Q+A with Pulitzer biographer James McGrath Morris, Shakespeare’s Papers + Art
February/March 2011
THE HISTORY ISSUE
The Timeless Images & & Timeless Timeless Institutions Institutions of of
LISA LAW ´
EL ZAGUAN the LenSIC & MORE
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The History Issue february / march 2011
features
21 Anchor for the Arts Never just a movie house, the historic Lensic enters its second decade as the city’s premier performing arts center and community nexus.
24 Witness to the Revolution GABRIELLA MARKS
Countercultural participant-photographer Lisa Law opens up her vast archive—and about herself—in this visual trip through the 1960s and beyond.
16
Creature comforts for your creatures’ comfort
30 To Protect and Preserve The Historic Santa Fe Foundation keeps Santa Fe’s history—and the future of its buildings—alive.
courtesy lensic performing arts center
departments
21
The ballroom of the Lensic Theatre in the year it opened, 1931
35
Lyndall Bass’s Blue Nude triptych, oil on canvas, 12 x 12", at Chmar Gallery
6 Publisher’s Note 14 City Different The duo behind Shakespeare’s Papers 16 Santa Favorites Premier pet boutiques 18 Q+A Master biographer James McGrath Morris 20 Santa Fe Institutions Kaune’s—the epicurean’s epicurean corner grocery store
35 Art David Leigh’s pretty (twisted) pictures + reviews 47 Home Q+A: El Rancho de Las Golondrinas author Carmella Padilla 53 Dining Swooning for macaroons, chomping through Rio Chama and more 60 Hot Tickets 64 Day Trip
J I M VOG E L Time, Travelers, and Model Ts ARTIST RECEPTION
February 17–28, 2011
Thursday, February 17th 7–9pm in our new Scottsdale location
Chicos, oil on canvas on panel with handmade antique tin frame, 24"h x 18"w
Blue Rain Contemporary | 4164 N Marshall Way | Scottsdale | 480.874.8110 Blue Rain Gallery | Santa Fe | 505.954.9902 | www.blueraingallery.com
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publisher’s note
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Santa Fe is wrapping up its 400th anniversary, and much of the focus has been on events
Q+A with Pulitzer biographer James McGrath Morris, Shakespeare’s Papers + Art
that happened centuries ago. But important parts of Santa Fe’s history have occurred in just the last 100 years as well. In this our history issue, we focus on events that are bit more recent, though still an February/March 2011
intregal and fascinating part of Santa Fe’s past.
THE HISTORY ISSUE
We at the Santa Fean are proud to be headquartered on the third floor of the Lensic Perform-
THE TIMELESS IMAGES & TIMELESS INSTITUTIONS OF
ing Arts Center building. Our previous office was on the second floor, site of the former ballroom,
´ EL ZAGUAN THE LENSIC
where the floors are the original old maple wood, perfect for waltzing and jitterbugging. As I rolled
LISA LAW
my desk chair around on that floor, I often imagined the dancers who skimmed their way across it
& MORE
in the 1930s. We love being part of this iconic building. You will share our joy as you read about the Lensic Theater, its renovation, and its future as one of the Southwest’s premier cultural venues. A more eclectic and oft overlooked portion of our history is the role this region played in the hippie commune movement of the ’60s and ’70s. Local resident Lisa Law was there, and she captured
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the era with photographs of the characters she met, many of whom became famous. Photos don’t lie,
ON THE COVER Robert Highsmith creates muted watercolor landscapes that capture the beauty and stillness of New Mexico’s one-of-a-kind geography. The Las Cruces–based artist will be featured in an upcoming exhibit at Marigold Arts in Santa Fe; see page 38 for more information.
and seeing the images from the ’60s and ’70s brings the people and the mindset of that time back to life. Forty-some years later. Northern New Mexico is still attracting those looking for space, peace, and a closeness to nature. The great thing about history is that it continues to be written every day. At El Zaguán, the Historic Santa Fe Foundation preserves the past while also looking to the future by housing talented artists and providing a launchpad for their careers. There will no doubt come a day when future generations consider what we’re doing in 2011. I
Angus in Abiquiu Robert Highsmith watercolor, 20 x 14"
of our dear city. Enjoy!
BRUCE ADAMS
Publisher
MISSY WOLF
hope they find it meaningful and beneficial to the continued strength
In this issue, we are featuring Vueteligent. By scanning this symbol with your smartphone, you will immediately be connected to Santa Fe’s best calendar and our website.
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S A NTA F E A NS
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Q: What’s your favorite historical spot in Northern New Mexico? “I ‘discovered’ the town of Dixon while working as the still photographer on a short film,” says contributing photographer Carrie McCarthy (Day Trip, page 64). “Dixon was settled by Spanish colonists in 1725, and with a population of only 1,500, it’s still a bit like stepping back in time. It’s a great place to roam country roads and chat with farmers and artists, and the Dixon Community Bookstore is a treasure—books range from 25 cents to a couple of dollars, and it’s the honor system. You drop your payment in a coffee can.”
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“No place in New Mexico haunts me more than Chaco,” says Jan Adlmann, who wrote about Kaune’s Neighborhood Market in Santa Fe Institutions (page 20). “Its enchantment stems not only from its architecture but, perhaps most powerfully, from its utter desolation, many miles from our world, a place of ‘time out of mind.’ Wandering its pathways and, ideally, on a windy day, when the grasses and chamisa are sighing and the breezes whistle through chinks in the masonry—it takes little imagination to succumb to its sheer enigma. How does it go? In Shelley’s “Ozymandias”? ‘Round the decay / of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, / The lone and level sands stretch far away.’ ”
“My favorite place would have to be the Plaza and surrounding area,” says contributing writer Alicia Kellogg, who wrote this month’s Home section (page 47). “Here I feel like I’m walking among aspects of the city’s history, from the Palace of the Governors to the Santa Fe Trail to La Fonda hotel, which has been the site of an inn for hundreds of years. I like the fact that you can spend time in an area that looks much the same in photographs from 100 years ago as it does today. There’s something special about exploring the narrow streets amid Santa Fe’s distinctive architecture.”
J O R G E
Book Worm, oil and acrylic on canvas, 36 x 60
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All performances are held at The Lensic, Santa Fe’s Performing Arts Center.
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Visit the hip new Railyard Arts District where ten galleries plus SITE Santa Fe boast the best in international contemporary art. Housed in spacious warehouse-style buildings and within walking distance of each other, the galleries are open year-round and feature an Artwalk from 5-7pm the last Friday of every month. SANTA FE CLAY
BOX GALLERY Ted Laredo afterglow 1611A Paseo de Peralta 989-4897 www.boxgallerysf.com
Katherine Taylor 545 Camino de la Familia 984-1122 www.santafeclay.com
WILLIAM SIEGAL GALLERY
JAY ETKIN GALLERY Contemporary and Ethnographic Works of Art 703 Camino de la Familia,#3103 983-8511 www.jayetkingallery.com
Ancient Textiles & Objects & Contemporary Art 540 South Guadalupe Street 820-3300 www.williamsiegal.com
SITE SANTA FE
GEBERT CONTEMPORARY Dirk De Bruycker 544/550 S. Guadalupe Street 983-3838 www.gebertcontemporary.com
Ruth Claxton /Amy Cutler /Runa Islam through May 15 1606 Paseo de Peralta 989-1199 www.sitesantafe.org Ruth Claxton / Synthetic Worlds (detail) / 2010 –11 / Mixed media
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CHARLOTTE JACKSON FINE ART Charles Arnoldi 554 S. Guadalupe Street 989-8688 www.charlottejackson.com
JAMES KELLY CONTEMPORARY David Ryan A Race Car and Some Breakfast Cereal Feb 25 - April 23 1601 Paseo de Peralta 989-1601 www.jameskelly.com
LEWALLEN GALLERIES Daniel Clayman Contemporary & Modern Art 1613 Paseo de Peralta 988-3250 www.lewallengalleries.com
Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art and Photography 1601B Paseo de Peralta 984-1387 www.taigallery.com
ZANE BENNETT CONTEMPORARY ART New Paintings by Deborah Barlow 435 S. Guadalupe Street 982-8111 www.zanebennettgallery.com
RAILYARD ARTS DISTRICT SITE MAP
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Santa Fean (ISSN 1094-1487) is published bimonthly by Bella Media, LLC, 215 W San Francisco, Ste. 300, Santa Fe NM 87501. Periodicals postage paid at Santa Fe, NM and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Santa Fean P.O. Box 469089, Escondido, CA 92046-9710. february/march
2011
Your Art Should Say Something
Margarete Bagshaw “My World Is Not Flat” (2011) 54” X 84” oil on linen
3 Generations of Talking Art Pablita Velarde Helen Hardin Margarete Bagshaw
SMART PHONE
GALLERY LINK
201 Galisteo St., Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 505-988-2024 www.goldendawngallery.com *Exclusive Estate Representative for Helen Hardin and Pablita Velarde The best information and the largest selection of Pablita Velarde and Helen Hardin work - anywhere!
The New Mexico Committee of Women in the Arts
18 DAYS
p r esents
february 11 through march 20 2011
A 6-week cultural consortium of visual arts, film and performing arts showcasing and honoring outstanding women artists of New Mexico
......................................... This non-profit fundraising event benefits The New Mexico Committee of The National Museum of Women in the Ar ts and The Center for Contemporar y Ar ts
18 DAYS Visual Arts Exhibition (ongoing): ................................................
feb11-mar20 The Mu単oz Waxman Gallery at CCA, will showcase selected, outstanding New Mexican women artists in painting, mixed media, fiber, encaustic, photography and more. ALL WORKS ARE FOR SALE! Partial proceeds to benefit New Mexico Committee of The National Museum of Women in the Arts and The Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. Grand opening reception and ar t awards ceremony: Friday, Februar y 11, 5:30-8pm. This exhibition is free and open to the public every Fri., Sat. and Sun. through March 20. See ccasantafe.org for more details. This 18 DAYS event is proudly sponsored by :
CENTER for CONTEMPORARY ARTS
Many thanks to the film and perfor ming ar tists for donating their time and talent, as well as to the team of volunteers, making this non-profit 18 DAYS event a great success!
*
18 DAYS Film & Performing Arts Events: ................................................................. ..
february 11. Event kick-off opening RECEPTION & ART awards, Muñoz Waxman Gallery at CCA; MUSIC • Balkans by Romelia. 12. THEATRE • Leslie Dillen. 13. MUSIC • Maura Dhu-Studi; Sina Soul Trio. 18. DANCE • Keren Abrams 19. PANEL • ‘Women & Creativity’: Sallie Bingham, Janet Davidson, Diane Armitage + MUSIC • Nacha Mendez 20. YOGA • Pat Shapiro 24. MUSIC • Anna Maria 25. LUNCHEON Artfeast. 26. THEATRE • Suzanne Lederer. 27. POETRY • Elizabeth Raby.
march 4.
FILM • New Mexico Women In Film (NMWIF) • Alice Guy-Blanche documentary.
meet creatives + NMWIF 2010 Sage Awards, International Film Screenings.
11.
Bronwen Davis,director; Karen Leigh/Jeffrey Hayenga, actors.
18. 20.
6.
POETS PANEL • Renee Gregorio, Lauren Camp, Joan Logghe, Elaine Upton. MUSIC • Consuelo Luz, Miribai Daniels.
19.
13.
5.
FILM + NMWIF PANEL • Teens
POETRY • Lorraine Schecter.
12.
PLAY / Discussion •
PLAY • Rosemary Zibart
LUNCHEON • ‘Art of the Shoe’
WRITER • Discussion/Book signing: Anne Hillerman.
