In the often unseen world of disability, neurodiversity is perhaps even less understood.
The term first appeared on Google Search trends in 2008, with interest climbing steadily over the past 17 years. It is often used alongside the words neurodivergent and neurotypical to describe differences in brain function and cognition.
Lafayette’s Neurodiversity Community Center (NCC) defines neurodiversity as “a celebration of how uniquely each of us experiences the world.” The center is “a space where everyone belongs.”
MARCH 6, 2025
Volume 32, Number 29
PUBLISHER: Stewart Sallo
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Shay Castle
ARTS EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray
REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Tyler Hickman
FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Sara Gillespie, Nathaniel Morris, Jenn Ochs, Dan Savage, Toni Tresca, Gabby Vermeire
COVER: Chris Sawyer
SALES AND MARKETING
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: Kellie Robinson
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Chris Allred, Austen Lopp
SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman
MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar
PRODUCTION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Chris Sawyer
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn
CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer
BUSINESS OFFICE
BOOKKEEPER: Austen Lopp
FOUNDER / CEO: Stewart Sallo
BY JENN OCHS
I sat down with Renee Boos, NCC’s founder, to learn more. Renee is neurodiverse; she opened the NCC in June 2024
so she and others could have a supportive environment to pursue their interests and abilities while also developing and deepening their relationships with themselves and one another.
Located in a cute, cozy house in the heart of old town Lafayette, NCC bursts with color and positive energy. The walls are decorated with framed artwork that was created at the center’s art studio. Another area houses old computers, parts and cables used weekly in an equipment dismantling program. Renee collects most of these parts herself, but the center accepts donated electronics regardless of condition — broken equipment is never turned away. “As long as they are safe to take apart,” she wrote.
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“It’s an easy Google search to find out what’s safe if you don’t know.”
NCC hosts meditations, music and Minecraft sessions, a photography club and potluck dinners. A knitting and crocheting group meets Sundays, and a young adult social group gathers on Wednesdays — refreshing, in-real-life alternatives in a world of video games and online interaction.
A unique aspect of programming at NCC is that adult programming coincides with children’s programming. The NCC hosts afterschool hours Monday nights. Renee keeps the kids busy while encouraging the parents to get to know each other and ultimately form a support system.
At the heart of the NCC is community, Renee says. It’s her dream for the center to become a blueprint for communities around the country.
To realize that dream, and keep the Neurodiversity Community Center open, its members and founders need to find a way to keep paying for it. For now, Renee donated the property and pays the building’s expenses with her own money.
“I am funding everything with credit cards, donating my property for nothing and not paying myself anything,” Renee wrote in response to emailed questions. “I need to self-sustain as soon as possible, as I am out of personal funds.”
The center can survive on a yearly budget of $250,000, Renee says, but they’d ideally like to raise $350,000. NCC is also in need of skilled volunteers to lead sessions or classes, and to help around the center.
According to Renee, “This would allow us to pay our monthly utilities, insurance, rent, fund programming and pay a very small salary for myself and another few part-time staff members.”
Donations are “slowly starting to trickle in,” Renee says. “The numbers above are big numbers, but every dollar literally helps me stay afloat.”
The Neurodiversity Community Center is truly magical. So this is my ask to Boulder Weekly readers: Let’s help this wonderful, local nonprofit find a sustainable funding plan. Learn more and donate: neurodiversitycc. org.
Jenn Ochs lives in Boulder and enjoys listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks while painting or drawing. She is a disability rights advocate and a graduate from Baylor University in Texas, which is where she realized that Boulder is the best place to live.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS A WOMEN’S RIGHTS CRISIS
Zonta Foothills to host climate justice summit
BY SARA GILLESPIE
As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres explained at the Commission on the Status of Women in 2022, the climate crisis is a human rights crisis — and a women’s rights crisis. While climate change is a threat for everyone, it does not affect everyone equally. The impacts of climate change perpetuate and magnify structural inequalities, such as those between women and men. This is especially true in many parts of the world where women rely on climate-sensitive work like agriculture and manual labour to make a living.
To cite a few specific examples:
• JAMA Psychiatry published a study of over 194,000 women in three South Asian countries. It found a one-degree Celsius rise in average temperature was associated with a 6% rise in physical and sexual gender-based violence.
• A 2023 UNICEF report cited that every 10% increase or decrease in average rainfall was associated with a 1% increase in child marriage. Extreme weather events disrupt sources of income, exacerbate food insecurity and incur costs for rebuilding and recovery. Families choose child marriage to relieve their financial burden.
• Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, stated that one in five women who are refugees or who have been displaced because of a disaster has experienced sexual violence.
Per the United Nations Development Programme, the challenge for building capacities for gender responsive climate action over
OPINION
the next few years will be helping governments to shift systems and power structures that deepen gender inequalities and hold back women’s leadership as they simultaneously work on bolstering climate mitigation and adaptation.
Moreover, while the case for steering climate finance towards gender-responsive climate action is clear, it needs to be more widely known and understood. Inequalities impose development costs on the whole of society — more so as people struggle to contend with climate change impacts.
Without gender equality, there is little hope of meeting the necessary transformation required to address climate change and ensure a sustainable and just future for all.
Do you want to connect locally with others who share concerns about climate justice and gender inequality, and learn about potential solutions and actions that can be taken individually and collectively? On International Women’s Day, March 8, the Zonta Foothills Club will host its first Climate Justice Forum.
Panelists from CU Boulder and the Boulder County community will present their work and discuss policy and action. Local experts will discuss the challenges of climate change and its impact on women, children and families in our community and worldwide.
Learn more: zontafoothills.org/ zonta-says-now
Sara Gillespie is a Boulder resident and member of the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder County. Zonta Foothills Club members volunteer to advance women and girls locally and worldwide through education, health and wellness, economic stability, safety and legal equality.
ZONTA FOOTHILLS CLIMATE JUSTICE
FORUM. 1:30-3:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8, East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive. Free
SCIENTISTS PROTEST NOAA LAYOFFS AT BOULDER CAMPUS
BY KAYLEE HARTER
Hundreds of federal employees, scientists and community members gathered Monday at Boulder’s U.S. Department of Commerce campus, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is housed, to protest mass layoffs at NOAA and other federal agencies amid Trump administration funding cuts.
Protestors lined the streets holding signs with slogans like “Stand up for science,” “NOAA saves lives” and “Science makes America great.” Chants of “Hey hey! Ho ho! Research makes our country go!” filled the air with the honks of cars driving by.
NOAA, home of the National Weather Service, provides climate data, severe storm warnings, weather forecasts and a vast range of technology and research to help “understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts,” according to the agency’s website.
The protest was organized by former Congressman David Skaggs, for whom the 405,000-square-foot NIST (National Institutes of Standards and Technology) and NOAA building is named. Skaggs said he feared the nation was “at a moment of profound reckoning.”
“We feel the loss here at NOAA, because it affects us personally, our friends and our neighbors,” he said.
“Of course, we know this is just the Boulder example of the mindless culling of civil servants whose work is little understood by [Elon] Musk or the president.”
As many as 1,830 probationary employees were set for layoffs last week — more than 10% of the agency’s total staff, The Hill reported. It’s not yet clear how many workers in the
Boulder office were impacted.
“I’m outraged by the inefficient, harmful NOAA layoff,” said Ernie Hildner, former director of NOAA’s Space Environment Center. “If reductions were needed, and I don’t think they were, a slow, thoughtful, scalpel approach would have been far better than the sudden sledgehammer firing of a whole class of employees, regardless of their contributions or quality of performance.”
Lindsey Larvik, a protestor who worked in IT at NOAA for just shy of two years, received the email in the middle of a
meeting. She and her coworkers were given one hour to leave the building.
“We just kind of left and took a couple minutes to gather our things, say any goodbyes that we could in the time, turn everything in and leave.”
Larvik said at the protest it was “heartwarming to see all of these people come out and fight for the rights of regular federal employees.”
“It’s also really important to recognize that I’m not going to be the last firing that’s going to happen,” she said. “They’ve already let go of a number of people. It’s going to continue, and so we need to keep on speaking up and speaking out about what’s going on to try to minimize whatever damage we can.”
John Tayer, president of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, said at the protest Boulder is home to 17 federal laboratories and 3,600 employees “who live in our communities, shop in our businesses establishments, and generally contribute to the intellectual heft that characterizes Boulder’s innovation economy.”
Credit: Kaylee Harter
GOV’T WATCH
BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF
This report has been shortened for print. To see the full version, visit bit.ly/GovtWatchMarch4
LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL
On March 4, council:
• Agreed to meet in executive session to discuss state legislation impacting local planning and zoning regulations. In particular, local officials are concerned about a 2024 law requiring cities to allow more housing in areas that are or could potentially be served by buses, a light rail or other mass transit. Municipalities are required to estimate how many housing units would be allowed under the new rules. In
Lafayette, that would be an additional 7,000 to 30,000 homes, depending on how many exemptions are granted by the state. That estimate will need to be further refined, city staff said Tuesday; a previous estimate from March 2024 was as high as 72,000 additional homes.
