSICAL AFTERNOON Vista Grande Public Library 14 Avenida Torreon, Eldorado (505) 466-7323
A kid-friendly interactive exhibit. 11 am-3 pm, free
COZY SOUPS WORKSHOP
Open Kitchen
227 Don Gaspar Ave. (202) 285-9840
Speak the love language of soup. 10 am-1 pm, $115
BOB MAUS
Cava Lounge, Eldorado Hotel 309 W San Francisco St. (505) 988-4455 Blues, soul, more. 6-9 pm, free
ERIC ORNELAS
Honeymoon Brewery 907 W Alameda St., Ste. B (505) 303-3139
A tinge of twang. 6 pm, free
ETERNAL SUMMER STRING ORCHESTRA
First Presbyterian Church 208 Grant Ave. (505) 982-8544 Mozart, Bach and Williams. 5:30 pm, free
10TH ANNUAL A MUSICAL PIÑATA FOR CHRISTMAS
Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie, (505) 424-1601 The extravaganza returns. 7 pm, $15
A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD
Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262
Just pals. (See A&C, page 27) 7:30 pm, $15-$75
COMEDY NIGHT
Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St. (505) 303-3808
Hosted by Tripp Stelnicki. 7:30 pm, $10
G2 Gallery 702 Canyon Road (505) 982-1212 Cider, cookies and conversation. 3-5 pm, free
SANTA FE ARTISTS MARKET
In the West Casitas, north of the water tower (505) 983-4098
Weekly outdoor art market. 9 am-2 pm, free
ARTIST TALK: THAIS MATHER, SANDRA WANG, JOE GARCIA
Hecho Gallery 129 W Palace Ave. (505) 455-6882
Discussing the artistic process. 2 pm, free
ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER
Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St (505) 988-1234
Come on, it’s tradition! 2 pm, 7:30 pm, $36-$94
ENTREFLAMENCO: CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022 El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302
Toe-tapping and tapas. 6:15 pm, $25-$45
Capital High School 4851 Paseo del Sol (505) 467-1070
Christmas treats galore. 2 pm, 7 pm, $5-$7
ICONIK COFFEE ROASTERS
HOLIDAY COOKIE DECORATING PARTY
Iconik Coffee Roasters (Lupe) 314 S Guadalupe St. (505) 428-0996
Gussy up those cookies. 2:30-5 pm, free
MASQUERADE BENEFIT FOR ST. ELIZABETH'S SHELTER
Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle (505) 395-6369 Get down to Tommie Sunshine. 10 pm, $22
SCIENCE SATURDAYS
Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail (505) 989-8359
Make bioplastic ornaments. 2-4 pm, free
SOLSTICE CELEBRATION AND FUNDRAISER
Railyard Performance Center 1611 Paseo de Peralta (505) 982-8309
Support Praising Earth 501c3. 4-7 pm, free
THE GIFT OF HEALTH: A COMMUNITY GATHERING
Fruit Of The Earth Natural Health 909 Early St., (505) 820-0058 Health hacks for the holidays. 1-3 pm, free
ARMEN DONELIAN
GiG Performance Space
1808 Second St. gigsantafe.com
From traditional Armenian tunes to songbook standards. 7:30 pm, $25
BOB MAUS
Inn & Spa at Loretto 211 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 988-5531
Bluesy soul for Ray Charles fans. 6-9 pm, free
GARY
Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St. (505) 303-3808
Uncle Brownie’s releasing a new Americana record, y’all! (See SFR Picks, page 17) 7:30 pm, pay what you can POP-UP CAROLS
Santa Fe Railyard Plaza 1612 Alcaldesa St. (505) 988-2282
Carol with the Desert Chorale. 11-11:30 am at the Railyard Water Tower, 1:30-2 pm at the Plaza.