................................................. ticket prices, * For performance times & for more details, go to:
ccasantafe.org Center for Contemporary Arts 1050 Old Pecos Trail Santa Fe , NM
New Mexico Committee for Women in the Arts newmexicowomeninthearts.org
taught Shakespeare classes on cruise ships, lectured at the Globe Theatre, has a master’s degree in Shakespeare, and is currently working on her PhD on the Bard. “It’s about the study of Shakespeare out loud,” she says. “I’m trying to pinpoint when Shakespeare was taken away from the reader.” The subject matter is newer for Tollett, who was “hornswoggled” into the buzz around town helping Williams start the Papers. The two met when Tollett, a graphic designer who’d relocated from Dallas to Santa Fe in 1983, asked Williams to help him run a Mac users group. “It does push me to learn more about Shakespeare,” “As Shakespeare once said . . .” Well, Shakespeare said a lot. An CLASSICS awful lot. Enough to keep English departments in business for centuries. Enough he says. “And it pushes my design skills, too.” Loathe to give up their day jobs (Tollett still freelances to keep scholars and fans and Shakespeare-ophiles like Robin Williams and her partner John Tollett plenty busy, too. Williams, 57, and Tollett, 65, are the writer as a designer and works as a digital artist, and Williams still cranks out—grudgingly—O/S books), the Shakespeare couple and designer, respectively, behind the obscure but hoping-to-soon-be-less-obscure also read aloud an entire play twice a month with other bimonthly publication, The Shakespeare Papers (TheShakespearePapers.com). guests, and host The Understanders Group, where up to 12 “It combines a passion for graphic design and Shakespeare,” dissembles people pore through one play over a 16-week period. “Why Williams, a writer of computer books who in 1993 resettled here from Shakespeare?” asks Williams rhetorically, who returned to northern California. “It’s our labor of love. There’s no money in Shakespeare.” college at 24 as a single mother of three. “Shakespeare says it Maybe not money, but inspiration, definitely. Having produced 18 issues so far, and with a supportive national subscription base of 200, the Papers are small, fun, better than anybody else. And you can read it or see it over intriguing, edifying, entertaining alms-baskets of words that eschew Shakespeare’s and over and every single time something new shows up.” Having won three design awards over the years, the Papers Big Ideas and zero in instead on the symbolism of flowers, for instance, or the producers are hoping to widen their audience, and if not bring Jason and the Argonauts motif running through Much Ado About Nothing. “Each Shakespeare to the masses then at least make readers less afraid one opens up people’s eyes to some new features,” says of the man and his works. “A number of people who don’t love Williams. “Like rhetoric or devices of words. Shakethe Papers should love them—they’re nice, they’re valuable,” says speare scares a lot of people, and he shouldn’t. You don’t Williams, who recently discovered herself to be a “born Stoic” have to give a hoot about Shakespeare to like him.” and who hopes to one day publish a series of readers’ editions Williams—who has a 9,000-volume-strong library—has of the Bard. “And I think they prove that you don’t need to be an expert in order to read Shakespeare. Just jump in. It’s not rocket science.”—Devon Jackson
Imagery Courstesy of the Shakespeare papers
Their Love’s Labour
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art of adornment
Jane Freese
jewelry Karen Melfi appreciates a little rainfall as much as any other Santa Fean. But the torrential storms that hit early last July brought more water than her Canyon Road jewelry store, Karen Melfi Collection, could handle. Melfi was forced to close for eight weeks—the longest period in her store’s 21-year history—to deal with water damage. She reopened in September with newly refinished display cases, a new floor and ceiling, and four new artists in her stable of more than 30 jewelers, most of whom are from this region. “I want to support New Mexico artists, and my customers really like to be able to buy pieces crafted by local artisans,� says the 66-year-old jewelry designer. Karen Melfi Collection carries contemporary pieces, with prices from $58 (earrings made with brass, freshwater pearls, and Swarovski crystals) on up into the thousands (18-karat gold and raw-diamond pieces designed by Melfi herself ). The shop’s newest Santa Fe designs are by Lufu—airy sterling silver pieces accented with chunky stones like chalcedony and fluorite—and Lucy and Jo, a line that combines brass, sterling silver, glass beads, and frayed linen, among other objects, to create asymmetrical necklaces, bracelets, and rings with an ethereal tribal feel. As for jewelry trends this spring, Melfi says record-high gold and silver prices are leading designers to explore the creative use of materials like iron and steel, which make for surprisingly elegant finished pieces.—Dianna Delling
�elebra�ing 10 �ears
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T H E L E N S I C I S A N O N P R O F I T M E M B E R S U P P O R T E D O R G A N I Z A T I O N
february/march
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| S A N TA FA V O R I T E S |
Wags to Riches
s hops for t he do g a nd cat (a nd t he ir huma n g ua rdia ns!) who have e ve r yt hi ng by Di a n na Delli ng
photo graph y by G abri ella Ma r k s
We could argue over the sanity of people who treat their pets—er, animal companions—like family members and pamper
them with the best in food, bedding, and accessories. But we won’t, because we know exactly where they’re coming from. Plus, we’ve visited Santa Fe’s top-of-the-line pet boutiques, and we know firsthand how hard it is to leave any one of them empty-handed. The city has always had its share of well-stocked pet stores. But Teca Tu, which opened in 1995 in the Sanbusco Center in the Railyard, was Santa Fe’s first true pet boutique: a higher-end shop with trendy merchandise selected to appeal to well-heeled, design-conscious customers. The “Pawsworthy Emporium and Deli,” as it bills itself, is brimming with fancy beds, toys, treats, leashes, and other dog and cat accessories that scream “Blackie needs me!” with their impressive quality, over-the-top novelty, or both. Want a good-luck milagro to hang on your dog’s collar? A customupholstered cat bed to perfectly match your décor? Owner Laurie Wilson can lead you to just the right section of this warm, 1,400-foot space. Teca Tu is known for its Southwestern-style “Vestido” dog jackets, which store managers cut and stitch from colorful Pendleton wool blankets. Dog collars and leashes in black, red, and turquoise leather and suede, adorned with sterling silver conchos and real turquoise, are favorites among visitors wanting to bring a little bit of New Mexico back home. An expansion project on deck for 2011 will double Teca Tu’s floor space, reports Wilson, who’s owned the store since 2005. That means more unique merchandise and a new section stocked with premium dog and cat food. Zoe and Guido’s, a couple blocks east of Teca Tu, did some growing of its own last year. In business since 2006, the store recently moved around the corner to a bigger, 3,100-square-foot location in the Peralta Center, on Cerrillos Road near Paseo de Peralta. With high ceilings, cement floors, and walls brightly
Pooch Pantry 229a Johnson 505-820-1130, poochpantry.com
Zoe & Guido’s 607A Cerrillos 505-988-2500, zoeandguidos.com
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painted in plum, teal, and green, the new space is airy, cheerful, and perfect for displaying Zoe and Guido’s vast selection of goods for dogs and cats, much of it with a colorful, contemporary edge. If you’re in the market for statement-making food and water bowls in an array of fun colors and patterns—or treats containers attractive enough to show off on your countertop—look no further. You’ll also find jackets in fleece, cotton, angora, and (great for hiking or cross-country skiing) water-resistant fabrics, along with collars in nylon and leather, in every color imaginable. “Everything we carry is something I’d want to have in my own home,” says owner Pam Hagan, whose finely tuned aesthetic—urban hip meets MoMA—is apparent the minute you walk in the door. Pooch Pantry Bakery and Boutique, tucked inside a freestanding historic building on Johnson Street, next to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, carries a fun, if smaller, selection of pet paraphernalia. But the year-and-a-half-old store’s specialty is healthy, all-natural dog treats, made on site daily by owners Daphne Wright and Geno Baca. Using what Wright calls “human-grade” ingredients like molasses, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, and unsweetened carob, the pair create tasty, attractive cookies and cakes—many with cream cheese or yogurt-based frostings—that can be purchased by the piece or in gift-ready packages. (One regular customer, Wright reports, buys one peanut butter cookie for his dog, and two for himself—they’re that good.) Most bakery items are grain-free and gluten-free, so they’re perfect for dogs with allergies or those on special diets. In fact, Wright’s own special-needs dog, who had diabetes, inspired her to open the bakery in the first place. “So many of our pets’ health problems are related to the food that they eat,” she says. Which is why she also stocks a large selection of raw and all-natural dog foods, in varieties like roasted bison and venison, and duck and sweet potato. Not surprisingly, the folks who run Santa Fe’s specialty pet stores are an exceptionally compassionate bunch, and all host regular adoption days, working with local shelters and rescue groups to connect healthy, well-socialized pets with prospective owners. In addition, they donate supplies and food to area shelters. “We’ve given more than one thousand pounds of food to the Santa Fe and Española animal shelters,” says Pooch Pantry’s Wright. They also offer obedience classes and sponsor social events (like Zoe & Guido’s Small Dog Happy Hour). Ask about special events when you stop in for a visit, or check out the stores’ websites to see what’s coming up.
Teca Tu Sanbusco Market Center, 500 Montezuma 505-982-9374, tecatu.com
february/march
2011
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| Q + A |
James McGrath Morris t h e a r t of t he bio g raphe r i nte r vi e w by De von Jack s on
James McGrath Morris published his first
try. I loved the magazine, I didn’t like the subject. But I came across this journal that Thomas
How do you research your books?
Jefferson had written, kind of a reverse de
my golden rule is: Everything has to be kept
Tocqueville about wines and vineyards in Europe.
chronologically. Also, even though there’s no real
I published that and moved from magazines to
definable value in this, I always go to the places I
buying a book-publishing company in D.C. in
then, the 56-year-old Washington, D.C. native
write about. It’s purely romantic. When I wrote
1988, Seven Locks Press. We published public
about Makó, Hungary [Pulitzer’s birthplace], for
has distinguished himself as a biographer non-
affairs books, Bill Moyers, books about Agent
instance, in Pulitzer, it cost me several thousands
pareil: his 2004 biography of Charles Chapin,
Orange, the Civil Rights Movement, the environ-
of dollars to get there. Is it worth it? I’d hate to
ment. It was terrific fun but a complete financial
know but I got that one great sentence out of it.
story, about New Llano, a Socialist cooperative colony of the early 1900s just outside Silver City, in the New Mexico Historical Review shortly after moving to Albuquerque in 1977. Since
The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, and Redemption, was a Washington Post
folly. I got out in 1991.
I go to the UNM library. I use index cards. But
Do you consider yourself a journalist or a biographer?
Didn’t you teach high school around that time?
What I do is no different from being a reporter—
A Life in Politics, Print, and Power, about media
I did, for 10 years. In suburban Fairfax County.
after all, you’re standing on the shoulders of others
baron Joseph Pulitzer (the paperback of which
And you were still teaching when you published Jailhouse Journalism and The Rose Man of Sing Sing?
who’ve done a lot of work. But I write narrative
Best Book of the year, and last year’s Pulitzer:
comes out in April), received just as much praise. Currently the editor of Biographer’s
Yes. I went into the archives. I’d already written
nonfiction. I’m stealing techniques from novelists to make the story more interesting. The details I
the Jailhouse manuscript and had tried to get it
get from old newspapers like The New York World
published years before but it’d gotten rejected. So
make the scene so much easier and more fun. But
this time I went with a small publishing house.
the volume of articles you have to read is more
From that I got a contract to do The Rose Man,
overwhelming. There are three to four companies
biography of anarchists Emma Goldman and
because there was a chapter on him in Jailhouse.
in the U.S. who are taking old collections of
Alexander Berkman.
This was the biography of Charles Chapin?
newspapers and converting those into digital
Right. The editor of Sing Sing’s newspaper, in the
images. But here’s the rub: ProQuest, one of the
1920s. He was really the Ben Bradlee [executive
most popular, is like Chevrolet. Which means that
editor of The Washington Post, 1968-1991] of that
not necessarily mean every Chevy is on the lot. So
Craft, Morris moved to Tesuque four years ago with his wife, Patty McGrath Morris, and has been hard at work on his next tome, a joint
How did you end up in New Mexico? My best friend wanted to write a biography of Bronson Cutting, a New Mexico state senator of the 1930s who’d bought The New Mexican. I came out with him. I took some classes at UNM on Willa Cather and labor history. Then I worked
time. His life is a window into one of the most exciting lives of a journalist in mass media of the 20th century.
’n roll station, covering the state legislature and
And Chapin’s publisher was Joseph Pulitzer, so naturally . . .
the state prison. After a while there I moved to
An editor at Harper’s called to ask me if I’d like
Missouri and did the same thing there—working
to write a biography of Pulitzer. Because I’d used
as a capitol correspondent and covering the pris-
Pulitzer’s papers, the Harper’s editor said, Jamie’s
on there, too. Eventually, I visited 20 to 25 state
equipped to do this.
as a radio reporter at KRKE, a bubble-gum rock
prisons. There’s even a plaque in San Quentin naming me as an honorary prisoner.
But why write another biography of Pulitzer? There hadn’t been a good one since 1967. What
Then you returned to D.C.
we didn’t know would happen is we’d find new
Yes. I set up a stringing news operation. It was
material. And we did. Why? The digitization of
myself and a young college kid who went on to
newspapers. Tiny collections like the historical
produce that song, “Who Let the Dogs Out?” and
society in Ohio are now online. That’s how I
became the president of Columbia Records. I
found out Pulitzer’s wife was having an affair.
married. I moved to Ithaca. I worked for Gannett (the Kmart of journalism), and then for a trade magazine that covered the grape and wine indus-
I also had a hunch I’d find this missing manu-
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script written by Pulitzer’s brother. That was my Indiana Jones moment.
you have to become one with the search.
basically, I have a very monastic life. I go for a four-
people to have different interpretations of their
Are you ever not in the world of your subject?
mile walk every day. Then I slip into the 19th century.
past—which is so unlike most other U.S. cities.
I spend four days a week writing and researching and
Has it helped your writing, living here, as opposed to being in New York?
Granted, the dominant culture usually has the larger
one day a week managing an organization of biographers. My world is seamless. When I’m doing administrative work I’m still doing my craft.
Does it get lonely? Extraordinarily lonely, so having someone to talk shop with is incredibly valuable. It connects me. I’m the Eloise of the biography business now. I correspond with people who don’t know how to do certain research, and I hook them up with research teams in New York, Russia.
Do you enjoy that isolation, being enveloped in a different time and place? You get paid to learn something new every day. It’s what I loved about reporting. It is escapist. I’m living
Well, I don’t have to apply to any writing colonies—I live in one. And there is something romantic about New Mexico that activates people’s creative spirits. It’s hard to be mundane here. It pushes you. When I’m writing here, I feel the need to compose a better sentence. I feel freer, too. Being in Santa Fe is the closest you can come to living outside the U.S. I feel like an expat here. This is where I’m going to die. This is my community. But I’m not a New Mexican. I’m a Frenchman in New York. I can volunteer—and I do. At Tesuque Elementary School. And my wife and I run the Alternative Gift program. But I’ll never be a New Mexican. That’s a sign of respect, not disrespect.
voice—history usually is written by the light of the victor’s campfire. But it’s definitely more open here. And there are many more Native and indigenous voices being heard and getting heard today than there have been in the past. And that’s significant and worth noting. If you’ve been oppressed you may not feel it’s enough, but there’s an enormous change there.