In May, Lafayette’s elected officials unanimously passed a resolution opposing the law, HB-1313. Last month, CPR reported “officials in Westminster, Arvada, Colorado Springs, and Northglenn have at least suggested, and in some cases explicitly said, that they won’t follow some of the laws.”
“I’ve heard from various communities [that] are looking at litigation,” council member Brian Wong said, citing “quiet conversations” at DRCOG, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, a cross-municipality policy and funding body for transportation.
Lafayette council members did not explicitly state that they would pursue legal action, but a number of community members who spoke at the meeting indicated they would support whatever
SPRING BREAK SANDAL SALE
actions the city takes in opposing the law — “no matter how drastic,” as resident Krista Chappell said.
“I will support all your efforts” said resident Paula Kelly, including “Lafayette joining a lawsuit.”
SUPERIOR TOWN COUNCIL
On March 3, council:
• Received an update on the Marshall Fire recovery during a quarterly work session.
Permits have been issued to rebuild 74% of buildings destroyed by the December 2021 blaze, and more than half the rebuilt structures have been cleared for occupancy, according to city data.
On March 7, council will:
• Meet with residents for First Fridays Coffee, from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m. at Superior Community Center (1500 Coalton Road).
LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL
On March 5, council:
• Held a special meeting to review
Boulder County’s Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Among the plan’s recommendations for Louisville are identifying evacuation routes and installing signage; open space grasslands-grazing, mowing and prescribed burns; and ditch maintenance.
BOULDER CITY COUNCIL
On March 13, council will:
• Receive an update on the city’s work with Xcel Energy. Five years ago, Boulder reversed course on a decadelong effort to buy the city’s power grid and began pursuing joint projects with the utility company, including burying power lines, selling 4,500 Xcel-owned streetlights to the city — the $3.2 million purchase was completed in October; Boulder just started converting them to LEDs — and joint lobbying efforts to state lawmakers.
A study session, there will not be an opportunity for public comment at this meeting.
All agenda items are subject to change.
Kelly Elizabeth Clark is hereby summoned to appear in case number 21DR30287.
You are required to file your Response to the Verified Motion to Intervene and Request for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities (hereinafter referred to as “Verified Motion”) and Petition for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities (hereinafter referred to as “Petition”), within 35 days after the service of this summons upon you.
Service of this summons shall be complete on the day of the last publication. A copy of the Verified Motion and Petition may be obtained from the clerk of the court.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ROCK?
The
cold case of Buddy Boulder
BY TYLER HICKMAN
It’s Jan. 16, 1985, and Boulder Mayor Ruth Correll is kicking off a 61-room expansion of the Hotel Boulderado. Lumbering in the crowd is a two-legged, wide-eyed human-sized rock with a permanent grin. His name is Buddy Boulder.
For silver-haired Boulderites, Buddy may seem like a fever dream. Perhaps he has escaped the collective memory altogether. But at one time, the anthropomorphic boulder was the face of the city’s tourism industry — or at least, that was the plan.
“Boulder mascot is a rock,” reads the headline of a March 9, 1984 Daily Camera article, announcing the winner of the Boulder Hotel and Motel Association’s Mascot Mania. The organization dreamt up the mascot contest, calling on Boulderites to name a city mascot that “represents the uniqueness of Boulder,” to put a face on their campaign to make the city more visible and attractive to tourists and business conferences.
Two years after his debut, Buddy Boulder was out of a job. After a handful of appearances, he began collecting dust at the Highlander Motel.
The quirky, tongue-in-cheek mascot was uniquely Boulder; a flippant character, born from the half-baked idea of a CU student, whose spiked Flatiron hair and stone dimples gave no impression he took himself too seriously. But Boulder was cool — maybe too cool — and Buddy was put in a corner, fading into the recesses of Boulder’s minds.
Where is Buddy now? After months of searching, I’ve procured enough evidence to pronounce him dead — but there is still no body. While his fall from grace was spectacularly fast, his inability to stick and subsequent years in storage offer a glimpse at what Boulder was like 40 years ago.
THE JUDGE
“It started on a whim, and it went out with a whimper,” says John Neiley, Buddy’s creator. A 24-year-old Neiley, still a jelly-
legged fawn in the professional world, was contemplating an acceptance letter from CU’s law school at the time of Buddy’s conception. In the middle of the quarterlife “what’s next” crisis, Neiley saw an ad for a mascot competition.
As I discovered with most people’s memories of Buddy, Neiley’s recollection is fuzzy.
someone, you should have a resume.”
Buddy’s elevator pitch read: “The fact that I am a solid citizen is taken for granite, and none of my friends are flakes… I never get stoned.”
The buttoned-up, oversized slab of rock fit the job description At the time, the Hotel and Motel Association was trying to market the city as a destination for conferences, and had starry-eyed visions of the face of Boulder appearing at conventions and ribbon-cuttings. Neiley’s juvenile design and convincing Buddy-backstory won the judges over.
The organizations commissioned a professional costume maker. One year and $4,000 later, a fully grown bouncing baby Buddy was born.
“It was probably more like a group of us, you know, roommates sitting around drinking beers,” he recalls. “And they’re like, ‘Neiley, you can do this.’ I started thinking about it, and I’m like, ‘Well, it ought to be a rock.’”
The rest is geological history.
Neiley, now the Chief Judge for Colorado’s 9th Judicial District, scratched a lopsided drawing of a smiling, white-collar boulder carrying a stone briefcase, and gave him a resume.
“At that time, I was kind of in the jobhunting mode,” Neiley says. “I figured, well, if you want to get employed by
THE SEARCH
Buddy started his career side-by-side with former Denver Bronco Steve Foley at the Crossroads Mall for a “Super Sunday” sale. The Camera lists his busy schedule for January 1985: a ribbon cutting for the Hotel Boulderado expansion, a realtor luncheon and dinner at the Shrine Club of Boulder. He was gaining traction: Eldora (then Lake Eldora Ski area) and the Pizza Time Theater were showing interest.
He was catching on in local pop culture, too — though often lampooned as a drunk miscreant.
Buddy “was arrested today at Stapleton
Airport in Denver after allegedly shouting obscenities and jumping into luggage carousels,” after a trip to the cocktail lounge, reads a summer 1985 spoof article in the Boulder Lampoon.
The piece goes on to quote a distressed Pillsbury Dough Boy, worried about his substance abuse problems: “I really love that little pervert. I never took him for granite.”
The Buddy craze didn’t last. “Mascot goes over like a rock,” headlines a May 11, 1986 article in the Camera. “Buddy Boulder is available. To put it mildly.”
From here, Buddy begins to evaporate from the Boulder consciousness. When I first set out to find the mascot, an afternoon at the Carnegie Library for Local History revealed no evidence of Buddy after that fateful spring day — save for a 2009 piece from the Camera about Boulder’s forgotten mascot. I was disappointed, but not discouraged; the few thousand words that had been written in his two-year life span were filled with names.
Where better to start, than with the brain behind Buddy?
But Neiley was a dead end. After he posed for a photo unveiling Buddy at an overlook just outside Boulder, he never saw the costume again. While Neiley claimed not to know where the body was buried, he sowed an anxious thought in my mind early in my search.
“My guess is it probably ended up in somebody’s basement as a spoof,” Neiley said, “and probably found its way into a dumpster.”
Could someone actually be sinister enough to throw this lovable piece of history in the trash? I wasn’t convinced. I did what any good journalist does, and began googling. As it turns out, people who were professionals in the Boulder tourism industry the same year of the Chernobyl disaster are hard to find. Most search results came with “Thank you for so many years of service” press releases, or obituaries.
But obituaries have names, too. Which is how I found Kerry Lightenberger, whose late father Don Lightenberger owned the Highlander Motel, where Buddy was last photographed by the Camera in 1986.
While Buddy searched for a job, he sat in the lobby of the motel. Eventually, he landed in the Lightenberger’s garage.
“My dad liked the idea, and didn’t want
Buddy’s creator John Neiley poses with the mascot after his unveiling. Neiley would never see Buddy again. Courtesy: The Daily Camera and Carnegie Library for History
to give up on the costume,” Lightenberger says. But instead of becoming a part of the workforce, Buddy was akin to the adult son that won’t move out of the basement.
He made appearances at Lightenberger’s annual Halloween party, in the back of her pickup truck during a St. Patrick’s Day parade, and most often as a punchline. But around 2000, he finally moved out — or rather, he was kicked out.
While moving her parents out of their home, Lightenberger recalled returning Buddy to the organizations who created him. This led me to Mary Ann Mahoney, then on the board of the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, who became Buddy’s undertaker.
“We didn’t have any place to store him,” Mahoney says. In her mind, the true owner was the Hotel and Motel Association, but they didn’t want the deadweight of a giant costume.