11 am-2 pm, free
RON ROUGEAU
Pink Adobe 406 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 983-7712
Acoustic ‘60s and ‘70s tunes. 5:30-7:30 pm, free
SF WOMEN'S ENSEMBLE:
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe 208 Grant Ave., (505) 982-8544
European carols—and a world premiere. 3 pm, $10-$25
SWING SOLEIL Honeymoon Brewery 907 W Alameda St., Ste. B (505) 303-3139
Django Reinhardt and booch. 6-8 pm, free
WITH MIRTHE AND JOY St. Bede's Episcopal Church 550 W San Mateo (505) 982-1133
Party like it's Christmas 1499. 4:30 pm, $10-$20
Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie, (505) 424-1601
The extravaganza returns. 2 pm, $15
A CHRISTMAS CAROL Art on Barcelona (Unitarian Universalist Church) 107 W Barcelona, (917) 566-0708
A costumed, staged reading. 1 pm, $15
A CHRISTMAS CAROL Performance Space at La Tienda 7 Caliente Road, Eldorado (505) 465-9214
Dickens, plus a Victorian tea. 8 pm, $15
A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD
Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262
Just pals. (See A&C, page 27) 2 pm, 7:30 pm, $15-$75
WINTER CIRCUS CABARET
Wise Fool New Mexico 1131 Siler Road, Ste. B. (505) 992-2588
Celebrating the magic of circus. (See SFR Picks, page 17) 5-7 pm, $5-$20
ZIRCUS EROTIQUE PRESENTS: FRINGE & FANTASY
Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave. (505) 466-5528
Burlesque, drag and more. 21+. 7:30-9:30 pm, $25-$30
ALL ABOUT KARMA: MEDITATION RETREAT
Thubten Norbu Ling Buddhist Center 130 Rabbit Road, (505) 490-6152 The basics of karma's creation. 10 am-4 pm, free
HOW TO BE COMPASSIONATE: A HANDBOOK FOR CREATING INNER PEACE AND A HAPPIER WORLD
Thubten Norbu Ling Buddhist Center 130 Rabbit Road (505) 490-6152
The Dalai Lama's beloved book as a guide to overcoming anger. 7-8:30 pm, free
SANTA FE FREE THINKERS’ FORUM: NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS Online meetup.com/freethinkersforum Addressing the history of Indigenous slavery. 8:30 am, free
SECULAR ALLIANCE: ANOTHER LOOK AT FORESTS Online meetup.com/freethinkersforum Discuss the need for new federal wildfire policies. 12 pm, free
ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER
Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St. (505) 988-1234
The lauded dance troupe returns to its Christmastime tradition after the pandemic kept the show on ice for two years. 1 pm, 5 pm, $36-$94
ENTREFLAMENCO: CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022 El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302
Antonio Granjero, Trini de la Isla and more. Dinner tickets available.
6:15 pm, $25-$45
CHANUKAH ON THE PLAZA: FIRST LIGHT OF CHANUKAH
Santa Fe Plaza
100 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 983-2000
Make the season Abrahamically bright with a gelt drop, fire dancers and the lighting of the chile menorah.
3-5 pm, free
EL MUSEO CULTURAL MERCADO
El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe 555 Camino de la Familia (505) 992-0591
An eclectic collection of art and antiques.
10 am-4 pm, free
PORTAL ARTISANS’ WINTER YOUTH SHOW
New Mexico History Museum
113 Lincoln Ave., (505) 476-5100
Children and grandchildren of artists from the museum's Portal Program. Seems guaranteed to be adorable.
10 am-4 pm, free
SAN MIGUEL CHAPEL DOCENT OPEN HOUSE
San Miguel Chapel
401 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 983-3974
Learn to be a volunteer docent.
12-3 pm, free
SANTA'S CORNER
Cake’s Cafe 227 Galisteo St., (505) 303-4880
This Santa photo site’s pet-friendly.
10 am-4 pm, free
THE HANUKKAH REDEDICATION OF TEMPLE MONTEFIORE
Las Vegas Jewish Community 901 8th St, Las Vegas (505) 450-2758
Rededication of NM’s oldest Synagogue. Seriously cool—and maybe the most Old Testament way to celebrate Hanukkah (however you spell it).
5:30 pm, free
WINTER STROLL AT THE PALACE
New Mexico History Museum 113 Lincoln Ave., (505) 476-5100
Live music and hot sipping-type things.
5:30-7 pm, free
WINTER WONDERLAND: HOLIDAY MINI-MARKET
El Rey Court
1862 Cerrillos Road (505) 982-1931
Featuring local honey, handmade rugs and more.
3-7 pm, free
MUSIC
9,999 DUO LIVE ACOUSTIC
MUSIC SUNDAYS
Native Wings Coffee House
7 Avenida Vista Grande B8 Eldorado (505) 577-1693
Caffeine, Kevin Miller and Larry Israel.
10 am-12:30 pm, free
DK & THE AFFORDABLES
Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St. (505) 982-2565
Southwestern rockabilly jams. 12-3 pm, free
GARRY BLACKCHILD + MEXICO LOPEZ
El Rey Court 1862 Cerrillos Road (505) 982-1931
Americana and outlaw ballads. 7-9 pm, free
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS BENEFIT CONCERT
St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave. (505) 476-5072
Carlos Medina and other local legends perform in support of the St. Elizabeth Shelter. 5 pm, $10-$100
SANTA FE WOMEN'S ENSEMBLE: IN THE STILL OF DECEMBER
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe 208 Grant Ave., (505) 982-8544
European carols—and a world premiere. 3 pm, $10-$25
THE BOSTON CAMERATA'S MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS: HODIE CHRISTUS NATUS EST Cristo Rey Parish 1120 Canyon Road (505) 983-8528
Performance Santa Fe presents a special holiday performance of Medieval jams. 4 pm, $35-$95
Teatro Paraguas
3205 Calle Marie, (505) 424-1601 The extravaganza returns. 2 pm, $15
A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD
Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262
They say it’s platonic, but... (See A&C, page 27) 2 pm, $15-$75
SANTA FE SWING
Odd Fellows Hall 1125 Cerrillos Road (505) 690-4165
$8 for the class and dance, $3 for just the dance. 7 pm, $3-$8
ALEXANDER GIRARD’S NATIVITIES
Online moifa.org/events
Take a virtual tour of the Girard wing's most holiday-appropriate pieces.