So all in all you like it? Oh, there’s no other place in the U.S. that when I go to the library I’m walking through the oldest continually used city in the country. Everything in the U.S. is destroyed or torn down and then built up. Here you can commune with the past on a daily basis. Williamsburg is fake; Santa Fe is real. And it’s so elitist to complain about the Disneyfication of Santa Fe. Pulitzer would’ve condemned that complaining,
back then, I can tell you all about their sex lives, the
That’s odd and sort of depressing, though I see what you’re saying.
different routes of the buses and the subways, the
But Santa Fe’s culture is more open to allowing
down on the rung: He was one of them.
in the 19th century. I can tell you what people wore
too. Because he understood the fate of people lower
politics back then. I know that whole world.
How do you decide whom to write about? The most important criteria has to be the subject. Can you live with someone for three to four years? If not, it precludes you from writing the book. It’s very hard to write about someone who’s not famous. Biography’s a strange art. You’re better at it the older you get. You don’t develop empathy about portions of a person’s life the way you do as an angry young man. It’s also like being a portrait artist. Historians are landscape painters, biographers are portraitists. And I couldn’t write a life about Hitler—it doesn’t have to be inspirational but pure evil I won’t do.
But your books aren’t just biographies—they’re also social histories. I like to take on bigger issues. The larger story of this
There is something romantic about New Mexico that activates people’s creative spirits. It’s hard to be mundane here. It pushes you.
book on Goldman and Berkman, for example, is how misunderstood anarchism was and still is today. I try to recast anarchy as a viable political thought. And the limits of free speech were debated over back then— just as they still are today. Those issues don’t die.
Why Goldman and Berkman? I fell in love with her when I was 18. I’ve always wanted to write about her. And now I’m at a place where I can do it.
Do you hobnob with other writers here? This is a writing town. There are more writers per capita here in Santa Fe than in any other city in the U.S. If you know the secret handshake you can get a meeting with another author in five minutes. But
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| S a n t a Fe I n s t i t u t i o n s |
the Dean & Deluca of the Southwest By Ja n E. Adlma nn
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very likely the staunch and steady customers who underpin the store’s obvious success (there are, at last count, some 600 charge accounts), though who these personages might be, and what sort and size of tabs they might maintain, will forever remain secret. (And finding them out might only puncture one’s romanticized notions anyway.) Quite likely, one lady (is that an Italian accent?) purchases nothing more than a must-have, monthly jar of Nutella hazelnut butter. Just as surely, others require regular deliveries of heavenly aged, sinfully thick steaks (the meat department has the air of a Parisian vraie charcuterie), an occasional case of prosecco Italian bubbly, or a minuscule can of black truffles from the locked showcase (which also contains such extravagances as Madagascar bourbon vanilla sugar and $200 Rothschild Opus One wine). Displaced Germans, for instance, likely fall, gratefully and a little amazed, on such delicacies as fried herring in spicy marinade (Rueggenfisch), aus Hamburg, and the heady coffee from Munich’s Dallmayr’s, while Italian expats find comfort in the time-honored Illy’s coffee from Trieste. There, too, is New Orleans’s Café du Monde chicory coffee, and burlap bags of 100 percent Jamaican Blue Mountain beans—at $36 the pound. And the teas! Suffice to say that there are seven shelves, all nine feet long, jammed with every imaginable leaf. A vignette, which seemed to say it all—or nearly so—caught our eye one day as we were about to quit the store. One client, an elderly grande dame,
likely possessing a longstanding account, could be seen swanning down the aisle, trailed at a respectful distance by a companion pushing her cart. Periodically, the lady would airily gesture—at a bottle of pomegranate-champagne vinegar or some New Mexican hickory/almond mustard— whereupon the mute assistant deposited it in her cart. If that didn’t say it all, it spoke volumes about the clientele that treasures Kaune’s. Kaune’s Neighborhood Market, 511 Old Santa Fe Trail, 505-982-2629, kaunes.com
GABRIELLA MARKS
It’s quirky, it’s small, it’s local. And while it may not rival the sheer volume of viands and groceries on offer at the vast chain-store competitors newly come to town—or call to most people’s minds the redolence of old Stamboul’s Spice Bazaar, or the color and clamor of the souks of Marrakech— Kaune’s Neighborhood Market has nonetheless held its own in the imaginations, affections, and discriminating palates of countless Santa Feans across generations. Moreover, Kaune’s delivers. And one can keep a running charge account. Exquisitely positioned at the very gateway to the city’s old East Side, historically the area first targeted and meticulously enhanced by affluent settlers from the East, Kaune’s (we all say “Connie’s”) has been a Santa Fe fixture since 1896. At one time the city’s foremost chain, it once consisted of five general stores. The operation has dwindled over the years—though hardly diminished—to its modest (7,500 square feet) but always bustling present home, which opened in 1950 at the juncture of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta, near the State Capitol. In 2003, Cheryl Pick Sommer, an attorney and the daughter of Sam Pick, Santa Fe’s greatly admired mayor of many years, purchased the store. She bought it, she has said, because owning a supermarket seemed “somewhat of a romantic idea . . . there’s something about the atmosphere of the place.” Sommer and her staff, several of whom are longtime employees, have tweaked Kaune’s considerably, most notably, adding wine, beer, and liquor to the shelves in 2006. But the original flavor of the establishment—that romance, that atmosphere— lives on. Kaune’s is not “stocked,” it is curated. While today’s Kaune’s seems thoroughly up-to-date in all respects, for this writer, it will forever exude the faint but pervasive whiff of a far gentler, more genteel era. A time when, for example, proper households on Beacon Hill only traded at S. S. Pierce, where they could depend on finding the victuals and sundries they could not live without, i.e., superb, house-canned goods (legendary mulligatawny soup springs to mind) or Russian cigarettes and Indian chutneys. The same sort of old-time tradition of a fervent clientele—along with service marked by punctilio and élan—prevails at Kaune’s today. Indeed, it is
Anchor for the
Arts by Devon Jackson
COURTESY robert reck
Never merely a movie house, the historic Lensic enters its second decade as the city’s premier performing arts center and community nexus
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n the midst of the Great Depression, a dry-goods merchant and immigrant with the Americanized name of Nathan Salmon (born Na’aman Soleiman in Biskinta, Syria—now Lebanon—in 1866), along with his son-in-law and fellow immigrant Elias John Greer Sr. (born in Beirut in 1900), had the pie-eyed idea to build a movie theater in the midst of downtown Santa Fe. Inspired by a Spanish-Morroccanstyle theater he’d seen while on a trip to El Paso, Salmon envisioned his grandiose venture as “the wonder theater of the Southwest,” one whose architects he’d hired to design it, Robert and Carl Boller of Kansas City and Los Angeles, would outdo the other unique projects they’d already finished in New Mexico (Albuquerque’s KiMo Theatre, done up in a distinctive Pueblo-Deco style in 1927, and Gallup’s equally MorroccanDeco-y El Morro, in 1928), one that would not only serve as the nickelodeon bar none for all of northern New Mexico but would also boast an upstairs dance hall, a roof garden, an exclusive men’s club, and several private rooms for the town’s bridge-playing ladies. Long before Field of Dreams turned it into a New Age-y mantra—If you build it, they will come—and far more risky an undertaking than building an imaginary baseball diamond, Salmon and Greer did indeed build it, and come they did. For decades. And then they didn’t. So a plucky, focused, well-connected, energetic, and determined camp of Lensic diehards banded together and decided to renovate it. But once it was renovated, would they—the people, audiences, Santa Feans—come back? Lucky for the Lensic, for its first 70 years primarily a theater and for the past decade in its new incarnation as a—as the—performing arts center of Santa Fe, people have come back. All kinds of people and for all manner of entertainment. Bluebloods and bohemians, schoolkids to scholars, natives, tourists, immigrants, anyone and everyone interested in Joe Hayes, Laurie Anderson, the Wise Fool circus troupe, Bartók, ballet, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Lawrence of Arabia, Big Head Todd, the list goes on and on. The challenge now, though, revolves around the usual (raising money) and the abstract (changing the public’s perception of just how the Lensic earns its keep). And all the while—through all that fundraising and rebranding of itself—maintaining the quality of its venue, the quality of what it offers, and its commitment to the community. “A lot of people’s perception is that we don’t have any money problems, or that we get money from the City or that we own the building—but we don’t,” says Lensic general manager Bob Martin, who relocated from Seattle to Santa Fe in 1998 to oversee its future, two months before the renovation began. “If people want it to be beautiful and contemporary, we need to make those upgrades and changes.” Understand, Martin’s not complaining. Not at all. He, and others at the Lensic (on staff, on its board), are merely aware of the notion— misguided—that many people have of the space. Yes, it ran as a privately owned business from 1931 to 1998, but when it reopened in 2000, it reemerged as a nonprofit. And it still is. And the people who brought it back to life reenvisioned it and re-created it with the goal of making it not only an arts collaborative but a community barnraising-type of facility open to all Santa Feans. The problem public image–wise was that the make-up of its core charter organizations—Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe Concert Association, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Santa Fe Stages, and Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus—created the errone22
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Opposite page: Looking east up San Francisco at dawn, 2002; above: the Lensic in the 1930s. Built on the site of a saloon, the Lensic charged 25 to 75 cents a ticket, featured vaudeville shows, seats that rocked, and an upstairs ballroom—where future Santa Fe mayor Larry Delgado (1998–2006) courted his wife. “Lensic” came from a Mrs. P.I. Smithwick, who received $25 for her winning entry in response to an open call from Nathan Salmon for the theater’s name, Lensic being the initials of Salmon’s grandchildren: Lila, Elias John Jr., Nathan, Sara, Mary Irene, and Charles.
“I’d like to see more people in the community, who have the wherewithal and the knowledge, become involved and help keep the Lensic vibrant,” says Alexis Girard, great-granddaughter of Lensic founder Nathan Salmon. Santa Fe philanthropist Nancy Zeckendorf led the late-90s charge to renovate the Lensic Theater, spearheading the effort to raise the $8.2 million needed to turn the charming historic theater into a state-of-the-art performance space and cultural hub. After setting up the Lensic as a nonprofit, Zeckendorf and Lensic compatriots hired the country’s foremost restoration firm, Conrad Schmitt Studios, of New Berlin, Wisconsin. They also enlisted the services of Santa Fe preservation expert Craig Hoopes as project architect, and asked Hugh Hardy, the man behind the restoration of New York City’s New Victory, Amsterdam, and Joyce Theaters, to consult in developing the master plan.
What was involved in the renovation, which took 24 months to complete and involved more than 250 workers? • The orchestra pit was enlarged to accommodate 40 musicians • The stage was enlarged to a depth of 40 feet • A state-of-the-art, computer-controlled sound system was installed, allowing sound engineers to achieve the best acoustics possible by quickly and easily adjusting microphones and other elements as needed (depending on the type of performance being presented) • Four 100-foot steel columns (weight of each one: 20,000 pounds) were installed and the stage roof was raised from 59 to 70 feet • Decorative plaster finishes throughout the building were repaired and refinished • Dressing rooms, storage rooms, administrative office spaces, and a green room (for performers) were added • The old fabric-draped ceiling, which included 32 twinkling lights that twinkled like stars, was—unfortunately—taken out • New seats were installed and the space was reconfigured, with capacity decreasing from 1,200 to 821
Courtesy LENSIC performing arts center
ous impression among average Santa Feans that those high-culture groups reflected some sort of exclusivity that in turn was a reflection of the tastes of the people who’d worked so hard to preserve the Lensic (ironically, as the place for everyone). People such as Bill and Nancy Zeckendorf, Nancy being a tireless Lensic champion and onetime ballet dancer who spearheaded, almost singlehandedly, the $8.2 million fundraising campaign; Salmon’s great-granddaughter Alexis Girard of Greer Enterprises; and Anne Marion of Fort Worth, Texas, whose Burnett Foundation plunked down the initial hefty lead donation that got everything rolling moneywise and who, along with her husband John, had also helped fund into existence the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the visual arts center at the College of Santa Fe (now the Santa Fe University of Art & Design). Back then, the money raised went toward the renovation; today, as it enters its second decade (or
ninth overall), the Lensic hopes to raise upwards of $1 million over the next 10 years, which it will use to offset the cost of having purchased the building outright and to cover new seats and new technologies (a lightboard, a soundboard). “We need to raise this money to keep the Lensic state of the art,” says Zeckendorf, the founding director and board chair. “We’re very dependent on people who love the Lensic and on their contributions.” “I’d like to see more people in the community, who have the wherewithal and the knowledge, become involved and help keep it vibrant,” says Girard. “When people see a sold-out house, they don’t often understand the costs involved in running an institution of this nature.” Relying on a budget that’s half box-office earnings and half raised from contributions, at an operating cost of close to $3,000 a day, while putting on over 200 events a year—some of which, including high
school shows, the theater stages pro bono—it’s more than impressive that, “In a bad economy,” notes Martin, “we didn’t lay off anyone.” So not only have Martin and his staff been frugal with the money they’ve had, their fiscal responsibility has prevented them from having to go hat in hand (to the board, to potential donors), pleading, Save us. “We never did that,” says Martin with pride. “We’ve come from a proactive and positive place.” Proactive, positive, and panhuman. “I never dreamed we’d be doing as many things as we have,” says Zeckendorf. “We cover as many demographics as we can, but maintaining the audience we have is more important than trying to grow an audience,” says Martin, who considers himself not so much the Lensic’s manager as its steward. “I feel like people see the Lensic as an addition to what the city has to offer. It’s not just a place where the arts happen,” he adds. “It’s where the community comes together.”