When it looked like Buddy was headed for the streets, the Millenium Harvest House Hotel stepped up. Mahoney drove Buddy to the hotel, where they plopped him onto a luggage cart and wheeled him into storage.
“That’s the last I ever heard of Buddy Boulder,” Mahoney says.
It seems this is the last time anyone else saw him, too. The Millennium’s general manager at that time, Dan Pirrallo, has no recollection of the costume living at the hotel — which in 2023 was turned into a pile of rubble to make way for student housing.
I hit a wall. Surely, someone who shared my infatuation with this costume must have cared enough to take Buddy in. But every time I drive by the Millennium’s ruins on 28th Street, I can’t help but imagine the building crashing down around him, burying his lifeless form under a mound of steel and concrete.
In all likelihood, his demise came long before that. The fear I had from the start,each of Buddy’s temporary handlers echoed: At one point or another, someone probably threw him out.
WHO KILLED BUDDY BOULDER?
As the search for a body continued, I kept coming back to the same question: Why didn’t Buddy Boulder work? Despite a few people clinging to the concept of a
just have to go back and be a little kid.”
Despite Zollars’ playful Buddy persona, the public never truly embraced the mascot’s irreverent nature.
“There were a lot of people that thought it was hokey,” Zollars says, but “every mascot is hokey until somebody thinks it’s really the coolest thing in the world.”
In a hippie town that became a hot spot for art and counterculture in the 1960s, a giant rock for a mascot seemed like the perfect on-the-nose commentary to reflect back at ‘the squares.’ But in reality, the ‘the hips’ thought they were too cool for Buddy.
“I don’t think the arts community felt that he was a representation of the creative arts and craft community that they were,” Zollars says. “[If] you don’t have, pardon my expression, the artsy fartsy people behind you in those types of things, then things sort of die.”
BUDDY’S PLACE IN HISTORY
says the museum’s curator of collections and exhibits Elizabeth Nosek. For now, there’s a Buddy-sized hole in the museum’s collections.
“A museum is about preserving the object, not just for you and I to look at,” Nosek says, “but for… our great, great, great, great etc, grandchildren, to be able to come and see and to understand in a way they couldn’t understand the story without seeing that costume.”
“I would fight for him to be accepted by the collection committee and the board. And I think he would, because he’s uniquely Boulder.”
Around 25% of the museum’s collection is a costuming collection that was named an American Treasure in 2000 by the White House Millennium Council. The slew of artifacts includes the hunting dress of American naturalist Martha Maxwell, boy scout uniforms from over the decades, and even an old Mrs. Claus suit.
Boulder mascot for years, the short answer is that no one could stand wearing him.
“Nobody wanted to wear Buddy because it was hot to wear longer than 15 minutes,” Mahoney says. Whoever wore the costume could barely see out of the body, and his wide stature made doorways a constant obstacle.
“You needed an escort,” she adds, “It was like a twoperson operation all the time.”
For better or worse, Buddy is a sliver of Boulder history. Without his remains, and likely an impromptu funeral in a trash compactor, he was never properly eulogized.
SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING
If you or someone you know has information related to the whereabouts or final resting place of Buddy Boulder, please contact Boulder Weekly at letters@boulderweekly.com
The one person bold enough to keep Buddy going was Bill Zollars. His name appeared in a few Camera articles as the man inside the Buddy costume, and had come up in enough of my conversations to warrant a phone call. If he didn’t know what happened to Boulder’s mascot, I didn’t know who else would.
Chances are if Buddy was at an event, it was Zollars. “We need you to wear this thing,” he says people would tell him. “You’re the only guy that can have fun with it.”
“I’d do anything I want. I’d bump into people, I’d high-five people,” the former Millennial General Manager says. “You
In my quest for Buddy, I held faith that someone along the way felt this artifact of Boulder tourism belonged in the Museum of Boulder. But in the museum’s collection of more than 49,000 material objects, there is no trace of Buddy,
“Buddy would be able to tell stories of business and what people were trying to do to build the community,” regardless of how successful he was, Nosek says.
For now, and likely forever, Buddy’s story will be told with words, a few photos and a handful of old comic strips where the mascot’s mischievous nature is captured in cartoonish gags. Whether Boulder still thinks it’s too cool for the briefcase toting rock with a soft interior and exterior is now up to you.
After his jobs dried up, Buddy sat here in the corner of the Highlander Motel’s lobby. Soon, he’d find himself in storage for good. Courtesy: The Daily Camera and Carnegie Library for History
Neiley’s sketch of Buddy Boulder won the Mascot Mania judges over, and the rest was history. Courtesy: The Daily Camera and Carnegie Library for History
MUSIC
KICKING DOWN THE DOOR
How post-hardcore bruisers Gouge Away went from ‘a place of spite’ to ‘a place of love’
BY JUSTIN CRIADO
When Christina Michelle formed Gouge Away over a decade ago, no one and nothing was safe from the frontwoman’s fury. Back in 2012, the band’s hometown hardcore scene in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — and by extension, the subgenre as a whole — was less welcoming and diverse than it is today. So Michelle decided to kick down the door and scream about it, whether anyone liked it or not.
“When we first started, the aim of Gouge Away was to take up space in a scene that didn’t have a lot of girls in it,” she explains. “I never felt like I belonged. We became the band for kids in South Florida who felt the same way.”
Michelle and the band quickly proclaimed they were here to stay after their 2016 debut Dies made waves with its mad mix of metallic hardcore and punkrock brashness. It’s 22 minutes, divided into 13 tracks, of pure, pent-up mayhem. (Check out hard-hitting opener “Bleed” if you’re skeptical.)
With sophomore follow-up Burnt Sugar (2018), a more mature and varied offering with elements of shoegaze guitar tones and indie-rock sensibilities, Gouge Away solidified their standing as one of the most exciting and unfettered acts at the forefront of post-hardcore. Michelle asserted herself as a vocalist to be reckoned with, too.
“I wish I was more resilient / Wish I didn’t harp on it / But I can’t help it,” she barks on standout “Can’t Relate” with a signature blend of viciousness and vulnerability. “I can’t take care of this mind / That won’t take care of me.”
‘DRAWING MORE PEOPLE IN’
After touring Burnt Sugar extensively, writing for the band’s third album began in earnest, but then Gouge Away fell silent. Amid the pandemic and internal lineup changes, Michelle & Co. decided to take a brief break in 2020, during
which she moved to Portland and eventually joined Philly shoegaze outfit Nothing as a bassist for a year. She admits to being on the fence about reforming her former Florida crew.
slowly pieced it together over a couple of years,” says Cantwell, who came on board in 2016 and splits his time as the drummer of hardcore supergroup Angel Du$t. “It was just sitting on a computer. We were like, ‘Fuck, these songs are really cool,’ but nobody knew what to do. Eventually, we all pieced it back together.”
For Michelle, she committed to saying exactly what she wanted to, particularly regarding more serious topics, instead of leaving her words open to interpretation.
OOPS! ALL OPENERS.
Check out more supporting acts coming to the Front Range, before they become next year’s next big thing.
“When I took a break from Gouge Away, I left thinking I didn’t even like music anymore. It’s a hard world to exist and be creative in, for me, when you feel like so much of the attention on bands is negative,” Michelle says. “Sometimes it feels like people want to hate on stuff more than talk about what they love.”
Luckily, Michelle found her way back to the band that initially offered her a respite and release from the struggles of the world.
“It didn’t matter to me what anyone else thought about it. As long as we had fun and liked what we were doing, I was happy,” she continues. “It’s much more fun to operate from this headspace, too. And it honestly feels like the fun we’re having is more infectious and is drawing more people in.”
‘WRITING FROM A PLACE OF LOVE’
The lost lyrics and half-finished songs left behind during the years following Burnt Sugar were whipped into shape and molded into new record Deep Sage, released via Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon’s Deathwish Inc. last March. Calling it a return to form would be a disservice, as the 11 tracks contain a medley of experimental alt-rock and poignant passages penned by Michelle. More than anything, it marks a new chapter for Gouge Away — which currently includes drummer Tommy Cantwell, bassist Tyler Forsythe and guitarists Mick Ford and Dylan Downey.
“We started writing those songs in 2019, on tour and in between tours. At soundchecks we would just jam riffs and
“During that time away from Gouge Away, I moved to Portland, took a bunch of mushrooms and found time to fall in love with music all over again,” she says. “I gained this new appreciation for it as magic I get to make with four of my friends.
“I always wanted to write a song about abortion, but I wanted to bring something new to the table. I didn’t want it to just be slogans,” she explains. “I wanted to give a more personal take on my feelings on it, so I was proud when ‘Idealized’ came to be. It’s the song I always wanted Gouge Away to make.”
“I never said it was an easy conversation / Just not one I need to have with you,” she sings on the down-tempo opening verse. “I have my reasons, which I’ll live with / Don’t need permission from you.”