11 am, free
GEEKS WHO DRINK
Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave. (505) 466-5528
Grab a drink from the bar and go head to head with other guests. 7-9 pm, free
BILL HEARNE
Cowgirl BBQ 319 S Guadalupe St. (505) 982-2565
Hear the man who recorded with the likes of Willie Nelson. 4-6 pm, free
LAMRIM DISCUSSION AND MEDITATION
Thubten Norbu Ling Buddhist Center 130 Rabbit Road, (505) 490-6152 Discuss and meditate on the path to enlightenment. 5:30-6:30 pm, free
WINTER BREAK CAMP
Wise Fool New Mexico 1131 Siler Road, Ste. B. (505) 992-2588
Little ones ages 7-12 learn trapeze, acrobatics and more. 9 am-3:30 pm, $325
HOLIDAY FLAMENCO
Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie, (505) 424-1601 Compañia Chuscales and Mina Fajardo bring you their most seasonally appropriate flamenco stylings, pulling from Fajardo’s recently-released holiday album. 7 pm, $20-$25
GEEKS WHO DRINK
Santa Fe Brewing Company 35 Fire Place (505) 424-3333 UK-style pub quiz. Topics range from the Billboard Hot 100 to Better Call Saul 7-9 pm, free 2023 GENERAL AUDITIONS
Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262 Charm the casting folks over at the Santa Fe Playhouse. Every level of experience is welcome; go to santafeplayhouse.org for more specific info about what to prepare.
3-10 pm, free
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM
217 Johnson St. (505) 946-1000
Making a Life. Radical Abstraction. Selections from the Collection. Spotlight on Spring. 10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, $20 (under 18 free)
IAIA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY NATIVE ARTS
108 Cathedral Place (505) 983-8900
FLEXIBILITY WITH LISA BARTLEY
Wise Fool New Mexico
1131 Siler Road, Ste. B. (505) 992-2588
Become bendier with the most flexible folks in town.
5:30-7:30 pm, free SLOW YOGA Circle Round Boutique 4486 Corrales Road, Corrales (505) 897-7004
Gentle yoga for folks who just want to move in a relaxed environment.
4-5 pm, 5:30-6:30 pm, $5
PREPARING FOR THE HOLIDAYS: THE MAGICAL PRACTICE OF TAKING AND GIVING
Zoetic 230 St. Francis Drive (505) 292-5293
Holiday high expectations are stressful and bring disappointment. Practice caring about others with Buddha’s teaching. 6-7:30 pm, $10
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Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.
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CULTIVATING
Thubten Norbu Ling Buddhist Center 130 Rabbit Road, (505) 490-6152
A three-week workshop exploring the primary qualities of buddha-nature.
10-11:30 am, free
SOLSTICE GATHERING
Santa Fe Community Yoga Center 826 Camino de Monte Rey (505) 820-9363
Prepare for the new year by throwing bones with folks who know how to read them.
1-2:30 pm, $20
CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022 El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302
Catch some of that Christmastime duende.
6:15 pm, $25-$45
GALLERY CLOSING SHOW
Ward Russell Photography 102 W San Francisco St. (505) 995-0041
Celebrating the end of 14 years of exhibitions with over 70 handpicked images. 1-5 pm, free
SENSORY STORYTIME
Vista Grande Public Library
14 Avenida Torreon, Eldorado (505) 466-7323
Engaging kids through movement, play, stories, etc. It's also ideal for kids with autism and sensory processing disorders. 3:15 pm, free
DANCE
ENTREFLAMENCO:
CHRISTMAS SEASON 2022
El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave. (505) 209-1302
Get clacking. 6:15 pm, $25-$45
Mesabi Redux. Matrilineal: Legacies of Our Mothers. Art of Indigenous Fashion. 10 am-4 pm, Wed-Sat, Mon 11 am-4 pm, Sun, $5-$10
MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS AND CULTURE
706 Camino Lejo (505) 476-1200
Grounded in Clay. ReVOlution. Here, Now and Always. Painted Reflections. 10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $3-$9
MUSEUM OF INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART
706 Camino Lejo (505) 476-1200
Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia. Fashioning Identities. #mask. Yokai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan.