Clockwise from top left: The star-studded 1940 premiere of Santa Fe Trail, with Ronald Reagan (waving to the crowd of thousands), Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland (who came down with appendicitis that night and had her appendix removed at St. Vincent Hospital); the Lensic in 1957, with its Spanish-language sister theater, the Alley, also built by Salmon and son-in-law, Elias John Greer Sr., in 1938 (Salmon also owned the Paris Theatre, which he opened on San Francisco in 1913); the Lensic in 1934, three years after some Santa Feans had derided it as “pseudo-Moorish” and full of “Hollywood bombast”; one of the many acts that entertained Lensicgoers throughout the 1930s and 40s.
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Witness to by Dianna Delling
the Revolutio Lisa Law’s
Iconic Images
of Northern New Mexico
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This Page: Lisa Law today, in a portrait taken by her daughter, Pilar Law. Opposite: Lisa Law’s photograph of Hog Farmers Paul and Laura Foster sharing a wedding kiss at the 1968 summer solstice celebration in Aspen Meadows. Lisa and Tom Law were married at the event the following year, in a ceremony led by Indian spiritual leader Yogi Bhajan.
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A
s Woody Allen once famously put it, 80 percent of success is just showing up. And show up Lisa Law did. HaightAshbury in its heyday? Law was there. Woodstock? She was there too. While most of her 1960s peers were dropping out, Law—again mining Allen—had a kind of Zelig-like knack for being at the right place at the right time, and never without her camera. First on the West Coast and later in Northern New Mexico, she photographed everything and everyone, chronicling her fellow hippies, yippies, and dropouts, the Hispanic locals, the native Native Americans (from Taos and other pueblos)—pretty much anyone who came into her viewfinder. Today, Law lives and works on Santa Fe’s west side, in a modest adobe that’s filled with a million little pieces of history. Photographs—all taken by Law, many of them black and white—are everywhere: in cardboard boxes, in metal drawers, in safes, on lightboxes, on her desks, on her computers. Hanging on the walls, along with multiple images of her four children, are prints she’s made of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, hippies, revelers, northern New Mexicans, Mexicans. There’s a portrait of her close friend Dennis Hopper and an original poster from Woodstock. In the yard out back stands a 16-foot-tall tipi, similar to the one Law lived in when she first came to New Mexico, in 1967. Nearby, covered with a tarp, is “Silver,” the bus Lisa and Tom bought for $150 that same year. It’s actually a 1946 Chevy truck, a flatbed that had been converted into a sort of mini-RV. “But we call it a bus,” explains Law. “What are you going to call it, a psychedelic mobile home?” Known for producing some of the most iconic images of the 1960s counterculture movement, Law, 67, is an award-winning photographer and documentary filmmaker, a kind of Cartier-Bresson of communes and rock concerts who not only was there but lived and breathed her subject matter. Born in Burbank, Calfornia, as Lisa Bachelis, she spent her early 20s working and hanging out with musicians in Los Angeles. For a time, with her future husband, Tom Law, she lived in a group house known as The Castle that was frequented by people like Dylan, Joplin, and Andy Warhol. In 1967, she moved to San Francisco to photograph the scene in Haight-Ashbury. Later that year, pregnant with her first child and looking for a natural childbirth facility, she and Tom moved to Northern New Mexico, where they joined the thriving back-to-the-land movement. The couple’s first New Mexico home was a tipi, which they’d brought out from California and pitched at the New Buffalo Commune in Arroyo 26
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Taos Pueblo, 1967 Native Americans Ben Marcus and Little Joe Gomez dance at the Taos Pueblo. The opportunity to learn more about Native American cultures and traditions was part of what originally drew Law and other hippies to Northern New Mexico.
New Buffalo Commune, 1968 Members of the New Buffalo Commune construct another of their shared buildings. The hippies learned traditional skills, including how to build using adobe, from the local Spanish and Native American people in Northern New Mexico.
Presidential Nominee George McGovern in Española, 1972 Democratic Senator and presidential nominee George McGovern campaigns in Española, surrounded by local reporters and Native American supporters.
Living on the Land, 1967 Miles Hinton enjoys a meal at the New Buffalo Commune, where he lived with his parents.
Ken Kesey in the Great Bus Race, 1969 California-based counterculture writer Ken Kesey directs traffic from the hood of his bus, “Further,” in the hippies’ Great Bus Race, part of the 1969 summer solstice celebration in Aspen Meadows. “The air is filled with buses and exhaust and din,” Kesey wrote of the race in a story that was later published in the Whole Earth Catalog. “They wallow up the pasture like berserk pigs.” Law remembers something else about the solstice event. “Kesey spiked the beer,” she says. “So everybody was on acid.”
Hondo. “I was influenced by the Native Americans before we came here,” says Law. “I built my first tipi by hand, on a big industrial sewing machine. We took it to the Monterey Pop Festival and used it as a trip tent. Later, we took it to Woodstock.” At New Buffalo, where the goal was harmony, self-sufficiency, and living off the land, she and her partner learned to farm organically and make adobe bricks. The two were also involved with the Hog Farmers, hippies who’d arrived in 1968 from a California-based commune founded by peace activist/clown Wavy Gravy (né Hugh Romney). The Hog Farmers organized the blissed-out summer solstice celebrations in Aspen Meadows, just north of Santa Fe, which drew counterculture heroes like Ken Kesey and spiritual leader Yogi Bhajan. At the 1969 celebration, Lisa and Tom tied the knot—as did seven other hippie couples— in a ceremony officiated by Bhajan. Just before joining the Hog Farmers to organize and run the food services at Woodstock, in 1969 the newlyweds purchased a home in Truchas. “We decided it was time to settle down, and we knew this is where we wanted to stay,” says Law, noting that at the time they had one daughter and another on the way. With help from Tom’s brother, the actor John Phillip Law, the Laws bought property from longtime resident Pablin Montoya and his wife, who were moving to Española. “For $11,000, they gave us 12 acres, a house, a garage, a barn, a goat house, a dog, a cat, and a horse,” says Law. “Still, that was quite a lot of money to come up with if you’re living out of a tipi and the back of a bus.” Law’s friendship with her Truchas neighbors, mostly older people of Hispanic descent, is something she continues to cherish. “That was a great time,” she says. “We learned from the Spanish people, they taught us to grow wheat and alfalfa, and how to do things naturally.” The Truchas families were welcoming, she recalls, and happy to meet young people interested in traditional farming skills. The Laws grew much of what they ate, and raised goats for milk, yogurt, and cheese; whatever might be left over, Law sold to her neighbors. The couple also built a greenhouse, and Lisa sometimes sold plants on the Santa Fe Plaza as yet another way to raise extra cash. By 1977, New Buffalo had pretty much gone the way of its bovine namesake, and Law and her husband had split up. Now a single mom in search of better schooling options for her four kids, Law relocated to Santa Fe. As the hippies of the 60s transitioned into the Yuppies of the 80s, Law reinvented herself once more—or tweaked an
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Lisa Law
Rock ’n’ Roll
Fantasy Law began photographing musicians in 1964, when she was working as a personal assistant to Frank Werber, manager of the Kingston Trio—and she hasn’t stopped since.
Lou Reed and Nico Los Angeles, 1965
Bob Dylan Los Angeles, 1968
David Byrne, Santa Fe, 2009
Carlos Santana Santa Fe, 1994 Otis Redding, Los Angeles, 1966
Seeing Stars
Law has photographed dozens of Hollywood types in California and here in New Mexico. She has worked as an extra in more than a dozen films, and many of her shots were taken on movie sets in and Francis Ford Coppola around Santa Fe. Santa Fe, 1983
Harrison Ford, Los Angeles 1966 Lou Diamond Phillips Santa Fe, 1987
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Danny Glover Santa Fe, 1983
Howard Hesseman Santa Fe, 1968
Steam Bath in Truchas, 1974 Guests bathe in the Japanese-style soaking tub Lisa and Tom Law built at their home in Truchas. “We’d build a fire under the tub to heat the water,” she explains. “The smoke would go out through the smokestack.”
La Curandera de Truchas, early 1970s Fernanda Pacheco (left) “was the curandera [traditional folk healer] of Truchas,” Law says. “She delivered a thousand babies. I was known as the white witch of Truchas; I would use herbs and heal people, too. When she died, Fernanda gave me her grinding stone.”
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already profitable métier. Over the next three decades, Law built on the impressive portfolio she’d already created, and started her own photography business, which she continues to run today. With, she estimates, some 37,000 negatives and slides and more than 300,000 digital images, she has remained a steady and frequent supplier and contributor to publications from Time and Life to Hemp Times, and her work has been purchased by and exhibited at major museums, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She has published two books of her own, Interview with Icons and Flashing on the Sixties (she wrote and directed a companion documentary of the same name), and she’s had various shows and exhibits in Santa Fe and elsewhere. Her work is currently on view at Santa Fe Hemp, and she is represented here in town at the Andrew Smith Gallery. One of her many dreams is to found a Museum of the Sixties, and she keeps her activist muscles active agitating for the legalization of marijuana and on behalf of El Salvadorans who resist military oppression, among other causes. Unlike a number of her fellow baby boomers, Law stands by who and what she was back in the day. “We were working on getting back to nature, and on ecological issues that are now so important,” says Law, pointing to global warming issues, the renewed focus on alternative energy sources, and the organic food movement as examples of how forward-thinking she and her fellow communards were. “The hippies of the 1960s, we were progressive.”
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Dennis Hopper in Taos, 1970 Hopper first came to the area in 1967 to scout locations for his movie, Easy Rider, which he wrote, co-directed, and starred in. The hippie commune in the movie was inspired by the New Buffalo Commune, which Hopper visited. He lived in Taos until the early 1980s, and owned land there until he died, in 2010.
Lisa Law
Romolo Padilla, 1969 “Romolo Padilla was the last of the goat herders,” says Law. “He lived on the llano [grassy plain] next to ours, in Truchas. We’d go up and visit with him. I think I got my love of goats from him.” Law kept several Nubian goats on her farm; her family drank goats’ milk and she used it to make cheese and yogurt.
Yogi Bhajan in Aspen Meadows, 1969 Indian spiritual leader Yogi Bhajan leads a Kundalini yoga class in Aspen Meadows, just north of Santa Fe. Bhajan’s teachings, including the idea that meditation and yoga could lead to higher consciousness, were embraced by hippies in California and Northern New Mexico. “We stopped smoking marijuana and started getting high on breathing,” Law once said. In 1972, Yogi Bhajan founded the Sikh Dharma ashram in Española.
Cutting Wheat, 1969 A local farmer cuts wheat on the Laws’ farm in Truchas. “It was our goal to be self-sufficient,” Law says. “The Spanish people taught us how to grow wheat and alfalfa.” Like the locals, they used water from the local acequia to irrigate their crops.
Good Neighbors, early 1970s Truchas resident Liberato Vigil, left, talks with a friend. Though newspapers at the time reported that locals were disturbed by the influx of longhaired, pot-smoking hippies, Law says the people of Truchas were kind and accepting.
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to protect and preserve By Devon Jackson
the Historic Santa Fe Foundation keeps Santa Fe’s history—and the future of its buildings—alive
L
ife inside El Zaguán—life inside any of the buildings owned or overseen by Zaguán’s landlord, the Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF)—is quite different from that of the typical home or apartment. Zaguán, aka the James L. Johnson House, located at 545 Canyon Road, is a Territorial-style residence built sometime in the mid-1800s, and although five of its seven apartments are reserved for artists in residence (painters, sculptors, writers, eccentrics—more on that last category later), one also serves as HSFF headquarters, and the last is set aside for a summertime Faith and John Gaw Meem Preservation Trades intern.