She also focused more on storytelling, an approach she picked up while with Nothing, as her bandmates would regularly listen to roots music icons like Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams.
“‘Maybe Blue’ was born from that,” Michelle says. “It’s about missing home while away on tour and being afraid the distance will cause me and my loved ones to grow away from each other.”
While it’s been a long and at times strenuous journey, Gouge Away has made a home for themselves in hardcore, even if that meant fighting for space.
“I would say I started the band from a place of spite,” she says. “With Deep Sage, I completed it by writing from a place of love.”
ON THE BILL: Chat Pile with Gouge Away and Nightosphere. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Gothic Theatre, 3263 South Broadway, Englewood. $36-$38
Gouge Away performs in support of Oklahoma City noise-rock quartet Chat Pile at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood on March 6. Credit: Rob Coons
Gouge Away mark their return with Deep Sage, released March 15, 2024. Courtesy: Deathwish Inc.
MUSIC FOUND SOUNDS
What’s in Boulder’s headphones?
BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF
It’s spring-forward weekend, folks — that means more daylight for listening to music with the windows down. But the final beats of winter didn’t go quietly here in the People’s Republic: From undisputed rap game king Kendrick Lamar (R.I.P. Drizzy) to psych-pop sweethearts Cindy Lee and points in between, these are the new vinyl releases that flew off the shelves last month at Paradise Found Records and Music
1. KENDRICK LAMAR GNX
2. LUMINEERS Automatic
3. CINDY LEE Diamond Jubilee
4. FRED AGAIN Ten Days
5. VARIOUS ARTISTS A Complete Unknown: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Dreamy pop vocals and catchy hooks carry you through the Uncanny Valley that is Magdalena Bay’s latest album, Imaginal Disk, released August 2024 via Mom + Pop Music. The journey is littered with bits and bobs and ear candy galore; it could almost be too sweet if it weren’t for the darker undercurrent and air of otherworldliness that pulses through the 15 tracks. Give it a listen ahead of the L.A.-based synth-pop duo’s May 13 show at Denver’s Ogden Theatre.
— Kaylee Harter, reporter
For the complete list of top new local vinyl releases, visit bit.ly/FoundSoundsFeb25
STAFF PICK
ADVENTURE FILM PROGRAM
FRI-SUN | MARCH 14-16, 2025
ADVENTURE FILM TICKETS AT BIFF1.COM/ADVENTURE
PROGRAM GC - 05
The 2025 Boulder International Film Festival Adventure Film Program features a suite of the world’s greatest new adventure films, with shorts, features, discussions with world-class adventurers and adventure filmmakers, as well as nonprofit groups working on the important issues in the adventure community.
Friday 7:30pm, Grace Commons Church Champions of the Golden Valley US, Feature Documentary, 81 minutes, 2024 Winner of Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award at the 2024 Banff Mountain Film Festival
PROGRAM GC-08
Saturday 2:30pm, Grace Commons Church MOSES – 13 STEPS
Germany, Feature Documentary, 105 minutes, 2024
Executive produced by Morgan Freeman Featuring interviews with Edwin Moses, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and Neil deGrasse Tyson
PROGRAM GC-11
Sunday 1:30pm, Grace Commons Church TRI ME: THE SIRI LINDLEY STORY
US, Feature Documentary, 87 minutes, 2024
SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDE
• EDWIN MOSES, two-time Olympic Gold Medal 400m Hurdles Champion
• SIRI LINDLEY, 2-time World Champion Triathlete
• JAMES BALOG, National Geographic Photographer and Extreme Ice Survey Scientist with the film Chasing Time
BIFF MARCHES ON
Four
picks to make the most of this year’s fest
BY MICHAEL J. CASEY
The Boulder International Film Festival turns 21 this year. If it were a person, it could order a drink. Frankly, BIFF could probably use one, with the sword of Sundance hanging over its head.
And while questions of film fest-related ifs and whens might permeate the preand post-screening conversations at 2025 BIFF, when the lights go down, and the screens start to shine, all of that will get pushed aside for the chance to watch something beyond the everyday. Here are four that will make you excited to see more.
THE FRIEND
7:15 p.m. Friday, March 14, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. Check biff1.com for ticket availability.
BIFF’s opening night film is of the crowdpleasing variety, particularly for Colorado’s dog-loving crowd. Apollo, the 150-pound Great Dane at the center of the story, might steal the show.
Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, The Friend finds Iris (Naomi Watts) at wit’s end when her friend (Bill Murray) dies and his beloved Dane ends
up in her care. But Iris lives in a New York City co-op with a strict no-pets policy. That might be easy for toy poodle owners to sidestep, but it’s difficult for Iris.
The Friend is light, and it would be a stretch for me to call it a good movie, but I can’t stop thinking about it. How Iris’ friend dies — I won’t say here — and the questions surrounding it imbue a rather saccharine surface with serious consideration. There’s even a moment of magical realism that almost feels lifted from another narrative entirely. It’s an oddball concoction that’s difficult to shake.
THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT
1:15 p.m. Sunday, March 16, Century Boulder, 1700 29th St. $19
It was the Jimmy Carter administration that had solar panels installed on the White House roof in 1979. It was the Ronald Reagan administration that had them removed in 1986. And you thought the pendulum swing of today’s administrations was petty.
But what makes The White House Effect, directed by Pedro Kos and An Inconvenient Sequel’s Bonni Cohen and
Jon Shenk, a riveting visual essay is that they don’t treat these kinds of institutional squabbles as cyclical but continuous.
Free from talking head interviews and constructed entirely from archival footage, The White House Effect hopscotches back and forth between administrations to see how the climate crisis has been acknowledged, dismissed, outright denied and traded in for votes. It’s fascinating, infuriating and so expertly constructed that you’ll be thinking about it for months.
IN WAVES AND WAR
12:15 p.m. Saturday, March 15, First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St., Boulder. $19
“I have endured so much in waves and war. Let this next adventure follow.”
Drawing on these lines from The Odyssey, In Waves and War follows three Navy SEALs after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as they try to heal psychologically from their war-induced torment. Nothing seems to work. Then, psychedelics are introduced into the mix.
Also directed by Cohen and Shenk, In Waves and War begins conventionally with talking head interviews but then finds liftoff when animation takes over. These scenes, psychedelic and dreamy, illustrate that which the filmmakers could not. It’s a humane look at what it takes for someone to move beyond their pain, one that is sure to stir a fascinating post-screening conversation.
ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO
3 p.m. Friday, March 14, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $19
3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15, Century Boulder, 1700 29th St. $19
John Lennon may have stopped playing live when the crowds got too big, but the showman inside never vanished. Lennon was a born rock ’n’ roller, one who could summon the crackle of electricity with a single note.
One to One: John & Yoko, from filmmakers Kevin Macdonald and Sam RiceEdwards, traces 18 months in the early 1970s as Lennon and Yoko Ono try to put together a show to support the Black Panthers, only to be scuttled in the 11th hour and reconfigured as the One to One concert, Lennon’s final full-fledged concert prior to his death in 1980.
Though One to One isn’t a tip-to-turn concert film, the footage of Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band on stage is fantastic. So, too, is the archival footage Macdonald and Rice-Edwards use as connective tissue to bring political and personal context to the story. There’s enough here to wow even those wellversed in Lennon lore and plenty more to make non-Lennon fans fall under its spell.
BIFF has a full line-up of 60-plus narratives and docs, features and shorts to discover. The festival runs March 13-16 in multiple venues across Boulder and Longmont. Locations, times, tickets and more at biff1.com.
Iris (Naomi Watts) gets more dog than she bargained for in The Friend Courtesy: Bleecker Street Media
The best laid plans of mice and men evaporate with a handshake in The White House Effect Courtesy: Actual Films
In Waves and War illustrates the internal. Courtesy: Actual Films
John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear in One to One: John & Yoko by Kevin Macdonald, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy: Sundance Institute | Credit: Ben Ross Photography
BOOKS
BEHIND THE WALLPAPER
Longmont author blurs the line between reality and madness in new novel
BY TONI TRESCA
Jon Bassoff doesn’t romanticize writing. For the Longmont-based novelist, crafting a work of fiction is a battle where the author must “grab an axe and show the story who’s boss.”
“All writing is a chore,” Bassoff continues. “I love finishing a book, but writing is painful. You’re starting with nothing. The page is blank and you’re trying to will ideas into the world. I wish I was one of those people who inspiration hits and I could sit there writing beautiful stories for hours, but that’s not who I am.”
That sense of struggle permeates his latest novel, The Memory Ward, arriving in bookstores March 4 via Blackstone Publishing. In this psychological thriller, postal worker Hank Davies starts to notice cracks in his Nevada town. His neighbors are too perfect, the letters he delivers are blank, and a mysterious woman urges him to peel back his wallpaper to uncover hidden truths.
“I just get images in my head, and the one that inspired this story was peeling back wallpaper and finding something behind it,” Bassoff says. “I’ve always been fascinated with stories within stories, and this is one. At one point, there is literally a story within a story within a story.”