10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $3-$12
NEW MEXICO HISTORY
MUSEUM
113 Lincoln Ave. (505) 476-5200
Honoring Tradition and Innovation. The First World War. The Massacre of Don Pedro Villasur. The Palace Seen and Unseen. Righting a Wrong. 10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $7-$12, NM residents free 5-7 pm first Fri of the month
MUSEUM OF SPANISH COLONIAL ART
750 Camino Lejo (505) 982-2226
Pueblo-Spanish Revival Style: the Director’s Residence. Trails, Rails, and Highways.
1-4 pm, Wed-Fri, $5-$12
NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART
107 W Palace Ave. (505) 476-5063
Selections from the 20th Century Collection. Western Eyes: 20th Century Art Here and Now. Transgressions and Amplifications.
10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $7-12
78 Cities of Gold Road (505) 455-5041
Di Wae Powa. Nah Poeh Meng: The Continuous Path. 9 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $7-$10
WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
704 Camino Lejo (505) 982-4636
Center for the Study of Southwestern Jewelry. Abeyta
| To’Hajiilee K’é. The Mary Morez Style. Rooted: Samples of Southwest Baskets.
10 am-4 pm, Tues-Sat, $8
Though it’s on the menu as “Mexican street corn” at La Fogata Grill (likely to not con fuse the gringos, tourists and/or your mom), the entire reason a buddy and I visited the downtown eatery one recent night was to sample the elote. For those not familiar, elote is a real banger dish, a combo of grilled corn on the cob, mayo, butter, queso fresco and chile powder. It’s simple, sure, but nailing the proportions and grilling the corn just right isn’t the easiest thing. At La Fogata (Spanish for “The Fire”), it’s just one of the things the kitchen does exceedingly well. In other words, this one’s going on my list of regular haunts, even if post-pandemic infla tion has tipped its prices into a slightly high er echelon than you might expect.
Elote aside, we knew we made the right dining choice when a neighboring table re ceived a drink in a literal hollowed-out pine apple. I’m currently a teetotaling dork, sadly, and my companion was driving, so while we didn’t imbibe gigantic pineapples full of what was surely glorious, boozy simply must return to work out what was in that thing. No matter, though, for the elote was a fabulous symphony of flavors and tex tures and, at $8, a fairly generous portion. We received two sections of corn on the cob
apiece (two cobs total). Portions can be a big deal when you’re balling on a budget as we were, and so were we sated before the night even truly began.
I’ll toss in a shout-out to the crew members here, who were obviously working understaffed and contending with a massive party numbering over 20 from my estimate. Our server and various other staffers were all apologetic for the hectic nature of the evening, though both my companion and I never felt under-unattended or ill-considered. Once we’d supped on that corn, too, spirits were high, and the only real problem became navigating a menu stacked with dishes that each sounded more delicious than the last.
La Fogata serves empanadas ($15) and shrimp ceviche ($17); it serves a green chile cheeseburger ($15) and Oaxacan-style barbacoa ($21). It serves salads and soups, burritos and more. Choosing one dish felt horrible in the most beautiful way, but once my pal realized it’s been a minute since they had mole and I sucked it up and decided to just eat meat already, we quickly zeroed in on our items: The taco plate for me—three tacos with various meat and veggie options served in corn tortillas from Alicia’s Tortilleria with sides of pinto beans and rice ($15); the mole enchiladas for them ($18), a smothered fan’s paradise of thick mole served atop enchiladas with a side of black beans and rice.
For my dish, I was thrilled to learn I could mix and match, and I settled on al pastor pork, chicken and veggie tacos. Each was a revelation of expertly cooked accoutrements, though the chicken gets an honorable mention for having the slightest bit of red chile spice, and the veggie taco’s grilled squash and corn and onion with just the right amount of cilantro was phenomenal. Even dedicated carnivores should try this one, though the al pastor’s tender chew was one of the better tacos I’ve had around downtown—a net gain when considering most of the best tacos are available on the other side of St.
Francis Drive. The enchiladas, meanwhile, proved a complex and satisfying treat with the mole unveiling a flavor complexity that evolved moment to moment. At first, flavors that were almost like sweet licorice appeared, which gave way to a more earthy, familiar taste. Nailed it!
I’d be remiss not to mention the house salsa, a subtly sweet and satisfyingly thick affair served with chips from Alicia’s. Corn chips are funny in that you’ll sometimes encounter an unexpectedly tasty version, the kind you’d be OK eating without salsa or guac. La Fogata offers tableside guacamole service, too, for $16, but we were saving room for dessert.
At three items, that menu’s a simple one featuring flan, a chocolate mousse cake and tres leches ($9 each). Tres leches is the obvious choice always, though dessert was the low point of our evening given its hefty serving of Cool Whip rather than a housemade whipped cream of some sort. A small price to pay in the big picture, and we did eat it all.