However, the HSFF isn’t just headquartered there, nor do the artists merely live there. As part of HSFF’s mission to preserve and protect historic properties and educate others about the preservation of Santa Fe’s historic buildings, Zaguán also functions as a kind of living history museum-cum-home studio. It’s a low-tech version of The Truman Show, a zoo, a staging of a prospective home, a Home Depot showroom of 30
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how houses used to be built, and a peek into a future based on the past. “We’re quirky and we’re quiet, that’s our nature,” says Elaine Bergman, HSFF’s deceptively demure but feisty, steadfast, informed, and informative executive director. “What we do with Zaguán is experiential, yes. But historic preservation also requires you to look into the future. You have to project into the future to see
what the effects of something now are going to have later. Zaguán informs that—as do the other buildings we steward.” A look at some of the other structures on HSFF’s watch—places the Foundation owns— reads like a who’s who of architecturally significant buildings: the Cross of the Martyrs (at the top of Paseo de la Loma), the Roque Tudesqui House (on East De Vargas), the Felipe
opposite page, left to right: courtesy allison rae cody; brenda roper; HSFF; this page, top row: HSFF; bottom left: teresa neptune; right: HSFF
B. Delgado House (on West Palace), the Oliver P. Hovey House (on Griffin), and the soon-tobe-sold Gustave Baumann residence (near Old Santa Fe Trail). And then there are the easement agreements (legally enforceable but voluntary agreements between a property owner and the HSFF under which the owner retains possession of the property while the HSFF assumes responsibility for its preservation) that the Foundation has with six other properties. Some of them, like the Shuster Mian house (on Camino del Monte Sol), involve the coverage of only three doors and the streetscape. “You don’t want to own more properties than you can steward,” admits Bergman. But as she has also pointed out, in one of the Foundation’s newsletters, “Just elevating a property’s importance,” can protect it, “because it heightens appreciation.” The HSFF was established in 1961, four years after the city passed the Historic District Ordinance, which encourages the preservation of Santa Fe’s historic buildings and the use of historic styles in new construction. It’s a nonprofit
distinct from the city’s Historic Design Review Board, which has sometimes earned the enmity of cutting-edge architects, homeowners, and others who feel that the ordinance—and the cultlike devotion to All Things Adobe—has hamstrung them, and kept the city not only different but literally stuck in the mud. Au contraire, argues Bergman, an Oklahoma native and musical education major who worked at the American Institute of Architects in Tulsa for 12 years before moving here 10 years ago to oversee the Foundation. “Things that are protected at this point are the things that give a place its most value,” she stresses, adding that there’ve been building codes since Roman times (enacted to create beauty if not also for sanitation reasons). “It’s not for tourists that you conserve or create beauty. It’s for residents—who want parks and good schools and beauty. So above all, we should do it for ourselves. Besides, there’s certainly nothing about Cerrillos Road to be preserved and conserved. But the futurist—the preservationist, the work we’re doing here at the
Foundation—looks at preserving something that’s beautiful. Zaguán is beautiful. The Baumann house is beautiful. “The doors here look close to their original— they’re hand-planed with tight fiber,” Bergman continues lovingly. “Our New Mexico architecture is the ultimate folk art. These are giant domestic works of art.” The Baumann House even more so—Baumann being one of the state’s more celebrated artists and a master creator of marionettes and woodcuts. Built by the German-born Chicago transplant in 1923 and chock-full of personal touches—from his swirly finger-paint designs in the dining room and the hand-carved posts throughout to the octagonal entryway gallery area and woodblock plates of the Tesuque River above the radiator—the house appealed to the HSFF because “it was so intact,” says Bergman. “It has all its integrity.” The Foundation and the future owner can thank the previous owner for that. As Anne Albrink, who owned the home from 1976 to 2009,
Opposite page, left to right: Allison Rae Cody, Faith, oil on canvas; Brenda Roper, Leaving, oil on canvas; one of the windows at the Roqui Tudesqui House. This page, top left: the dedication ceremony for the Cross of the Martyrs at Santa Fe Fiesta, September 15, 1920; middle: putting up the Cross, 1919-20; right: Gustave and Jane Baumann’s 1927 woodcut greeting card showing off their new home; above, left: Teresa Neptune, Martin’s—El Rito, grayscale photograph; right: burros trudging down Canyon Road in front of El Zaguán, c. 1920.
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Top: Bryony Bensly, Mudra, oil on canvas; above: Bensly, Fish, charcoal on paper
“Historic preservation requires you to look into the future,” says HSFF’s executive director Elaine Bergman. “You have to project into the future to see what the effects of something now are going to have later. Zaguan informs that—as do the other buildings we steward.”
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put it in a recent Foundation newsletter, her stewardship was “a very expensive hobby . . . This was like a beautiful jewel and . . . a responsibility.” As it will be for the next owner. “Whoever buys it needs to conserve and protect its features,” cautions Bergman, who adds that the house is part of the HSFF’s “to have and not hold” strategy (i.e., to take ownership of a property long enough to restore it to its original essence before ceding it to its next caretaker/owner). This foster-care philosophy stems from way back, fits within the Foundation’s current goals, and it’s essentially how the HSFF came into existence. Alarmed at the razing of the 1850s Territorial-style Simon Nussbaum house for an 85-car parking lot, John Gaw Meem, the (god)father of Santa Fe Style, founded the group in 1961. One of Meem’s tenets was, If the original owner came back to life, would he recognize his old home? If not, then make it so. But be careful not to be obvious about it. “A lot of what we did at the Baumann house—a lot of what we do—is invisible,” says Bergman. “Which is the point.” Which is partly why so few Santa Feans know of the Foundation, or its work, or that there are artists—and eccentrics—living and working in a historic Canyon Road building. As Teresa Neptune, a onetime casting director turned photographer who lived at Zaguán from 2003 to 2008, says, “Canyon Road needs to differentiate itself and clear any misconception that it’s merely an ‘art mall.’ History is key.” And at El Zaguán, keeping its doors open to artists is a great way of maintaining—and honoring—a connection to a building’s and a community’s past. “The use of a property affects its character,” says Bergman, who helps choose which artists can move in. “If we had commercial use here, it would change its character. We value the fact that this is still housing artists and writers—and eccentrics. After all, Santa Fe is a town for eccentrics.” (One of Zaguan’s residents, who lived there for 10 years, was a modernist who slept in a glass bed.) “We’re basically talking about a community,” says Bryony Bensly, a painter and teacher who resided at El Zaguan from 2006 to 2009. “A community where there are shared goals. It was a lot like living in Europe, yet it’s buried in the desert. It’s a successful combination of a business and a home, and the distinction between who you are, where you live, what you do, how you make a living, was all rolled into one. And that’s what artists need most.” Imagine, then, actually living—day to day—in Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate, or in Hearst’s Xanadu, or in any of the myriad places where George Washington slept. After the giddiness passes and the cool factor more or less fades away, the weight of the past creeps in. It’s a responsibility, a duty. And life can feel a bit like living in a fish bowl. But a good fish bowl. A stimulating one. “It was inspiring to be in a historic art colony where one could feel the legacy of the artists who had come before us,” says Neptune. “Living in a very public building where walking out of my door meant immediate encounters with visitors and tourists—who sometimes peeked curiously into our windows, not realizing that we lived there—was also a motivating and inspiring factor.” Even if all that attention is sometimes distracting (cameras being pressed up against the bedroom window, tourists bumbling into the apartment, people peering into the windows), it’s pretty minor. And even though Zaguan’s artists don’t make the sales they would in a normal gallery (though they are required to show their work at the building once a year, and can exhibit with other galleries if they want), they also enjoy more artistic freedom. It’s a freedom, believes Bergman, that comes as much from the building and its past as it does from its residents or the Foundation. “Old houses have soul to them,” she says. “And our memories reside in places and scenes—the views of the mountains, the garden like the one we have here. These all trigger memories, and there’s a real value of that being here. That’s why we have to plan today for the pressures of the future.”
courtesy bryony bensly
to protect and preserve
art
ope n i n g s | r e v iew s | people The Monroe Gallery of Photography (112 Don Gaspar, 505-9920800, monroegallery.com), where this Richard C. Miller picture of a relaxed-in-her-gorgeousness Marilyn Monroe (from the set of the 1959 Billy Wilder classic, Some Like It Hot) can be found, specializes in iconic imagery: Ellis Island in its neglected beauty, the Civil Rights Movement, the famous, the infamous. But as with this color image of Marilyn, the photograph(er)s at Monroe’s rarely if ever seek to capitalize or promote celebrityhood or nostalgia, they’re after those ineffable Garry Winogrand–type moments of the unexpected, the off-guard, the interstitial, which reveal far more about time, place, and people than anything posed or staged, such as this very human, very lovely side of a woman whose fans and handlers rarely allowed to be human or lovely.—Devon Jackson Richard C. Miller: 1912–2010 A Retrospective February 4–April 17
RICHARD C. MILLER/MONROE GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPhy
Richard C. Miller, Marilyn Monroe, pigment print, limited edition, 24 x 20”
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sexy young cannibals David Le igh’s laye r -ca ke drawing s of f e r up a da r kne s s mo st mir t hf u l by De von Jack s on
Since the early 20th century, drawing, contemporary drawing, for some reason seems never to have been taken as seriously as painting or sculpture—or even as seriously as conceptual or performance art. Although most every artist throughout history began as a drawer—of animals, airplanes, and figures real and imagined—since perhaps Impressionism, drawing has been regarded as little more than the red-haired stepchild in an art world reserved for golden-coiffed gods and goddesses. Lately, though, respect for this pursuit has gained new momentum, what with the emergence of street art and graffiti, the comeback of representational art, and the affordability and transportability of images drawn on flat surfaces. Enter David Leigh. Certainly his own artist, with a style and an imagination all his own, his drawings swim in and out of a pool of other “drawers”—from Diana Cooper’s phantasmagorically fractal concoctions and Robert Williams’s goony hot-rod characters David Leigh to the comic-book figures of Gilbert Hernandez and the Seussian landscapes of Ted Geisel. Arranged almost like animation cels, or like those onion-thin seethrough anatomical sheets of the human body from high school biology textbooks, Leigh moors himself to an idea—say, of the ill-fated 1846–47 Donner Party (the inspiration for his latest show, titled The Donna Party)—and free associates from there, layering gestures and figures and line and colors and shapes and forms to get at a finished piece, one that usually teeters between funny and grotesque, recognizable and unrecognizable. The way New York School painter Philip Guston’s world was familiar yet not. “There’s been a real elevation of low art lately,” says Leigh, 36, a Fort Worth– born Air Force brat who now lives in Albuquerque with his wife, the director of education at Explora, and six-year-old son. “And even though, in the hierarchy of art, painting is the be-all and end-all—because you can sell a painting for a lot more than a drawing—there’s more freedom for me in drawing.” A draftsperson since he picked up his first crayon, Leigh chose English as his major (at Northern Arizona University) before returning to drawing at Arizona State University for a degree in art history. Intent on remaining in the Southwest, he pursued his MFA in painting and drawing at the University of New Mexico. “If my goal had been to get into the gallery system, it would’ve behooved me to live in Los Angeles or New York,” says Leigh, who actually took a summer course at New York University (but with too many distractions in the city, everything he made there came out subpar). “But things have collapsed in a lot of ways. You can live anywhere you want and stay connected. I can still tangentially be part of the scene—wherever that scene is.” When there’s no scene, Leigh and his fellow artists create their own. From 2004 to 2008 he and two friends founded and ran Albuquerque’s Donkey Gallery (for both Albuquerque and Santa Fe artists), and he and fellow artist Ben Meisner recently opened the site-specific Generator gallery. “I really enjoy connecting with other artists,” says Leigh, who also liaisons between established artists and middle and high school students. “It goes back to the community vibe here.” Enamored at times with Viennese Secessionists like Egon Schiele, and also with German quasi-surrealist Hans Bellmer, Leigh shifted his stylus after doing a graffiti-like wall drawing at a 2009 SITE Santa Fe show. But really, his drawings haven’t changed all that much. “Things have gotten smaller, they go a lot faster, and they’re more thoughtful now,” observes Leigh. “And I’m still drawing 36
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things I drew when I was eight: maps, mountains. And dinosaurs—probably due to my having a kid. But there’s nothing definitive with what I need to say. There’s no real statement.” His Donna Party exhibit, though, taps into Leigh’s unique sensibility. “It just seems right up my alley,” he says of the ill-fated Sierra Nevada travelers who resorted to eating each other. “Most of what I make has a certain funny violence and a lot of weird body imagery. It’s very corporeal. It’s sexy cannibalism. Plus, there was something really interesting in the fortitude of these trapped people waiting for help and how wrong they were—and the possible parallels between them and their situation and art.” But as distorted or unsettling as his images may appear, Leigh’s not going for gross or gross-out. “That’s not what I’m aiming for,” he says placidly. “For me, I want the audience to get involved in looking for all the spaces: Oh, I saw a panda. It’s really just making something interesting to look at and that you can spend time trying to find things in. What I hope to get is that search—for me.” The Donna Party, March 18–May 18, reception March 18, 5–7 pm, Eileen Braziel Fine Art, 229b Johnson, 505-699-4914, eileenbrazielfinearts.com
Top: Study for a Head, marker on paper, 9 x 12"; above: Green Head, pencil and ink on paper, 9 x 12"
courtesy eileen braziel fine art
art
PROFILE
* / Êr
Left: Yuriko Nishimura, Weave, Utah royal sandstone, 20 x 12 x 8"; right: Lyndall Bass, Blue Nude, oil on canvas, 12 x 12"
Lyndall Bass + Yuriko Nishimura: A Valentine’s Day Celebration—Nudes The Chmar Gallery, 125 Lincoln, Suite 114, 505-992-1491, thechmargallery.com February 14–28, reception February 25, 5–7 pm This exaltation of the human body (and its seldom-seen body parts) is one of the stops along ArtFeast’s weekend. (Chmar’s partnered, in this venture, with Jambo Café.) Bass has a bit of the Pre-Raphaelite about her, though there’s more sensuality and feeling to her figures and her brush strokes. And sculptor Nishimura—wow!—combines male and female genitalia in figurations that are unique, intriguing, and daring. Both artists live and work here, and come at this subject (the nude) from very opposite—but with very committed and admirable—sensibilities. —DJ
Terry Strickland: Group Figurative Exhibit The Peterson-Cody Gallery 130 W Palace, 505-820-0100 petersoncodygallery.com February 4–28 reception February 4, 5–7 pm In addition to works by four of P-Cody’s stalwart regulars, this figurative show is being billed as a sort of stepping out for Alabama painter Strickland. Inspired by fairy tales, modern-day superheroes, and various works of literature—though through a more contemporary lens—Strickland demonstrates a technical refinement that’s maybe a tad too polished (and one verging on outright politesse): Her youthful faces aren’t just superheroic but superclean—airbrushed, almost. More interesting, more promising, are her darker allegorical works, such as The Ascent. Here, the physiques of her dewy nudes betray—through Strickland’s detailed musculature and the drama of light as it moves across the skin—a deeper internal struggle. One that underlies the title and hints at greater paintings to come.—DJ Terry Strickland, Call of Duty, oil on canvas on panel, 30 x 26"
Li>ÕÌÞ /
art
PREVIEWS
Robert Highsmith, left: Blue Door, watercolor, 12 x 16"; right: Flagg Ranch, watercolor, 20 x 14"
Robert Highsmith: Winter in New Mexico Marigold Arts, 424 Canyon, 505-982-4142, marigoldarts.com, February 5–March 17, reception February 5, 5–7 pm Many have noted the photorealistic qualities in Highsmith’s watercolors. It’s mood more than lifelike precision, though, that makes the Las Cruces–based artist’s New Mexico landscapes so memorable. Working with a palette of umber and sepia tones (the whiteness of snow, in contrast, appears startlingly bright), Highsmith captures the stillness of dirt roads winding past a scrubby butte, or the papery texture of birch trunks high in the mountains in a style that’s like a mash-up of Maynard Dixon and Andrew Wyeth. His wintery skies are pale and washed out, not the clear, vivid blue so often associated with New Mexico. Highsmith is more interested in the earthiness of the region than its magical-mystical fantastic side. But then again, the mysticism in his quiet Southwestern scenes is undeniable.—Dianna Delling
53rd Annual Heard Museum Guild
MARCH 5 & 6, 2011 À .PSF UIBO UPQ "NFSJDBO *OEJBO BSUJTUT À 5IF GJOFTU "NFSJDBO *OEJBO KFXFMSZ UFYUJMFT TDVMQUVSF QPUUFSZ QBJOUJOHT CBTLFUT DBSWJOHT BOE CFBEXPSL À "SUJTU EFNPOTUSBUJPOT BMM XFFLFOE À &YDJUJOH NVTJD BOE EBODF QFSGPSNBODFT Early Bird Shopping for Members Only! Become a Heard member and beat the crowds! Members get the first chance to shop on Saturday, March 5, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., an hour before the gates open to the public. For membership information, call 602.251.0261 or visit heard.org.