With influences ranging from The Truman Show to Blue Velvet, Bassoff’s novel wrestles with the slippery nature of identity by looking beneath the shiny surface of suburban life. The Longmontbased author is prolific, with this release marking his 10th novel in just over a decade, spanning crime, gothic and horror genres.
“I experiment with a lot of the same themes: mental illness, violence and memory,” Bassoff says. “Those are pretty obvious in this one, but a lot of my stuff
plays with what happens if you can’t trust your memories. That’s frightening because we are shaped by our past, so if you start to doubt your memories, you begin to doubt who you are.”
THE DOUBLE LIFE OF JON BASSOFF
Though Bassoff has carved out a place for himself in the world of fiction, his day-today life revolves around the classroom. He’s been teaching English for nearly two decades, spending the last 10 years at Longmont High School and the previous nine at Frederick High School. His
students know him as “the deranged writer guy,” a title he wears with pride.
“Some kids could care less,” he admits, “but others think it’s cool that their teacher is a writer. When I started teaching, I actually wrote under a pen name and then decided to shift to writing under my name. My mom was like, ‘That’s a terrible idea. The books you write will get you in trouble,’ but after all these years, I’ve had no complaints.”
Originally from New York City, Bassoff grew up in Boulder and lived in Oregon and New York before settling in Longmont with his wife in 2001. He appreciates the
city’s community feel, even if its tidy suburban facade occasionally sparks ideas about lurking darkness.
“There’s stuff that seems idyllic here, but when you start to get to know people, you see that everyone has their own darkness,” Bassoff says. “That said, I love Longmont. After meeting my wife in New York, who was originally from Colorado, we decided to settle here because Longmont felt like home.”
Teaching in the area provides him with just enough structure to balance his writing. “We get our summers off and I’m teaching English, so I’m always kind of in that mindset,” he explains. “But juggling a full-time job, a family and trying to write is difficult. I’ve never had a daily routine because it always depends on how much grading I have or what’s going on with my kids.”
LOCAL LITERARY LAUNCH
While balancing teaching and writing presents its challenges, The Memory Ward is now ready to meet the world. To celebrate its release, Bassoff will be hosting several book events throughout Colorado this month, including stops at Boulder Bookstore, Bricks on Main in Longmont and Tattered Cover in Denver.
The book launch events will include artwork by his students based on a synopsis of the novel and its themes. “These are
super talented artists, so I asked them to come up with something inspired by the book,” Bassoff says. “It’s fun to connect students with what you’re doing and bring them into your work.”
Beyond book signings, Bassoff’s career is expanding in other ways. Two of his previous works, The Drive-Thru Crematorium and The Disassembled Man, are being adapted into films. He’s also working on new manuscripts, including a supernatural thriller inspired by Jewish mythology, a “weird dystopian tale” à la 1984 and a novel exploring mass hysteria.
“I actually finished The Memory Ward three years ago,” Bassoff says. “The funny thing about publishing is that it takes so long, I’ve finished multiple books. We’ll see which one, if any, comes out next.”
Despite his expanding literary footprint, Bassoff remains focused on the most rewarding aspect of the process: reader engagement. For Bassoff, leaving us questioning reality is the ultimate success.
“As a writer, you need to know exactly what happened in your story,” he says. “If you don’t, you didn’t do your job. But I did want this to be something where the reader could come up with their own conclusions. Who’s sane and who’s not? What’s actually behind the wallpaper?”
ON THE PAGE: The Memory Ward book launch events with Jon Bassoff. 6:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St. | 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont | 6-7 p.m. Friday, March 28, Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.
Longmont author Jon Bassoff celebrates the release of his latest novel, The Memory Ward, with book launch events this month in Boulder, Longmont and Denver. Credit: Toni Tresca
Upcoming book launch events for The Memory Ward will feature student artwork inspired by the novel. Credit: Miya Orton, Longmont High
DEAR WHOLE FOODS DADDY
Your burning Boulder questions, asked and answered
BY GABBY VERMEIRE
We all have questions and need advice, but sometimes the pseudo therapy in the Instagram stories of astrology girlies doesn’t cut it. Or maybe the gate-keeping culture of adventure bros has you fearing the judgment that comes with revealing yourself as a newbie at anything. This monthly advice column exists to hold space for you and your Boulder queries (especially the uncool ones).
wearing, possessor-of-literally-every-single-Yogi-tea goddess who regularly murders fuckboys by psychoanalysis. Or maybe you weren’t a fan of how she clocked your OCD after you started twitching when the yoga teacher forgot to do the left side of a sequence? Either way, you can’t dump a Boulder psychology girl without her journaling the ever living shit out of you so hard that you can feel it, even underneath the pile of women you can pull by using the words psychologygirl taught you.
The secret is that Boulder psychology girlies are all notso-secretly tarot girlies. Rig the Rider-Waite deck so she keeps drawing The Lovers and The Tower consecutively. Hopefully she’ll take the hint and break up with you in an emotionally articulate yet deeply confusing voice note, leaving nothing but the stains of her tea tree essential oil on your pillowcase.
How do you stop waiting for someone?
How do you dump a psychology Boulder girlie?
You are wise to tread cautiously, because they are hot but they are a LOT. Maybe you weren’t deep enough in your “evolved masculine” era to handle this maxi skirt-
Let’s say instead of waiting to receive true love from a CU grad student obsessed with his ex in NYC, you are waiting on a dear friend. You and bestie are running late for the 8:30 Vinyasa Flow I class at Yoga Pod, but bestie prioritized getting Ozo’s and flirting with the barista, as if Luigi’s Italian error taught us nothing, and now you can’t even track her location because her phone died. If you keep waiting, the only spot left will be directly in front of the instructor with your yoni as the central attraction (or maybe you want that, cool!)
Should you keep waiting on this person, or should you leave a note and get spots in the back for both of you?
This was going to be an analogy for why you shouldn’t wait for a fuckboy, but…you absolutely must wait for bestie, and do the walk of shame to the front of the class together. As for the other type of waiting, it’s not that they won’t come around, because they might. It’s just the time you lost waiting.
How do I get my housemates to pick up their crap and keep our house clean?
The Boulder Creative Housing Facebook page remains the sole marketplace for finding people with delusional expectations for living situations (“Transcendent communal living?” In this economy?) who will also pay a lot for a moldy sublet. Who would’ve thought a white man with dreadlocks who lists his profession as soul doula/entrepreneur/crypto king might be a shitty person to live with?
Nothing will ruin their shift at Native Roots like your message in the group chat asking to schedule a house meeting guided by the principles of kind and direct communication <3. At the meeting, you can break the news that your landlord (which is really you, but you lie about owning the house because who wants that type of dynamic, ya know?) will no
longer accept payment in Bitcoin from renters who leave their shit everywhere. Yeah it’s a weird rule, but hey, you don’t make ’em.
Is it weird to still be friends with all my exes? There are two reasons you could be asking this question. The first is that you’re pulling a not-too-subtle humblebrag, my friend. Honestly, no shame — these are heavy times and we can all be forgiven for doing the whole “Is it weird that I’m a dirtbag climber but also a wellpaid coder?”
The answer to both questions is no, it’s not, and like, go fuck your … I mean, leave some for the rest of us. Not all of us can maintain civil joint-custody arrangements for monsteras.
The second is that your current partner has mentioned that it’s “kinda weird that you’re friends with all your exes lol,” and you’re looking for validation from a fake advice columnist with questionable tastes in personal grooming and in men. Are we talking about friends who occasionally send each other memes or Kyle Lipton reels? Super normal! Or are y’all the kind of friends who go out to breakfast at Lucille’s, i.e. an intensely romantic experience that come-to-think-of-it is pretty inappropriate? It might be time for a *puke* conversation about boundaries.
My long term partner ended things to get back with his ex-wife.
Now what?
Now what? Honestly, just freak out. Freak. The. Fuck. Out. Become Diane Keaton in a Nancy Meyers movie and throw a salad on the floor and tear off your beige linen pants and run bareassed down the street. This is almost literally the worst heartbreak that can happen, so become like the archetypes in The Women Who Run with Wolves and howl at the fucking moon. Haven’t read it? I’m sure a Boulder psychology girlie could lend you hers.
Got a burning Boulder question? DM @ wholefoods_daddy on Instagram or email letters@boulderweekly with the subject line “Dear Whole Foods Daddy.”
Partner just dumped you for his ex-wife? Take a page from Diane Keaton in a Nancy Meyers movie and crash all the way out. Courtesy: Warner Bros.
Are you deep enough in your “evolved masculine” era to handle a Boulder psych girlie? Courtesy: Destin Gerek
Who would’ve thought a white dude with dreadlocks who lists his profession as soul doula/entrepreneur/crypto king might be a shitty person to live with? Courtesy: NBC / Saturday Night Live
6
BOULDER FASHION WEEK
7
7 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $12+
More than half a dozen young artists step into the spotlight during this showcase featuring local musicians between the ages of 15 and 18. Performers include Amiya Vashi, Neva Upton, Ella Seng, Chloe Ridgeview, Melody Blauw, Stryder Jones and The Harriman Sisters.