The only question now is how quickly we can get back to La Fogata for even more tacos and mole. Soon sounds good. It’s adorable/excellent that owner Jorge Santos runs the restaurant with his mother, Eusebia Gonzales. According to the website, Santos grew up in Mexico eating dishes his mother learned from his grandmother, and she now brings those to the table at La Fogata. You really get that homecooked vibe.
The Santa Fe Playhouse closes out 2022 with a thoroughly delightful production of what one might call a contemporary classic musical, A Year With Frog and Toad. Based on the much beloved Frog and Toad series of children’s books by Arthur Lobel, the show details a charmingly sweet series of events from a year in the life of the titular characters—and some of their woodland acquaintances. Back when it premiered on Broadway in 2002, it was one of the first attempts at true children’s theater following a successful off-Broadway run, and though playwright Willie Reale’s original production ran for only 73 performances, it enjoys a well-deserved second life as popular children’s and community theater fodder.
While not entirely in line with the perhaps edgier brand the Playhouse has worked to establish in recent seasons, the theater’s production of A Year With Frog and Toad is a bright and warm hug of a production. Reale’s piece defies expectations tonally, though; it’s gentle and sweet, as are the Frog and Toad books, but also contains clever and playful comedic beats that delighted the younger audience members during a recent performance while also providing ample chuckles for the adults in the crowd. Rest assured, though, parents, that the conflict is generally mild, and is resolved sweetly—a welcome tack for
trying times. Further, the playhouse’s production succeeds by never veering into overly saccharine territory. Co-directed by Patrick MacDonald (who also created the production’s engaging choreography) and Emily Rankin, A Year With Frog and Toad proves a fun if unexpected expansion on the typical Playhouse fare.
MacDonald and Rankin’s co-direction is wonderful thanks to clear understanding of how to make sure actors properly use the space; of comedy (particularly physical work), the tone of the piece and places where the expected tone can be riffed upon. As a theater nerd who is fairly familiar with the original score, this reviewer does somewhat wish the playhouse had staged the full production rather than the young audiences edition (so many lovely numbers cut!). Given the high percentage of young audience members, however, this version, which runs about an hour, feels smart, particularly with Eliana Joy O’Brien’s musical direction serving the deceptively complicated score well.
As Frog and Toad respectively, Christian Libonati and Playhouse regular Koppany Pusztai prove excellent. There’s an art to performing children’s theater, a much needed and particular brand of heightened sincerity at which both actors excel. Their singing and dancing chops further the storytelling as well, adding artistic legitimacy for any wouldbe attendees who might otherwise scoff at attending children’s theater. Pulling what amounts to quadruple duty are the supremely talented Bear Schacht, Karen Ryan and Terri Scullin as various creatures, including a trio of birds with killer harmonies, a snail on a mission and moles; plus turtles, lizards and
mice, depending on the scene. It’s heartening to see so many local faces on the playhouse stage, and before the curtain rose, many audience members could even be overheard commenting on who they knew in the cast—and then connecting with each other.
Such connection to one’s community theater spaces is not so common across stage-dom. Like many of the theaters in town, however, the Santa Fe Playhouse is not entirely what one would consider traditional. This is a small, narrow space in which to work, but James W. Johnson’s erudite scenic design makes the most of it with excellent help from lead carpenter and technical director Chavo Budlong, thus striking a palpable blend of realism and whimsy. Lighting design by Max Doolittle is a well-used and significant element of the show’s storytelling, too,
For non-kids, A Year With Frog and Toad might not be the first thought that comes to mind for an evening’s entertainment. But for the young and young at heart, this take is a much needed dose of joy at the end of another long year. Check your cynicism at the door, and be prepared for a lovely hour of escapist fun.
7:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 15-Saturday, Dec. 17 2 pm Sunday, Dec. 18. $15-75
Santa Fe Playhouse 142 East De Vargas St., (505) 988-4262
All the way back in 2020, there was this comedy movie called The Binge wherein a not-too-distant future society outlawed all drugs and alcohol except for one night a year. It was kind of like The Purge, only decent parody movies kind of ended with Hot Shots! Part Deux, so its tie-ins to anything real were tenuous at best.
Still, with a cast including Righteous Gemstones alum Skyler Gisondo, Stranger Things/Booksmart funnyman Eduardo Franco and Saved By the Bell reboot star Dexter Darden, it was...well, it was OK as high school stoner comedies go. The new Christmasadjacent Hulu original sequel dubbed The Binge 2: It’s a Wonderful Binge, however, cannot claim the same. It mostly just feels bad, even if the first film’s writer, Jordan VanDina, is still on board, as its director and writer, no less.