Signature Artist Shonto Begay, Navajo, is this year’s Signature Artist! Begay is known for his evocative, impressionistic imagery depicted in paintings and illustrations. Meet Begay and other juried competition award-winning artists at the Best of Show Reception on Friday, March 4. Special Feature – O’odham: People of the Desert and Rivers This year’s Fair honors the O’odham peoples of the Sonoran Desert. Artists and cultural practitioners from the four O’odham tribes of Arizona and Northern Mexico will be on hand to showcase their ancient ways of surviving and thriving in the deep deserts and along the waterways.
Best of Show and Fair advance tickets on sale beginning January 3, 2011. Call 602.251.0209 x6414 or visit heard.org. Shonto Begay, Navajo. Image for Alice Yazzie’s Year, 2004.
/ $FOUSBM "WF 1IPFOJY "; IFBSE PSH
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Ted Laredo, naphthol red mono-diptych (night view), acrylic and mixed media on galvanized steel, 5 x 7"
Ted Laredo: afterglow Box Gallery, 1611a Paseo de Peralta, 505-989-4897 boxgallerysf.com, through March 5 As with any work that depends not only on the retina but on light for its aesthetic effect, it’s almost impossible to convey the uniqueness and appeal of “paintings” like Laredo’s, either in words or in flat two-dimensional pictures of them. After all, his use of phosphorescent acrylic paint and glass microbeads offers up myriad light conditions and from there spawns multiply myriad effects and reactions. And while his geometric wall drawings of necker’s cubes and honeycomb cells present more perspectival fluctuations and three-dimensionality, at this point they’re not that much more interesting than a mid-career Donald Judd box (all very dated by now); it’s the cobalt blue mono-diptychs that truly dazzle, tweak, and intrigue, gleaming in different ways from different angles, with what the New Mexico-based Laredo calls “an ethereal inner light.”—DJ
Ted Laredo, blue honeycomb cell (detail), acrylic and glass microbeads on board, 22 x 19 x 1"
art
PREVIEWS
Emilio Lobato + James Marshall: Shared Geometry Winterowd Fine Art, 701 Canyon, 505992-8878, fineartsantafe.com, March 18–31, reception March 18, 5–7 pm While Lobato’s paintings have more of an edge to them, and are sharper, more layered, and belie a Rauschenberg-meets-Navajo-weavings kind of design, Marshall’s clay creations look like metallic pillows, shark and automobile fins, and shiny imperfect laptops. Shared Geometry may be an overreach, but “Shared Appeal” wouldn’t be.—DJ Left: Emilio Lobato, El Otoño en Nuevo
David Ryan: A Race Car and Some Breakfast Cereal York, oil and collage on panel, 48 x 48"; James Kelly Contemporary right: El Negra Tomassa, oil and collage 1601 Paseo de Peralta, 505-989-1601, jameskelly.com on panel, 36 x 36" February 25–April 9, reception February 25, 5–7 pm It probably says something about our metrosexualized era that John Chamberlain welded painterly abstract sculptures out of steel automobiles almost 60 years ago and then 30 years after that he-man artist Frank Stella rejiggered his sagging oeuvre with more blatantly abstract works in steel—all of which, his stoicism implied, were more physical and physically challenging than the works of the average stone or bronze sculptor. Now we have artists like Ryan, sculpting paintings out of the equally trying though far less dangerous MDF—medium-density fiberboard, a common building material. Ryan, though, doesn’t just manipulate this “lesser” substance but plies it together in cotton-candy colors that’d be right in line with the palettes of art directors at media outlets such as Allure, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. Contextual critiquing aside, these 3-D “paintings” have a finer edge and more movement in them than anything Stella or his many imitators ever achieved.—DJ David Ryan, Left on Pan Am Freeway, acrylic on MDF, 30 x 37 x 3"
the
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ART SHOWCASE
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Jeanette Williams Fine Art James Leigh Hayes, The Lovers acrylic on panel, 49 x 42", $6,800
Art, Spirit, Love. What will you be gifting your beloved this Valentine’s Day? 802 Canyon, 505-982-1535 jeanettewilliamsfineart.com
From May 15, 2010, through April 17, 2011, the Wheelwright Museum presents Nizhoni Shima’: Master Weavers of the Toadlena/ Two Grey Hills Region. This exhibition features iconic textiles dating from 1910 to the present. Included are masterworks by Daisy Taugelchee, Bessie Manygoats, and Clara Sherman. Open Monday–Saturday 10 am–5 pm, Sunday 1–5 pm. Free admission. Donations encouraged. 704 Camino Lejo, Museum Hill 505-982-4636, wheelwright.org
Hueys Fine Art
Michael Godfrey, Morning Glory, oil, 12 x 9"
Hueys Fine Art presents this invitational group show and sale, which includes paintings from Michael Godfrey, Brent Cotton, Phil Beck, William Schnieder, Robert Moore, Dan Beck, Mark Daniels, and a host of other talented painters from across America. Opening reception February 11, 5–7 pm. 129 W Palace, 505-820-6063 hueysfineart.com
Santa Fe - Los Angeles
Service totals include American Eagle. AmericanAirlines, AA.com and We know why you y are marks of American Airlines, Inc. oneworld is a mark of the oneworld Alliance, LLC.
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' / , $ % . $ ! 7 . ' ! , , % 2 9 Art That Says Something Pablita Velarde - Helen Hardin - Margarete Bagshaw. *Exclusive Estate Representative for Pablita Velarde and Helen Hardin. The best information and largest selection of Pablita Velarde and Helen Hardin work anywhere. 201 Galisteo, 505-988-2024, goldendawngallery.com
galisteo street
Southwest Spanish Craftsmen Cruz Helvetica Southwest Spanish Craftsmen proudly carries on the 400-year traditions of the original carpinteros. Every order is custom made and handcrafted in Santa Fe, using centuries-old techniques and built one piece at time. 217 Galisteo, 505-988-1229 southwestspanishcraftsmen.com and carpinterossantafe.com
collection
Sequoia Santa Fe Contemporary furniture utilizing environmentally low-impact materials. Exotic hardwood slabs and reclaimed root wood functionals in contemporary lines. Fine art and much more. 201 Galisteo, 505-982-7000, sequoiasantafe.com
SEQUOIA L i f e s t y l e
Russian Art Gallery By representing outstanding established and emerging Russian artists, specializing in 20th-century Russian art, the Russian Art Gallery is dedicated to bringing a greater awareness of the eminent Russian schools of art and their artists to American art collectors. Also, out-of-the-ordinary, handmade Russian gifts for any occasion, such as traditional matrioshkas, lacquer boxes, khokhloma, fine jewelry, and much more. Welcome to the Russian Art Gallery. 225 Galisteo, 505-989-9223, russianart.us.com
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G a l l e r y
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Holiday Salon Confused about your hair? We’re not! Stylists Wendy Katzman and Sally Morse from Holiday Salon are your go-to people, whatever your hair needs are! Holiday Salon carries a full line of hair-care products including Davines and Aquage. We also specialize in Global Keritan Hair Taming Treatments. 202 Galisteo (corner of Galisteo and Water) 505-983-7594
Coming in April / May 2011 The People Issue Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse Santa Fe’s oldest and best independent bookstore, with a broad selection of titles and friendly, knowledgeable booksellers. Check out Forrest Fenn’s “The Thrill of the Chase”, which contains clues to the location of a real hidden treasure chest. You might be the lucky discoverer of the hidden gold! 202 Galisteo, 505-988-4226 cwbookstore.com
Fascinating Locals Santa Fe Living Art News Special Section: Spotlight on
Canyon Road Plus Events, Dining, Travel
and more
Cicada Collection The Cicada Collection experience is visual and tactile. The boutique carries a well-edited collection of European, Asian, and American designers ranging from the classic to the avant-garde. The Cicada look is at once personal and timeless, tailored and relaxed, sumptuous and understated. 221 Galisteo, 505-982-6260 cicadacollection.com
Check out our online events calendar and issue archives at
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Karen Melfi
Jane Freese
Faceted Raw Diamond Ring For 20 years the Karen Melfi Collection has been representing the finest local and national jewelry, wearable art, and contemporary craft artists. Located on Canyon Road, KMC offers a wide selection of high-quality, handcrafted items in all price ranges. 225 Canyon, 505-982-3032 karenmelficollection.com
CG Higgins Chocolate is always a winner! Celebrate the holidays with handcrafted candy creations: chocolate fudge truffles, boutique caramel corns, and brittles as featured on The Food Network. Gifts for yourself, your friends, your family, your clients. Sweets that nourish the body and the soul! Stop by our candy showroom. C.G. Higgins Confections—The official candy maker of Santa Fe’s 400th anniversary celebration! 847 Ninita at St. Francis, 505-820-1315, cghiggins.com
enchanted treasures
Packard’s on the Plaza
Tom Taylor Years of experience have led Tom Taylor Company to the finest belt makers and Southwest buckle artists. The result is a selection of wearable art depicting quality and uniqueness; pieces destined to become family heirlooms. We welcome you to visit our Santa Fe gallery, explore our website, or call us by phone. 108 E San Francisco, 800-303-9733, tomtaylorbuckles.com 44
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Five-Strand Red Glass and Oxidized Silver Beads and Charcoal Cast Sterling Heart Quintessential Santa Fe artist Lawrence Baca creates handmade necklaces and pendants steeped in the icons and motifs of New Mexico’s rich Spanish history. Hearts and crosses in silver and fused gold, and his must-have oxidized beads in every length, are the foundation for any jewelry collection. Always at Packard’s on the Plaza. 61 Old Santa Fe Trail 800-648-7358 or 505-983-9241 shoppackards.com
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Packard’s on the Plaza 14mm White Pearls with Handmade Signature Sterling Clasp and Rice Pearl Earrings Sassy and sophisticated stones, beads, pearls and gems in every color of the spectrum. Drape, string, coil, or snake on one of Pam Springall’s necklaces in your favorite hue to wear to lunch or to the opera, only at Packard’s on the Plaza. 61 Old Santa Fe Trail, 800-648-7358 or 505-983-9241 shoppackards.com
Rocki Gorman Glitter Tres Platos Get your holiday bling with our Tres Platos necklace. Perfect for the holiday glow. Antiqued silver beads in three sizes plus a 4" extender. La Fonda Hotel, 505-983-7833 rockigorman.com
James Reid, Ltd Concho Wrist Belt James Reid, Ltd. is Santa Fe's best known maker of silver and gold buckles and accessories by virtue of integrity of design and quality of execution. Established in 1979, the house is famous both for original interpretations of Western Americana as well as for designs that transcend the parochial and aspire to the international; its objectives are born both of its regional origins as well as of its aspirations to the broader theater of contemporary design—to create “designs that travel.” 114 East Palace Avenue, 800-545-2056, jrltd.com
PianoWerkes of Albuquerque Discover the most respected names in piano making, from the finest and most sought after European makers, Bosendorfer and Schimmel, to PianoWerkes Vintage Steinway Restorations, to the world's first choice in pianos—Yamaha, including Disklavier Player Grands, Clavinova Digitals and Yamaha's stunning new hybrid, the Avant Grand and Vertical. Allow us to place a fine piano in your home. See our website for more information. Delivery and service to Northern New Mexico. 4640 Menaul Blvd NE in Albuquerque 505-338-0028, pianowerkes.com
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Photo: Clay Ellis
R E S I D E N T I A L A N D C O M M E R C I A L I N T E R I O R S AND IN OUR S HO WROO M ANTIQUES • FU RNI TU RE • ACCESSORIES TEL 505 984-8544 1 5 0 S O U T H S T. F R A N C I S D R I V E , S A N T A F E , N M 8 7 5 0 1 W W W. W G D I N T E R I O R S . C O M
An Evening with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
N. Scott Momaday Friday, February 25, 2011, 8 p.m. Worrell Lecture Great Hall, Peterson Student Center St. John’s College
N. Scott Momaday, author of more than a dozen books, received the National Medal of Arts in 2007. House Made of Dawn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969. St. John’s College is honored to welcome one of Santa Fe’s esteemed authors to the college. This lecture is part of The Carol J. Worrell Annual Lecture Series on Literature 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca| Santa Fe| New Mexico 87505 | 505-984-6000 | www.stjohnscollege.edu
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Photo: Daniel Nadelbach, Styling: Gilda Meyer-Niehof
architecture | design | people
A mantel laden with candles adds warmth and a sense of romance to the rustic shepherd’s fireplace at this Pojoaque Valley home. Laraine Ely of E2 Designs arranged the candles as a holiday display but received so many compliments she decided to leave them this way year-round. “I loved the warmth of the candles off the natural mud walls,” says Ely, who adds that part of the house dates back almost 200 years. Ely designed the interior herself, taking cues from the walls and fireplace when she selected the skull and ristra to adorn the hearth; she also brought in an old handmade chair from Mexico, and one of her bronze creations rests in the window. “I created a comfortable cozy area near the kitchen,” says Ely, “because everyone would always gather there to be closer to all the cooking and the food.” The resulting space provides an inviting atmosphere for slowing down, settling in, and watching the fire (or the food). —Alicia Kellogg
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BOOKS
if you lived here, you’d be in the past by now living hi stor y at L a s G olondrina s Santa Fe native Carmella Padilla’s writings on the culture of New Mexico have included subjects from Spanish colonial art to lowriders. Her latest book, El Rancho de las Golondrinas: Living History in New Mexico’s La Ciénega Valley, which she collaborated on with photographer Jack Parsons, explores the history of this region just south of Santa Fe and the Spanish colonial living history museum that enlightens visitors today. From photographs of restored and replicated dwellings to stories of Golondrinas as a cherished residence, El Rancho illustrates the continuing importance of home.—Alicia Kellogg La Ciénega Valley has attraced settlers since prehistoric times. Why? Location, location, location. For centuries, La Ciénega has enjoyed a prime spot at the cultural crossroads of New Mexico. Native peoples were attracted to the valley as early as the 13th century for its abundant water and fertile farmlands. Various tribes lived here over time, some in large adobe structures, basically through the era of the Pueblo Revolt. They had abandoned the valley completely by the time of recolonization, at which time the Spanish settled in and named the village La Ciénega, or marshland. Its location on the Camino Real as the last stop on the way into—and out of—Santa Fe, the Spanish colonial capital, made it an important place for people to set down roots.