6
VOICES OF CHANGE: COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS ON IMMIGRATION
7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Longmont Museum 400 Quail Road, Longmont. Free
Immigrant stories take center stage during this panel discussion and screening of the PBS12 series, Humanize: Newcomers. Co-presented with the Longmont Multicultural Action Committee, the event is part of Longmont Museum’s Thursday Nights @ the Museum series featuring concerts, films and conversation.
6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, March 6 and Saturday, March 8, The Boulder Broker Inn, 555 30th St., Boulder. $23
It’s called fashion, sweetie, look it up! Don’t miss these two nights of runway shows and pop-up shops featuring local designers and boutiques. From the event page: “Whether you’re a fashion enthusiast or just looking for some style inspiration, this event is perfect for anyone who loves to express themselves through clothing.”
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SILENTS SYNCED: R.E.M. & BUSTER KEATON
8:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, Dairy Arts CenterBoedecker Theater, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $12
“RU Talkin’ R.E.M. RE: Me?” Actually, no one is talking during this special Friday Night Weird edition of Silents Synced, an ongoing showcase featuring mashups of silent films and unlikely scores. In this edition, Buster Keaton’s slapstick comedy Sherlock Jr. meets the music of Gen X standard bearers R.E.M. for a night of cinema and music. Check out the full FNW lineup at thedairy.org/friday-nightweird.
GLOW SKATE
6:45-7:45 p.m. Friday, March 7, The Apex Center, 13150 W 72nd Ave., Arvada. $2.50-$11.00
There may not be a dedicated roller rink in BoCo, but you can venture over the county line this Friday for a colorful, lightup night of movin’ and groovin’ on wheels. You’ll come home with a glow souvenir and tired legs.
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ASTRONOMY ON THE SIDEWALK
6:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, Downtown Longmont, Corner of 5th & Main Street. Free
Calling all urban astronomers! Keep your eyes to the sky during this downtown star party hosted by TinkerMill. A variety of large and small telescopes will be set up on the sidewalk for spectacular views of the first quarter moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Weather dependent (duh).
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AFTER SCHOOL ORIGAMI PAPER FOLDING
3:30-5:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, Firehouse Art Center, 667 4th Ave., Longmont. $35
Learn the ancient art of origami during this hands-on weekly youth workshop for ages 6-13 at Firehouse Art Center. Your kiddo will learn basic and advanced techniques to create hearts, butterflies, boxes, cranes and more with the guidance of instructor Junghwa Lee.
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WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE
6:30-9 p.m. Friday, March 7, 10916 County Road 5, Longmont. $55
Get the tools you need to escape a dangerous situation at this women’s self defense program presented by 4 Rings Tactical. Focusing on the HERA Method, this class offers “a holistic approach to self-defense, addressing not only the physical but also the mental and emotional components of safety.”
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BLACK FUTURES IN ART: ANCESTRAL MOVEMENT PRACTICE
1-2 p.m. Saturday, March 8, Dairy Arts Center. 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $10-$20
Find restoration, release and revival at this gentle somatic flow “nurturing the vibrant possibilities that arise when we embrace humanity’s interconnected beauty and heritage.” This movement practice led by Urban Sanctuary takes place in the Dairy Arts Center’s McMahon Gallery as part of the Black Futures in Art exhibition in celebration of Black History Month. Mats are provided and all levels are welcome.
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LONGMONT LOVES
Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 8, Firehouse Art Center, 667 4th Ave., Longmont. Free
Head to Firehouse Art Center for this clothing swap, food drive and art show benefitting Longmont Humane Society. Featuring a live DJ and activities for all ages, Longmont Loves is your opportunity to give back and go home with a little something for yourself.
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SECOND CHANCE COMEDY
7-9:30 p.m. Sunday, March 9, The Louisville Underground, 640 Main St., Louisville. $23
Comedy gets real during this standup showcase featuring comics sharing “raw, funny and deeply personal stories of resilience.” With a focus on addiction and recovery, 20% of profits support Sobriety House. Hosted by Tara Check, the lineup includes Elliot Broder, Donna Shannon, Joe Huisman and headliner AJ Finney.
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399: QUEEN OF THE TETONS
4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 10-11, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $15
Climate change, human encroachment, disputes over her endangered species protections, four cubs to raise — world famous Grizzly 399 has a lot on her plate. And with her death in October, the issues at hand in this 2024 documentary are even more pertinent. An audience favorite at the Crested Butte Film Festival, festival founder and director, Michael Brody, brings 399: Queen of the Tetons to the Boedecker Theater and will be on hand for a post-screening discussion.
Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.
LIVE MUSIC
THURS., MARCH 6
CONNOR GARVEY WITH ALEXA WILDISH. 6 p.m. Stone Cottage Studios, 1928 Pearl St., Boulder. $15
THE 360S 6 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free
MISHÉLL AND SERGEI GOVOROV. 7 p.m. Sunflower Art Studio, 6546 Finley Place, #200, Boulder. $29
HOLLY LOVELL WITH DAVID BURCHFIELD 7 p.m. The Times Collaborative, 338 Main St., Longmont. $18
PALOMINO BLOND WITH MOONPOOL AND BLACKBERRY CRUSH. 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $19
PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG WITH SQUEAKY FEET (NIGHT 1) 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $40
MIND’S EYE WITH CATHEDRAL BELLS AND BRŪHA. 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18
MAX MACKEY (WITH FULL BAND) AND RYAN DART. 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $14
BOTTLEROCKET HURRICANE 9 p.m. Mountain Sun Pub, 1535 Pearl St., Boulder. Free
BIG SOMETHING (AFTERPARTY!). 11:55 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $30
COVENHOVEN 6 p.m. Stone Cottage Studios, 1928 Pearl St., Boulder. $15
THE DEAD & DOWN 6 p.m. Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, 303 Main St., Lyons. Free
DAVID TILMON. 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20
PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG WITH SQWERV (NIGHT 2). 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $40
DEER CREEK SHARP SHOOTERS WITH SHOVELIN STONE 8 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $20
ORIONS BELTE WITH VINYL WILLIAMS 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $30
SUN., MARCH 9
BAROQUE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA. 11 a.m. Broomfield Library and Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road. Free
DAVE HONIG. 6 p.m. The Old Mine, 500 Briggs St., Erie. Free
LIVE MUSIC
ON THE BILL
What do Charli xcx and Chappell Roan have in common with sludgemetal sweetie pies Chat Pile? They’ll all be performing during this summer’s Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain. But you can catch one of them at Gothic Theatre on March 6, when the critically lauded noise-rock breakout returns to the Front Range in support of their latest album, Cool World, out now via The Flenser Flip to p. 14 for a feature on opening act Gouge Away, and scan the QR code for Chat Pile’s take on Colorado staples like jam bands, weed, hiking and more. Low ticket warning. See listing for details
WENDY WOO’S GIRL CRUSH. 6 p.m. Bricks on Main, 471 Main St., Longmont. Free
OH HE DEAD 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $25
CRUSH OF SOULS WITH WEATHERED STATUES PLAGUE GARDEN AND KILL YOUR CLUB DJS 7 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $12
LIME CORDIALE WITH THE ORPHAN AND THE POET 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $39
TUES., MARCH 11
NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS WITH JONTAVIOUS WILLIS 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $36
INTERVALS WITH VOLA AND ARCH ECHO. 7:30 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $41
DWLLRS WITH DOAN 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $20
WED., MARCH 12
ERIC GOLDEN. 6 p.m. The Stillery, 10633 Westminster Blvd. #900, Westminster. Free
MINISTREL IN THE GALAXY 6 p.m. Rosalee’s Pizzeria, 461 Main St., Longmont. Free
In accordance with Sec. 106 of the Programmatic Agreement, AT&T plans STREET POLE REPLACEMENT at 1019 PEARL ST BOULDER, CO 80302. Please direct comments to Gavin L. at 818-391-0449 regarding the site
Boulder Bookstore
UPCOMING MARCH EVENTS
ASTROLOGY
BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): The world’s darkest material is Vantablack. This super-black coating absorbs 99.96% of visible light, creating a visual void. It has many practical applications, like improving the operation of telescopes, infrared cameras, and solar panels. I propose we make Vantablack your symbol of power in the coming weeks. It will signify that an apparent void or absence in your life might actually be a fertile opportunity. An ostensible emptiness may be full of potential.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Among their many sensational qualities, rivers have the power to create through demolition and revision. Over the centuries, they erode rock and earth, making canyons and valleys. Their slow and steady transformative energy can be an inspiration to you in the coming months, Taurus. You, too, will be able to accomplish wonders through the strength of your relentless persistence — and through your resolute insistence that some old approaches will need to be eliminated to make way for new dispensations.