We jump forward a couple years (Gisondo, wisely, jumps ship altogether, likely to be in better movies) to learn Hags (Darden) and Andrew (Franco) are living their sad little lives in their drug-free town, only The Binge has now been moved to Christmas for
some reason. Hags doesn’t want to get fucked up this time, though, because he’s gonna ask his girlfriend to get married just as soon as her dad (Tim Meadows) gives his permission. Andrew wants to hang at home with his two dads, his mom and her lover (played by the incomparably weird Steve Little, who represents one of the few decent parts of the movie), but when he realizes his family doesn’t seem to care about him, he decides to George Bailey himself right off a bridge. He survives the fall and meets Angel (not an angel; Danny Trejo), whose can-do attitude and angel dust stash really put things into perspective for our hero. A bunch of other dumb shit happens, and everyone learns the true meaning of Christmas. And drugs. Despite numerous small appearances from comedy champions like Meadows, Kaitlin Olson, Paul Scheer and Nick Swardson, The Binge 2 feels more like a contractual obligation than a film anyone
wanted to make. Like, if Hulu had learned of some weird accounting error that forced it to shoot one last binge movie for tax purposes, that would make more sense than anyone wanting to do this thing. The drug jokes land flat, the actors are barely trying, the Christmas of it all feels tacked-on at best. Maybe there’s some redemptive quality for stoners hidden in there, maybe there’s a couple laughs when Meadows or Little deliver a line. The rest of it is just sad and weird and Franco is straight up too good for this, as is just about everyone else. Don’t bother. Please don’t bother.
Directed by VanDina
With Franco, Darden, Olson, Trejo, Scheer, Meadows and Little Hulu, TV-MA, 98 min.
5 + SHOT WELL; LABELLE’S PERFORMANCE - WILLIAMS IS WAY TOO MUCHDedicated moviegoers could likely pick a Spielberg film out of a lineup with very little information. Sure, sure—he’s legendary and has helmed some sweet movies and all that, but there’s no denying he’s grown fond of certain devices, certain styles and editing techniques, a high level of schmaltz. Spielberg is a sentimental guy with a whole lot of feelings, and that has never been clearer than in his new semi-autobiographical work, The Fabelmans In the Schindler’s List director’s newest, we follow young Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), a kid who has fallen in love with the movies after viewing The Greatest Show on Earth and will stop at nothing to become a filmmaker. It might have something to do with the fear of death, it might have something to do with the quest for truth—it might have something to do with some compulsive need to put however many inches of film between himself and the rest of the world. Whatever his reasons, Sammy’s folks nurture his budding obsession, even if his dad (Paul Dano) won’t stop calling it a hobby. Sammy’s mom (Michelle Williams), meanwhile—an artist type/pianist—seems to be grappling with
some form of bipolar disorder, and though she fosters his cinematic obsessions in myriad ways, she can’t ever quite become the parent he needs; his sisters twist in the wind, only coming up for air as plot devices and emotional prompts.
While satisfying in its premise that some folks just plain need to express themselves, The Fabelmans stumbles in its humanist/artistic messaging. Spielberg shoots a beautiful film, true, but he glosses over conflicts such as infidelity, antisemitism and divorce while spending minute after minute exploring Sammy’s heroic love of the camera. Even worse, just about everyone turns in John Lovitz-level “actiiiiiiiiing!” style performances, particularly Williams, who chews the scenery so hard it’s a wonder any was left. Dano fades into the background against her overt cheese, as does Seth Rogen in a quick role and any number of others whose very existence serves only to make jokes or drive Sammy with lines that prove they just plain don’t get it. LaBelle, though, proves capable and charismatic, and a brief turn from Reservation Dogs actor Lane Factor feels promising. Oh, and Judd Hirsch pops up, too, ever the commanding presence.
And so it goes through jokes that’ll make you chuckle, but not laugh, and scenes that’ll make you think about how times sure have changed—which you’ll then forget. There was
a time we could all freak out over a summer Spielberg blockbuster and know we’d at least have fun. The Fabelmans feels more like a wistful old guy in a bar explaining how he wound up there. We can all nod and feel uncomfortable, knowing that he was likely someone once...just maybe not so much anymore.
(ADV)
Violet Crown, PG-13, 151 min.
A “he said, she said” situation implies differences in perception and irreconcilable conclusions. In 2017, when New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey began investigating allegations against now-convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, even securing the “she said” part of the story presented challenges, given the decades of fear his victims had experienced and the non-disclosure forms others had signed. Kantor and Twohey persisted, and they document those efforts—which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize—in their book, She Said
The film version, adapted by screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz and director Maria Schrader, is more a movie about the process of journalism than it is about the Me Too move-
ment Kantor (an empathic Zoe Kazan) and Twohey (played with fiery intensity by Carey Mulligan) helped ignite.