artistic
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contemporary
Why have the structures at Las Golondrinas been preserved? The founders of Las Golondrinas’s living history museum, Y. A. Paloheimo and his wife, Leonora Curtin Paloheimo, were EL RA NC HO visionaries. In 1968, de las when they set out to GO LO ND RINAS Living History in New Mexico’s create the museum on La Ciénega Valley CARME LLA PADILL A Photogr the Las Golondrinas aphs by JACK PARSO NS Foreword by MARC SIMMO NS ranch that Leonora Curtin and her mother purchased in 1933, their intent was to re-create Spanish colonial life in 18th- and 19th-century New Mexico. The Paloheimos traveled throughout New Mexico and rescued historic structures that were no longer in use, and in some cases, completely falling down. They purchased the buildings as well as many antique utilitarian farm and ranch artifacts from various New Mexicans and transported the structures back to Las Golondrinas. They took advantage of the natural surroundings to create mini-environments to replicate various eras or scenes from colonial ranch life. They also restored or rebuilt existing buildings. Today, each structure appears as if it has been here for centuries. The most important reason they did all of this was to serve an educational purpose. Today, Las Golondrinas educates thousands of people each year and inspires them with its beauty.
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What can the museum teach us about residential architecture? Whether it’s a formal living area, a chapel, or a mill, each of these buildings expresses the values of the people who built them. Sure, New Mexico was at the northernmost edge of the Spanish frontier, which meant it was a very dirty and gritty place to live. But the Spanish residents who lived here brought with them European sensibilities. They imported sophisticated interior decor from Spain and Mexico while also establishing their own artistic traditions. At the same time, they adopted the artistry of their Pueblo Indian neighbors. The
structures and interiors at Las Golondrinas teach us that the best architecture is about responding to one’s surroundings in a respectful and creative way so one’s home fits naturally into its environment. Did the houses there teach you anything about what makes a home great? These homes taught me that there really are no rules in creating a beautiful and comfortable home except that one should fill it with things that are functional and say something about the people who live there. For example, the Manuel Baca house is constructed of adobe and sod bricks from the nearby marshlands. Its interiors are small, simple, and functional and make the most of every available space, while the large glass windows remark on the new availability of glass during the period via the Santa Fe Trail. The even more modern Mora House, with its pitched board-and-batten roof, extended front portal, and brightly painted furniture and interiors, reflects functional architecture made to withstand snowy northern New Mexico winters and also captures the evolving aesthetics of late-19th-century design. These homes exhibit a sort of mix-and-match aesthetic of combining art and other elements from different eras and places.
Located in the heart of historic downtown Santa Fe, Constellation Home Electronics offers a wide selection of the finest brands of electronics with a commitment to uncompromising service.
Why is a place like El Rancho de las Golondrinas important today? For people caught up in the craziness of our fast-paced, plugged-in world, Las Golondrinas is a reminder to slow down. A few hours under a shady, towering 200-year-old cottonwood is better any day than spending a few more hours in front of a computer screen. One can’t appreciate this ranch’s Spanish colonial history without considering its Native history and all that has come before. You step on the ranch, and this whole experience of time and place and people unfolds that teaches us that we are just a very small piece of an enormously historic place. Hopefully, it makes you realize that, when considering the past, we’re perhaps not as superior in our modernity as we think we might be. For information on visiting El Rancho de las Golondrinas, see golondrinas.org.
JACK PARSONS
SUPERIOR SERVICE EXCEPTIONAL VALUE EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTS Clockwise from top: Inside the Casa de Abuelita (Grandmother’s House); the spartan furnishings inside the bedroom at the Manuel Baca House; Casa de Abuelita’s pitched roof
215 North Guadalupe Santa Fe, NM 87501 505.983.9988 constellationsantafe.com
TOWN
luxuriously living in Las Campanas hig h lif e in t he de se r t This easy-living community offers a range of architectural styles, oodles of space, and unparalleled views, where residents can be as active or as laid-back as they choose. The Setting: Tucked into the hilly high desert just northwest of the city, the 4,700-acre community offers wide-open spaces and spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains. The Community: Las Campanas includes more than 20 distinctive neighborhoods, including the Villas at Los Santeros, the Pueblos, and the Park Estates at Las Campanas. The Homes: Each neighborhood at Las Campanas offers a variety of designs and floor plans, with spaces from 1,900 to 4,000 square feet. But there’s always the option of selecting an open plat and building a home that fits your dream specifications. Existing custom homes in Las Campanas range in size from 2,500 to more than 12,000 square feet. Styles such as Pueblo Revival and Territorial are popular, but you’ll also find log cabin–style houses and those with Northern New Mexico–style pitched roofs, all on spacious lots that average about an acre. The Price Points: Homes for sale in Las Campanas start at about $500,000. The Residents: Artists and golfers, horse lovers and art collectors, families and active retirees call Las Campanas home. What residents have in common is an appreciation for fine living, wide-open spaces, and a community that offers a get-away-from-it-all lifestyle that’s only minutes from the shops, restaurants, and art galleries of downtown Santa Fe.
THE CLUB AT LAS CAMPANAS
The Amenities: The Club at Las Campanas, now owned by its 800 members, is elegant and friendly. Members enjoy two Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses, an equestrian center with a 30,000-square-foot indoor riding arena, a state-of-the-art spa (with indoor and outdoor pools), and a tennis center. The adobe Hacienda Clubhouse, decorated in warm Santa Fe Style with vigas and river-rock fireplaces, is perfect for socializing, private events, and fine or casual dining.
Clockwise from top: one of the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses; enjoying the Club’s swimming pool; the Hacienda Clubhouse dining room; horseback riding in Campanas’s wide-open spaces 50
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Bell Tower Properties
World class service within an independent boutique real estate company. Announcing Bell Tower Properties. Located in the heart of Las Campanas, we specialize in all aspects of the Santa Fe real estate market. Whether you are in the market to buy or sell, look to the real estate firm that excels in client representation.
bell tower properties
218 camino la tierra santa fe, new mexico 87506 505-988-2428 belltowerpropertiessantafe.com
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RUTH CLAXTON AMY CUTLER FEBRUARY 5 – MAY 15
RUNA ISLAM
1606 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | 505.989.1199 | www.sitesantafe.org Hours: THU–SAT 10–5 / FRI 10–7 / SUN 12–5, Free Fridays made possible in part by The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston. This announcement made possible in part bya the Santa Fe Arts Commission and the 1% Lodgers Tax. Image: Amy Cutler, Tiger Mending, 2003, Gouache on paper, 17 ¾ × 14 ¾ inches, © the artist, courtesy of Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York
:063 -*$&/4& 50 %*/& 065
2011 MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW! 'FC .BSDI UBPT ONSFTUBVSBOUXFFL DPN 52
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Macaroons! O Macaroons! If your valentine has a sweet tooth (and whose doesn’t), wow them this year with these delicate, delicious, and altogether beautiful French macarons from O’Gelato in DeVargas Center. Though the name of the French version of this fancy cookie is lacking an “o,” it’s also missing the coconut we associate with the American macaroon. Made famous in Parisian bakeries such as Pierre Hermé and Ladurée, these flavored almond-meringue discs are sandwiched together with fruit fillings, ganache, or butter cream to produce a confection that crumbles on impact. Baker and shop proprietress Shelby Maple, whose hubby David dishes up some pretty mean gelato at the shop, keeps the flavors on offer ever-changing. My favorite is the lemon, but Cupid will cherish these vanilla bean and red raspberry versions. One bite and you will forever be in love.—John Vollertsen O’Gelato, 167 Paseo de Peralta, 505-983-7426 (shipping available)
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REVIEW
Palate Pleaser I’m always a sucker for a dining room with a fireplace, especially when the snow’s flying. And when the restaurant is within walking distance of my downtown abode, as Rio Chama is, it becomes a regular haunt. Although this popular restaurant recently dropped the title “Steakhouse” from its inaugural name, the large and creative menu still offers a gallimaufry of terrific beef and meat dishes, and so, so much more. Proximity to the Roundhouse, our state capitol building, guarantees a lively bar scene and Santa Fe Dining, the management group that conceived and operates Rio Chama, was clever to include a large and comfortable drinking and socializing area within the walls of this bustling restaurant. On any given night, and especially when the legislature is in session, the sprawling tavern is packed with a convivial crowd that is busy imbibing, cruising, lobbying, and debating. Already feeling the pressure of the hectic holiday season, I was delighted when Chef Tom Kerpon invited my group to dine with him in the downstairs private dining room, away from the maddening crowd. The Abiquiu Room, as the stylish clubby chamber is called, sports a front-row view of the incredible wine cellar, walled on one side by glass—what a treat to watch our other delightful host, general manager and sommelier Randy Ropek, venture in and out of this visible wall and pull out bottle after fantastic bottle of vino, each one specifically selected to complement each and every dish of our delectable tasting-menu meal. Kerpon’s pedigree, with stops at numerous other Santa Fe restaurants, and particularly his tenure at the Anasazi Hotel, is why the food here is so special. Iowa born, Kerpon spent part of his career as a high school history teacher—now he teaches us Santa Feans a thing or two about tasty cookery. Having sequestered away the four of us in front of a roaring fire, Kerpon guided us through a sampling of practically the entire menu, with 1) a descriptive monologue of how he conceived each dish, 2) where many of the ingredients came from, and 3) why he thought the dish deserved a spot on his wide-ranging menu. It was a foodie’s dream dinner; a gourmet gorging that made me glad I had a walk home at the end of the night. The first courses showed off Kerpon’s multi-cuisine deftness and his aplomb at incorporating world flavors, savory sapors that venture far beyond steak-, chop-, and rib-land. The steakhouse classic of a wedge salad was a whopping chop of crisp iceberg lettuce with ultra-creamy blue cheese dressing, cukes, and tomatoes, along with a salty lick of olives and applewood-smoked bacon—as luscious as you remember it being from the 1970s. My guests, who are recent transplants to Santa Fe from Miami, loved helping me slurp up pristine Miyagi oysters from the Pacific coast. The rare cumin-sesame-seared tuna, served with a fiery wasabi vinaigrette and seaweed salad, helped us forget the frigid temperature outside. A heady cambazola cheese slice was served room-temp and soft, perfect for spreading on the accompanying shiitake mushroom flatbread, the pungency tamed with strips of roasted sweet bell pepper and tart caponata. The favorite of the table from the starters we gobbled up was a plate of raviolis stuffed with unbelievably tender braised buffalo short ribs in a zippy green peppercorn sauce served on a puddle of celery-root puree. As we licked the plate we started to understand why the “steakhouse” phrase was removed—this ain’t your Daddy’s chophouse. 54
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Even so, the main courses were more “redmeat-centric,” as Kerpon described them. After sampling his 21-day, dry-aged South Dakota buffalo ribeye, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy a cut of meat that hasn’t been cured in this popular fashion; the aging concentrates the flavor and tenderizes the heck out of it. The cinnamon-chilerubbed beef tenderloin was just as fork tender, and the yummy New Mexican flavors showed up again in the chipotle-cheddar mashed Top: Rio’s 21-day, dry-aged South Dakota buffalo ribeye; potatoes. above: chef Tom Kerpon; facing page, top: the Abiquiu For the non-carnivores, Room; bottom left: the Tribute—Kerpon’s mini buffalo burgers; right: the wedge salad the lump crab-crusted ruby trout with smokey Cajun butter sauce will surely thrill any non-red-meat eater as much as it did us. And although we didn’t sample the pesto-marinated tofu with goat cheese-stuffed portobello, Kerpon obviously cooks just as creatively for vegetarians as he does for everyone else. The bar menu is eclectic and fun as well, with great versions of dishes that go perfect with beer and booze—chili, nachos, calamari, ribs, fondue, burgers, and the like. Along those bar-menu lines, Kerpon wowed us with an item known as “The Tribute.” A trio of mini buffalo burgers on toasted brioche, with shredded short ribs and seared nubs of foie gras, the Tribute is Kerpon’s homage to celebrity chef Daniel Boulud, the man
DOUGLAS MERRIAM
by John Vollertsen
STYLE
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wild poms
STYLE responsible for first pairing beef with foie gras. (Kerpon’s Southwest version is as decadent as it sounds.) Toward the end of the evening, we somehow managed to squeeze in a few bites of dessert (luckily, it’s bulky sweater season). One spoonful of pastry chef Feliciano Vargas’s chocolate pot finished me off (in a good way), while the rest of the table couldn’t resist excellent versions of pecan pie with house-made cinnamon ice cream, and cherry chocolate chip bread pudding. We were absolutely spoiled by Ropek, who unearthed one fabulous bottle after another—and whose knowledge and sense of each vintner and wine is unparalleled. Rio Chama boasts almost 900 listings, and standouts that night included a grassy Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from New Zealand, an earthy Arcadian “fiddlestix” Pinot Noir 2006 from central coast California, and an inky and luscious Duckhorn “Paraduxx” 2007 blend from Napa—all seriously great wines to go with seriously great food. With fireplaces in almost every dining room, an outdoor terrace for warm-weather noshing, a beautiful art-filled grand party room, a cigar lounge, and a buzzy bar complete with a big-screen TV (for sports viewing), Rio Chama satisfies every palate and for a variety of dining occasions—from gourmet to brews and a burger. And there’s nothing like staring at a roaring fire through a glass of robust red wine after a delectable dinner. The cold of winter just melts away. I think it was poet William Blake who said, “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” Exactly!