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Centuries before European sailors ventured across the seas, Polynesians were making wideranging voyages around the South Pacific. Their navigations didn’t use compasses or sextants but relied on analyzing ocean swells, star configurations, cloud formations, bird movements and wind patterns. I bring their genius to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are gaining access to new ways to read and understand your environment. Subtleties that weren’t previously clear to you are becoming so. Your perceptual powers seem to be growing, and so is your sensitivity to clues from below the visible surface of things. Your intuition is synergizing with your logical mind.
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): The Maeslant Barrier is a gigantic, movable barricade designed to prevent the flooding of the Dutch port of Rotterdam. It’s deployed when storms generate surges that need to be repelled. I think we all need metaphorical versions of this protective fortification, with its balance of unstinting vigilance and timely flexibility. Do you have such psychic structures in place, Cancerian? Now would be a good time to ensure that you have them and they’re working properly. A key factor, as you mull over the prospect I’m suggesting, is knowing that you don’t need to keep all your defenses raised to the max at all times. Rather, you need to sense when it’s crucial to assert limits and boundaries and when it’s safe and right to allow the flow of connection and opportunity.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): The authentic alchemists of medieval times were not foolishly hoping to transmute literal lead and other cheap metals into literal gold. In fact, their goal was to change the wounded, ignorant, unripe qualities of their psyches into beautiful, radiant aspects. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to do such magic. Life will provide you with help and inspiration as you try to brighten your shadows. We all need to do this challenging work, Leo! Now is one of your periodic chances to do it really well.
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Cosmic rhythms are authorizing you to be extra demanding in the coming days — as long as you are not frivolous, rude or unreasonable. You have permission to ask for bigger and better privileges that you have previously felt were beyond your grasp. You should assume you have finally earned rights you had not fully earned before now. My advice is to be discerning about how you wield this extra power. Don’t waste it on trivial or petty matters. Use it to generate significant adjustments that will change your life for the better.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): In North America, starlings are an invasive species introduced from Europe in the 19th century. They are problematic, competing with
native species for resources. They can damage crops and spread diseases that affect livestock. Yet starlings also create the breathtakingly beautiful marvel known as a murmuration. They make mesmerizing, ever-shifting patterns in the sky while moving as one cohesive unit. We all have starling-like phenomena in our lives — people, situations and experiences that arouse deeply paradoxical responses, that we both enjoy and disapprove of. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be prime time to transform and evolve your relationships with these things. It’s unwise to sustain the status quo. I’m not necessarily advising you to banish them — simply to change your connection.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Buildings and walls in the old Incan city of Machu Picchu feature monumental stone blocks that fit together precisely. You can’t slip a piece of paper between them. Most are irregularly shaped and weigh many tons. Whoever constructed these prodigious structures benefited from massive amounts of ingenuity and patience. I invite you to summon some of the same blend of diligence and brilliance as you work on your growing masterpiece in the coming weeks and months. My prediction: What you create in 2025 will last a very long time.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21):
Bioluminescence is light emitted from living creatures. They don’t reflect the light of the sun or moon, but produce it themselves. Fireflies do it, and so do glow-worms and certain fungi. If you go to Puerto Rico’s Mosquito Bay, you may also spy the glimmer of marine plankton known as dinoflagellates. The best time to see them show what they can do is on a cloudy night during a new moon, when the deep murk reveals their full power. I believe their glory is a good metaphor for you in the coming days. Your beauty will be most visible and your illumination most valuable when the darkness is at a peak.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19):
Capricorn-born Shah Jahan I was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 to 1658. During his reign, he commissioned the Taj Mahal, a magnificent garden and building complex to honor his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This spectacular “jewel of Islamic art” is still a major tourist attraction. In the spirit of Shah Jahan’s adoration, I invite you to dream and scheme about expressing your devotion to what you love. What stirs your heart and nourishes your soul? Find tangible ways to celebrate and fortify your deepest passions.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Over 2,100 years ago, Greek scientists created an analog computer that could track astronomical movements and events decades in advance. Referred to now as the Antikythera mechanism, it was a unique, groundbreaking invention. Similar machines didn’t appear again until Europe in the 14th century. If it’s OK with you, I will compare you with the Antikythera mechanism. Why? You are often ahead of your time with your innovative approaches. People may regard you as complex, inscrutable or unusual, when in fact you are simply alert for and homing in on future developments. These qualities of yours will be especially needed in the coming weeks and months.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): No cars drove through London’s streets in 1868. That invention was still years away. The roads were crammed with pedestrians and horses. To improve safety amidst the heavy traffic, a mechanical traffic light was installed — the first in the world. But it had a breakdown a month later, injured a police officer and was discontinued. Traffic lights didn’t become common for 50 years after that. I believe your imminent innovations will have better luck and good timing, Pisces. Unlike the premature traffic signal, your creations and improvements will have the right context to succeed. Don’t be shy about pushing your good ideas! They could revamp the daily routine.
Would it be inappropriate to introduce my girlfriend to the kink/ swinger scene if I plan to break up with her?
I’ve been unhappy for a decade, but I’ve been able to fake the funk until pretty recently. Now, the lack of sex is making her unhappy.
I’m considering joining a kink/swinger club to satisfy her needs while I’m unable. I’m honestly turned on by the idea of watching her with someone else, but she worries that the reality of seeing her with someone else will be too much. If I do get her to join the kink/swinger club and break up with her six months later, she’ll assume I broke up with her because seeing her with someone else broke me somehow.
SAVAGE LOVE
BY DAN SAVAGE
The real reason we are still together is that our child — legally her child (and now legally an adult) — is in a special program preparing him to live independently. I’m also working to pay off the credit card debt she built up over the years so she can actually afford to live on her own. The plan is to have her debt paid off by the time he graduates and then ask her to move out.
In the meantime, I’d like her to be sexually satisfied. While I’m no longer attracted to her, I want the best for her.
— Long Over And Done
It always sucks to get dumped, of course, and the realization your ex was planning to dump you for months or years can add to the humiliation and pain. But no one wants to get dumped at the worst possible time. An ex who held off until the blow would be a little less devastating did us a favor, even if it’s hard to admit.
Making sure your girlfriend’s debt is paid off and that her son (your son) gets the best possible start before you end things is absolutely the right thing to do, but I’m not convinced the kink/swinger club proposal is coming from the same altruistic place. If you think convincing her to attend a kink/swinger club with you might actually revive your sex life, it’s still a somewhat/semi-noble goal, and I will allow it.
My boyfriend, who is a 72-year-old man, wants to give our personal trainer (who is younger and hotter than me) an expensive piece of jewelry. I felt jealous and insecure when he brought this up, and I voiced my concerns to her. She told me that she sees the gift as a token of friendship and nothing more.
My boyfriend is a multimillionaire many times over. Maybe I don’t understand how rich people give gifts, as I’m not “from” money, but it seems strange. — Girlfriendly Instinct Flagging This
This man is not your husband, he’s your boyfriend; his millions are not your millions, they’re his millions. I can certainly see why thinking about this gift makes you uncomfortable, GIFT, but I don’t see an upside for you in trying to talk your boyfriend out of this.
While personal trainers sometimes ingratiate themselves to clients by engaging in a little harmless flirtation, very few personal trainers actually wanna fuck their clients — especially their elderly and/or monogamously partnered clients. So, while your boyfriend may get a little thrill out of giving this woman a piece of jewelry, she almost certainly regards this gift — a gift that, again, was already promised to her — as a very generous tip from a very well-off client she doesn’t wanna see naked.
Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan. Podcasts, columns, merch and more at Savage.Love
FATE AND BAKLAVA
Lafayette’s Kismet Cafe is a touch of destiny
BY JOHN LEHNDORFF
Fadya Bekta’s spanakopita is a delicate delight. The warm triangular pies brushed with olive oil are plump packages of fresh spinach, cheeses and eggs. It’s a revelation to slowly peel back layers of syrup-soaked filo and nuts on a piece of pistachio baklava.
These and other mouth-watering flavors are offered kindly in the warm space of Kismet Cafe. As its name suggests, Bekta’s decision to open a place of her own in Lafayette wasn’t a random chance.
After a long, successful career in video and film production and management, advertising and media, Bekta lost her job during the COVID pandemic. Suddenly, she was at home with her two young children and lots of free time.
“My daughter said, ‘Well, Mom, you always say you can’t make baklava because it’s so time consuming. Now you have time,’” Bekta recalls. “We made a batch and she said, ‘We should sell this to our neighbors.’”
She did, becoming a staple at the Louisville Farmers Market for the past few years before opening Kismet Cafe in October. The eatery sits near the corner of 95th Street and Arapahoe.
“People told me they could taste the love in my baklava,” Bekta says. “That’s when I decided they shouldn’t have to wait until farmers market season. I wanted to open a place where people could get together and eat some food that brings them comfort.”