Like Spotlight and All the President’s Men, the film depicts journalists working: conducting interviews; taking notes; consulting with editors (shout-outs for the always perfect Patricia Clarkson as Rebecca Corbett and Andre Braugher as Dean Baquet). Phone calls, documents and meetings don’t normally make for exciting cinematography, but She Said manages to function mostly as a thriller, if a slightly hushed one. Where it truly distinguishes itself from other journalism movies is by being singularly and empathetically focused on women: the female journalists who struggle to balance their own lives as new mothers while demonstrating unassailable commitment to their subjects, and those brave female subjects, such as Weinstein’s former assistant
Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle) and Ashley Judd, playing herself.
In their book, Kantor and Twohey say they intended the title She Said to be complicated: “We write about those who did speak out, along with other women who chose not to, and the nuances of how and when and why.”
In so doing, their work serves as a roadmap for dismantling entrenched systems of abuse and power. (Julia Goldberg)
Violet Crown, R, 129 min.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries painter Vincent van Gogh was renowned for translating his sublime and unruly passions into colors and shapes on canvas. It was a demanding task. He careened between torment and ecstasy. “I put my heart and soul into my work,” he said, “and I have lost my mind in the process.” That’s sad! But I have good news for you, Aries. In the coming months, you will have the potential to reach unprecedented new depths of zest as you put your heart and soul into your work and play. And hallelujah, you won’t lose your mind in the process! In fact, I suspect you will become more mentally healthy than you’ve been in a long time.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The soul is silent,” writes Taurus poet Louise Glück. “If it speaks at all, it speaks in dreams.” I don’t agree with her in general, and I especially don’t agree with her in regard to your life in the coming weeks. I believe your soul will be singing, telling jokes, whispering in the dark, and flinging out unexpected observations. Your soul will be extra alive and alert and awake, tempting you to dance in the grocery store and fling out random praise and fantasize about having your own podcast. Don’t underestimate how vivacious your soul might be, Taurus. Give it permission to be as fun and funny as it yearns to be.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The coming weeks will be an excellent time to expand your understanding about the nature of stress. Here are three study aids: 1. High stress levels are not healthy for your mind and body, but low to moderate stress can be good for you. 2. Low to moderate stress is even better for you if it involves dilemmas that you can ultimately solve. 3. There is a thing called “eustress,” which means beneficial stress. It arises from a challenge that evokes your vigor, resilience, and willpower. As you deal with it, you feel hopeful and hardy. It’s meaningful and interesting. I bring these ideas to your attention, dear Gemini, because you are primed to enjoy a rousing upgrade in your relationship with stress.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Long before he launched his illustrious career, Cancerian inventor Buckminster was accepted to enroll at Harvard University. Studying at such a prestigious educational institution was a high honor and set him up for a bright future. Alas, he was expelled for partying too hard. Soon he was working at odd jobs. His fortunes dwindled, and he grew depressed. But at age 32, he had a pivotal mystical experience. He seemed to be immersed in a globe of white light hovering above the ground. A disembodied voice spoke, telling him he “belonged to the universe” and that he would fulfill his life purpose if he applied himself to serving “the highest advantage of others.” How would you like a Buckminster Fuller-style intervention, Cancerian? It’s available if you want it and ask for it.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo-born Judith Love Cohen was an electrical engineer who worked on NASA’s Apollo Space Program. She was also the mother of the famous actor Jack Black. When she was nine months pregnant with Jack, on the day she went into labor, she performed a heroic service. On their way to the moon, the three astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft had encountered a major systems failure. In the midst of her birth process, Judith Love Cohen carried out advanced troubleshooting that helped save their lives and bring their vehicle safely back to Earth. I don’t expect you to achieve such a monumental feat in the coming days, Leo. But I suspect you will be extra intrepid and even epic in your efforts. And your ability to magically multitask will be at a peak.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): When you’re at the height of your powers, you provide the people in your life with high-quality help and support. And I believe you could perform this role even stronger in 2023. Here are some of the best benefits you can offer: 1. Assist your allies in extracting bright ideas from confusing mishmashes. 2. Help them cull fertile seeds from decaying dross. 3. As