SLOWING DOWN
The love that people taste has its roots in Bekta’s childhood. She grew up in Queens, a lively borough of New York City, trailing after her Albanian-Greek mother.
“From the time I was five years old, I followed my mom around the kitchen,” Bekta says. “She never had a recipe or measured anything, so I had to watch. I was persistent because I loved food.”
The family had strong connections to Turkey, inspiring a Turkish coffee service that has become a major draw at Kismet Cafe.
“You have to wait a few minutes for a Turkish coffee,” she says. “To brew it, you have to watch over it. There’s no button that presses a shot out. If you’re having a Turkish coffee, it’s a ritual that is supposed to be slow. My mom used to say: ‘The coffee doesn’t wait for you; you wait for the coffee.’”
Many visitors pair coffee or organic herbal tea with a treat like koulourakia butter cookies or bougatsa, a warm custard cream pie topped with crispy filo strips. Bekta bakes sweet, challah-like rolls dense enough to dunk and ideal for making French toast.
Baklava remains the star of the dessert array. Three varieties feature filo sheets layered with ground pistachios, walnuts or pecans and herb-infused syrup.
MEANT TO BE
Slowing down extends to the food Kismet serves. Diners sometimes mistake the cafe for a quick Greek sandwich restaurant, Betka says.
“People come in looking for gyros, but we’re a cafe. It’s the opposite of fast food. This is where you breathe and slow down.”
That, too, was learned at the family dinner table.
“I remember going to Greece and Turkey on family trips and sitting down for breakfast around 11 o’clock,” she recalls. “There’s this smorgasbord of food on a huge table that is just mind boggling. We would sit at the table for two hours and talk.”
NIBBLES AND NOSHES
Kismet has the perfect dish for a lingering, conversational lunch: the popular traditional Turkish mezze plate.
“It’s a bunch of different tastes on a platter that you nibble at,” Bekta says. “That’s intuitively how I like to eat.”
The platter features rice-stuffed grape leaf dolma, freshly baked flatbread, soft, salty Greek cheese and cucumbers.
Kismet sources the yogurt-based tzatziki, baba ganoush or hummus savory dips from Thornton’s appropriately named Yummy Yummy Products. Completing the lineup are filo-wrapped spanakopita.
“When guests see the mezze, they immediately start talking about the food,” Betka says. “It’s not just sticking a muffin in your mouth.”
The Cafe’s savory side includes Greek salads with sheep-milk feta and glutenfree sfougato, a hearty Greek quiche packed with potatoes, caramelized onions and bell peppers.
If you’re lucky, Karim Amirfathi will be in the house and available for Turkish coffee readings, the centuries-old fortune telling tradition. A café regular, the Iranian-born Amirfathi is wellknown to farmers market shoppers in Boulder and Longmont for products from his Altan Alma Farm.
Bekta has been surprised by the faces appearing at her front door.
“There is actually a lot of ethnic diversity in the Boulder County area, including at CU,” she says. “It’s people from Iran, Greece, Turkey or people who have visited. They are warmed by the fact that we have Turkish coffee.”
One cafe wall displays various goods including jars of Greek caramelized sweet onion jam, beautiful Persian textiles and small intricately woven carpets.
Kismet Cafe is open some evenings as a space for local cultural community events and for book groups to meet. Bekta plans to expand the menu and hours in the coming months as well as inviting more local musicians to perform.
“We’re not just selling the coffee or carpets,” Bekta says. “We’re explaining their cultural significance.”
A few months into operation, Kismet Cafe has become more than a simple COVID-era career change for Bekta.
“Kismet,” she says, “is what you are destined to do.”
From left: Employees Marie Thrash and Emily Niemeyer with owner Fadya Bekta at the Kismet Cafe. Courtesy: Kismet Cafe
A ladies’ group meets at Kismet Cafe in Lafayette. Courtesy: Kismet Cafe
Credit: John Lehndorff
NIBBLES
LOCAL FOOD NEWS: FOOD LAB TURNS 10
Happy anniversary to Boulder’s Food Lab, the cooking school founded in 2015 by Casey Easton. Food Lab is expanding to Denver this summer at 1250 S. Pearl St.
Coming soon: Pearl Poke, 2010 10th St., former home of the relocated Zoe Ma Ma. Owner Edwin Zoe has closed the second Zoe Ma Ma location at 1625 Wynkoop Street in Denver.
CULINARY CALENDAR: LETTUCE GROW
Make it more likely that your beloved produce survives from seed to table by taking a class now from Boulder experts. Growing Gardens offers vegetable gardening classes March 6 and March 8. growinggardens.org/ classes
Harlequin’s Gardens offers hands-on vegetable growing classes March 8 and March 16. bit.ly/ VeggieGardenBW Slow Food Denver hosts a tasting of Colorado wines March 8 in the Mile High City. State winemakers — including Boulder’s Bookcliff Vineyards — pour their wines with a sommelier-led tasting of the Western Slope’s top vintages. bit.ly/WineTastingBW
WORDS TO CHEW ON: HUNGERING FOR LOVE
“It happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it… It is all one.” — From The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher
John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles and Kitchen Table Talk on KGNU: kgnu.org/category/radio-nibbles.
Courtesy: Food Lab
Courtesy: Harlequin’s Gardens
ON DRUGS
MEXICO’S DRUG CARTELS, EXPLAINED
Corruption has more to do with U.S. demand than crooked politicians
BY NATHANIEL MORRIS THE CONVERSATION
The U.S. president, Donald Trump, asserted in early February that Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have an “intolerable alliance” with the government of Mexico. His remarks have cast a pall over bilateral relations already strained by recent talk of tariffs and military interventions.
Although the two nations have sometimes clashed in the past, Mexico is today a close U.S. ally. It is America’s top trading partner, with two-way commerce totalling $807 billion in 2023. And joint U.S.Mexican anti-narcotics collaborations stretch back nearly a century.
Trump’s accusation was, therefore, as unexpected as it was explosive. It has brought figures from across the Mexican political spectrum together in condemnation of what Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, called “baseless slander.”
The Mexican government is, on paper, a resolute enemy of the drug trade. However, the undeniable existence of drug-related corruption in Mexico means the reality is a little more complex.
LOOKING THE OTHER WAY
Since the birth of the Mexico-U.S. drug trade in the early 20th century, certain government officials have turned a blind eye to the activities of drug traffickers in exchange for bribes. This “indirect” government involvement in the drug trade has always been by far the most prevalent form of drug-related corruption in Mexico.
Nowadays, the indirect involvement of local representatives of the Mexican government in the drug trade has become a fact of life in such places. But zones of drug production or trafficking still constitute only a fraction of Mexico’s total territory. This means corrupt local officials comprise a tiny minority of the overall government workforce.
There are, however, also cases in which higher-level representatives of the Mexican state — or even entire government institutions — have participated directly in the production, transport or sale of illegal drugs.
Such cases are relatively rare. But they are inherently higher profile than the more routine, “looking the other way” kind of corruption. They are, therefore, more likely to make headlines in the U.S. and from there inform popular and even national political discourse.
enforcing prohibition to cut deals with traffickers. Resulting squeezes on supply also caused prices to soar and made such deals increasingly lucrative for government officials.
By the mid-1980s, the DFS had become so deeply immersed in the drug trade that several of its agents were implicated in the Guadalajara Cartel’s murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The agency was disbanded soon after.
But U.S. demand for drugs continued unabated through the 1990s and into the 21st century. The profits offered by
with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s Sinaloa Cartel.
AN INTOLERABLE ALLIANCE?
The indirect involvement of Mexican government officials remains far more common than direct or institutional involvement in the drug trade.
Such corruption is largely opportunistic, rather than systematic, which is why it remains concentrated in areas where drug production and trafficking are particularly prevalent. It is also not limited to the Mexican side of the border. Plenty of crooked American cops and politicians have cut deals with traffickers over the years, too.
After U.S. President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” on both sides of the border in 1971, increasing crackdowns provided more opportunities for the same Mexican officials charged with
involvement in the drug trade proved hard to resist for a select number of high-ranking government officials, including members of the federal cabinet and state governors.
Even Genaro García Luna, the architect of Mexico’s modern “war on drugs” ended up on the take. He is now serving 38 years in a U.S. prison for colluding
Trump’s recent attacks on the Mexican government are not an accurate diagnosis of a uniquely Mexican problem. They are more of a headline-grabbing shot across the bows in the context of the renegotiation of many different aspects of the U.S.-Mexico relationship.
In the end, the issue of drugrelated corruption in Mexico has less to do with its own government and more to do with American society’s own insatiable demand for drugs.
Crackdowns on the cartels inevitably cause the price of drugs to rise, increasing the temptation of Mexican officials to try and grab a piece of the pie.
Nathaniel Morris is an honorary lecturer in the Department of History at University College London. The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit newsroom featuring academic experts.
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, center, described Trump’s claim about government drug trafficking as “slander.” Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