they wander through messy abysses, aid them in finding where the redemption is. 4. Cheer on their successes with wit and charm.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A blogger named Daydreamydyke explains the art of bestowing soulful gifts. Don’t give people you care for generic consumer goods, she tells us. Instead, say to them, “I picked up this cool rock I found on the ground that reminded me of you,” or “I bought you this necklace for 50 cents at a yard sale because I thought you’d like it,” or “I’ve had this odd little treasure since childhood, but I feel like it could be of use to you or give you comfort, so I want you to have it.” That’s the spirit I hope you will adopt during the holiday season, Libra—as well as for all of 2023, which will be the year you could become a virtuoso gift-giver.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1957, engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes invented three-dimensional plastic wallpaper. No one bought the stuff, though. A few years later, they rebranded it as Bubble Wrap and marketed it as material to protect packages during shipment. Success! Its new use has been popular ever since. I suspect you are in a phase comparable to the time between when their plastic wallpaper flopped and before they dreamed up Bubble Wrap. Have faith in the possibility of there being a Second Act, Scorpio. Be alert for new applications of possibilities that didn’t quite make a splash the first time around.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I applaud your expansive curiosity. I admire your yearning to learn more and more about our mysterious world as you add to your understanding of how the game of life works. Your greed for interesting experiences is good greed! It is one of your most beautiful qualities. But now and then, there come times when you need to scale down your quest for fresh, raw truths and work on integrating what you have already absorbed. The coming weeks will be one of those times.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Better than most, you have a rich potential to attune yourself to the cyclical patterns of life. It’s your birthright to become skilled at discerning natural rhythms at work in the human comedy. Even more fortunately, Capricorn, you can be deeply comforted by this awareness. Educated by it. Motivated by it. I hope that in 2023, you will develop your capacity to the next level. The cosmic flow will be on your side as you strive to feel the cosmic flow—and place yourself in closer and closer alignment with it.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Anne, a character in a book by L. M. Montgomery, says she prefers the word “dusk” over “twilight” because it sounds so “velvety and shadowy.” She continues, “In daylight, I belong to the world . . . in the night to sleep and eternity. But in the dusk, I’m free from both and belong only to myself.” According to my astrological assessment, you Aquarians will go through a dusk-like phase in the coming weeks: a time when you will belong solely to yourself and any other creature you choose to join you in your velvety, shadowy emancipation.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): My Piscean friend Venus told me, “We Pisceans feel everything very intensely, but alas, we do not possess the survival skills of a Scorpio or the enough-is-enough, self-protective mechanism of the Cancerians. We are the water sign most susceptible to being engulfed and flooded and overwhelmed.” I think Venus is somewhat correct in her assessment. But I also believe you Fishes have a potent asset that you may not fully appreciate or call on enough. Your ability to tune into the very deepest levels of emotion potentially provides you with access to a divine power source beyond your personality. If you allow it to give you all of its gifts, it will keep you shielded and safe and supported.
Homework: Make a prediction about the best thing that will happen in your life during 2023.
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STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE
FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT CASE NO. D-101CM-2022-00491
ANGELA MARIE ULIBARRI and JOHN JEFFREY ULIBARRI, Petitioners, v. MARIO RUDDY ORTEGA and DEVYN NICOLE ULIBARRI, Respondents.
IN THE MATTER OF THE KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP OF X.V.O., a child.
NOTICE REGARDING COURT HEARING AND SETTING SECOND HEARING
THIS MATTER came before the Court on November 3, 2022 for a hearing to address permanent kinship guardianship of Xariah Venessa Ortega. Petitioners Angela and John Ulibarri appeared; neither Respondent appeared, and this Court FINDS:
1. An Ex Parte Order Appointing Temporary Kinship Guardian was filed on September 9, 2022 and expired March 9, 2023.
2. The Respondents have not yet been served.
STATE OF NEW MEXICO
FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
SANTA FE COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF Lynn S. Macri, DECEASED. No. D-101-PB-2022-00278
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3. The Petitioners are Xariah’s maternal grandparents; Xariah has been in their care since January 1, 2022. Devyn Ulibarri agreed to the Kinship request.
4. Petitioners meet all requirements to be appointed as Xariah’s Kinship Guardians.
5. The Indian Child Welfare Act does not apply.
A second hearing to address permanent Kinship Guardianship is set for Thursday January 12, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. This will be held in person at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, NM.
7. Petitioners will attempt personal service on the Respondents and will serve by Publication if personal service is not possible.
/s/
NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned has been appointed personal representative of the estate of the decedent. All persons having claims against the estate of the decedent are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of any published notice to creditors or sixty (60) days after the date of mailing or other delivery of this notice, whichever is later, or the claims will be forever barred. Claims must be presented either to the undersigned personal representative at the address listed below, or filed with the First Judicial District Court of Santa Fe County, New Mexico, located at the following address: 225 Montezuma Ave., Santa Fe, N.M. 87501 Dated: 11/23/22 Victoria Parrill 900 Calle Carmilita Santa Fe NM 87505
SYLVIA
LaMAR DISTRICT COURT JUDGEI, the undersigned Employee of the District Court of Santa Fe County, New Mexico, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Notice Regarding Court Hearing was e-served on the date of acceptance for e-filing to counsel who registered for e-service as required by the rules and mailed to pro se parties, if any, to:
Angela & John Ulibarri 1723 Agua Fria ST Santa FE, NM 87505