Spoil the love of your life this Valentine’s Day with this glamorous cocktail from the splendiferous Terra Restaurant at the Auberge Encantado Resort & Spa. You’ll both be fascinated watching the little pearls bob up and down in the effervescence. The fact that pomegranate is a superfood makes this downright healthy. If you don’t make this drink at home, the next best thing is to visit the world-class resort and enjoy it with a fabulous dinner as prepared by Terra’s wonderful chef, Charles Dale. With drink and food this grand, you better get a room—’cause there’s no question Cupid’s arrow’s gonna reach its target.—JV
Caviar and Champagne For the Pomegranate Pearls: 1 tablespoon (heaping) tapioca pearls ½ cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice ¼ cup water 1 tablespoon corn syrup 1 tablespoon water To Finish: 2 ozs Charbay Pomegranate Vodka 4 ozs Pama pomegranate-flavored liqueur ½ bottle dry sparkling wine, such as Gruet Blanc de Noirs
Chama pastry chef Feliciano Vargas’s over-the-top chocolate pot
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To serve: In a champagne flute, pour ½ oz Charbay Pomegranate Vodka and 1 oz Pama pomegranate-flavored liqueur. Repeat with the three other glasses (or prepare two and have enough for seconds). Top with the sparkling wine and add the pomegranate pearls. Makes 4 cocktails
DOUGLAS MERRIAM
Soak the tapioca pearls in the pomegranate juice and water at room temperature for one hour. Pour into a small saucepan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature and strain out the liquid. Add the corn syrup and water and refrigerate until ready to use. If the pearls stick together, dilute with a little water.
digestifs Thank God for those sunny blue New Mexico skies that, despite the cold, chase away the winter doldrums. It also helps that we get to celebrate Valentine’s Day during this brisk time of year—a warming of the heart can thaw the whole body. Though chocolate is perhaps the first food we think of when pondering how to arm Cupid’s arrow, I’d like to add champagne, truffles, oysters, artichokes, and hot New Mexico red chile to the list. All have an aphrodisiacal effect on me (your list may vary, but remember the saying “whatever floats your boat”). Santa Fe’s myriad restaurants and hotels like to do nothing better than pull out the stops at this time of year for romantics, tourists, and skiers alike. I think of winter as a culinary gestation period for our talented chefs; this is when they plan, play with, and practice new dishes and menus for the coming summer season. What fun to be guinea pigs and get a sneak-taste preview—when dining rooms are placid and the pace slows down. Sadly, Café Paris, A La Mesa, the Railyard Restaurant & Saloon, and the Pink Adobe all shuttered their doors this past fall. But just like the promise of spring, as we go to press, plans are rumored to be in the works for a well-established restaurateur to take over the downtown Café Paris space, while the Hoback family, descendants of the Pink’s creator, Rosalea Murphy, are working out the details to reopen the historic institution. Restaurant real estate is prime real estate and as new businesses spring forth, it is surely a sign that we are in a turnaround. Foodies who love New Mexico should check out a new feature on the newmexico. org website. A section called “Culinary Treasures” provides an interactive map and listing of over 70 restaurants, cafes, diners, and drive-ins—all of which have been in operation for at least 40 years. While there, also click on the tab for the “Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail” and plan your tour of our food-fabulous state in search of the perfect version of the chilehead carnivore’s favorite dish. Remember, dining out is food for the soul and fuel for the economy.—JV
The Lensic
Built in 1930 the Lensic Building is a majestic landmark in the City Different. Just one block from the Historic Santa Fe Plaza, this historic site has been known in recent years as the Lensic Performing Arts. The Lensic Commercial and Theatre building has been home to many businesses from prominent Law offices, Development Companies, Fine Art Galleries, Jewelers, Advertisement Agencies, and the Santa Fean Magazine to name a few. For leasing information or questions regarding this iconic site please contact Adella Loggains at Greer Enterprises, Inc. 983-6504 X-111
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special advertising section
taste of the town
northern new mexico’s finest dining experiences
tion. Occasional musical entertainment and dancing. Dinner is served 5–11 pm, Tuesday–Saturday. Galisteo Bistro
featured listing
227 Galisteo 505-982-3700 galisteobistro.com
Coyote Cafe
Chef-owned and “made by hand,” featuring eclectic, innovative international cuisine known for its open kitchen, quality menu offerings, and attentive service in a casual, comfortable downtown setting. Just a short walk to the historic Santa Fe Plaza, the Lensic Performing Arts Center, hotels, and museums. “I admire a restaurateur who says, Hey, I want to cook the foods I love, like a musician who says, I want to play the music I enjoy. He would have made a great conductor; his orchestra of a staff is playing lovely food in perfect harmony. If music be the food of love—long may the Galisteo Bistro play on.”—John Vollertsen, Santa Fean. Wednesday–Sunday 5–9 pm.
132 W Water 505-983-1615 coyotecafe.com
Coyote Cafe continues to be Santa Fe’s most famous and celebrated restaurant, feted by critics and return visitors alike. Executive chef/owner is world-renowned Eric DiStefano, who brings with him his contemporary global style of cooking that has French-Asian influences accompanied with Coyote Cafe’s known Southwestern style. The Bull Ring 150 Washington, 505-983-3328 Serving Santa Fe since 1971, the legendary Bull Ring is “the prime” steakhouse in Santa Fe. Voted “Best of Santa Fe” year after year, it also offers fresh seafood, chicken, chops, an extensive wine list, a saloon menu, and patio dining. If there’s one thing New Mexico’s politicians can agree on, it’s where to eat in Santa Fe. Conveniently located one block north of the Plaza in the courtyard of the New Mexico Bank & Trust building. For a quick bite after a stroll at the nearby Plaza—or for a late-night snack—the lounge’s bar menu is sure to satisfy. Lunch 11:30 am–2:30 pm, Monday–Friday; dinner nightly starting at 5 pm. Underground parking available on Washington. Chocolate Maven Bakery 821 W San Mateo, Suite C 505-982-4400, chocolatemaven.com A long-standing local favorite, Chocolate Maven does it all: breakfast, lunch, dinner, high tea, brunch, and every type of pastry, cookie, and cake imaginable! We create delicious, eclectic menus using local, organic produce, meats, and cheeses, which help to support local farmers while bringing you the freshest, most flavorful food possible. Don’t miss this hidden gem on your next visit to Santa Fe. Open 7 days a week. Dinner Tuesday–Saturday 5–8:30 pm; breakfast and lunch Monday–Friday 7 am–3 pm; high tea Monday–Saturday 3–5 pm; brunch Saturday and Sunday 9–3 pm. The Compound Restaurant 653 Canyon, 505-982-4353 compoundrestaurant.com Recognized by Gourmet magazine’s Guide to America’s Best Restaurants and the New York Times as a destination not to be missed. The James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef of the Southwest,” chef/owner Mark Kiffin pairs seasonal contemporary American cuisine with professional service in a timeless, elegant adobe building designed by famed architect Alexander Girard.
Extensive wine list, full bar, picturesque garden patios, a variety of beautiful settings for wedding receptions, social affairs, or corporate events for 12 to 250 guests. Private parking. Seasonal specialty: tuna tartare topped with Osetra caviar and preserved lemon. Lunch 12–2 pm, Monday–Saturday; bar nightly 5 pm–close; dinner nightly from 6 pm; full lunch and dinner menu available in the bar. Doc Martin’s at the Historic Taos Inn
125 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-1977, taosinn.com
Doc Martin’s restaurant is an acclaimed fine-dining establishment located in a registered historic landmark. Doc’s is a true Taos tradition, earning multiple awards. Executive chef Zippy White specializes in organic foods, with chile rellenos being his signature dish. With over 400 wine selections, our world-class wine list has earned Wine Spectator’s “Best Of” award of excellence for 21 consecutive years. The Adobe Bar features complimentary live entertainment nightly. Patio dining as weather permits. Featured dessert: the chocolate-lover’s pie—a rich, silky chocolate mousse, whipped cream, sweet cookie crust. Breakfast is served daily 7:30–11 am; lunch 11:30 am–2:30 pm; dinner 5:30–9 pm; Saturday and Sunday brunch 7:30 am–2:30 pm. El Mesón
213 Washington, 505-983-6756 elmeson-santafe.com A native of Madrid, Spain, chef/owner David Huertas has been delighting customers since 1997 with family recipes and specialties of his homeland. The paella is classic and legendary—served straight from the flame to your table in black iron pans; the saffron-infused rice is perfectly cooked and heaped with chicken, chorizo, seafood, and more. The housemade sangria is from a generations-old recipe with a splash of brandy. The ¡Chispa! tapas bar offers a fine array of tapas. The full bar includes a distinguished Spanish wine list and special sherries and liqueurs imported from a country full of passion and tradiwww.santafean.com
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Geronimo
724 Canyon, 505-982-1500 geronimorestaurant.com Señor Geronimo Lopes would be pleased if he knew how famous his 250-year-old hacienda on Canyon Road has become. The landmark adobe is now home to a cutting-edge restaurant—elegant, contemporary—serving the highest-quality, creative food. Award-winning executive chef Eric DiStefano serves up a creative mix of French sauces and technique with culinary influences of Asia, the Southwest, and his own roots in Italy, blended to bring taste to new levels. Geronimo is New Mexico’s only restaurant with both Mobil 4 Star and AAA 4 Diamond awards. Dinner seven days a week, beginning at 5:45 pm.
Il Piatto 95 W Marcy, 505-984-1091 Locally owned Italian trattoria located one block north of the Plaza. Nationally acclaimed and affordable, il Piatto features local organic produce and house-made pastas. Prix fixe three-course lunch, $14.95. Dinner, three courses $29.50, or four courses $37.50 (anything on the menu, including specials). No restrictions. Lunch, Monday–Friday 11:30 am–2 pm; dinner seven nights a week at 5 pm. “Everything is right at il Piatto, including the price.”—Albuquerque Journal India Palace
227 Don Gaspar, 505-986-5859 indiapalace.com Voted “Best Ethnic Restaurant” in Santa Fe. Located in downtown Santa Fe, just one block from the Plaza, India Palace specializes in the dynamic, complex cuisine of northern India and uses ayurvedic (the science of longevity) cooking principles. Homemade cheese, yogurt, ghee, and kulfi (pistachio ice cream), and tandoori-fired traditional breads complement the extensive menu, which includes chicken, lamb, seafood, and vegetarian dishes. Entrees may be ordered mild, medium, or hot. No artificial flavors or MSG. Vegan and gluten-free meals also available. Entrance located in the Water
special advertising section
ranchodechimayo.com
featured listing
The restaurante is now open! Serving worldrenowned traditional and contemporary native New Mexican cuisine in an exceptional setting since 1965. Enjoy outdoor dining or soak up the culture and ambience indoors at this century-old adobe home. Try the Rancho de Chimayó’s specialty: carne adovada—marinated pork simmered in a spicy, red-chile-caribe sauce. Come cherish the memories and make new ones. Rancho de Chimayó is a treasured part of New Mexico’s history and heritage. A timeless tradition. Open seven days a week, May to October 11:30 am– 9 pm. Online store is open now!
La Plazuela at La Fonda On the Plaza 100 E San Francisco 505-995-2334 lafondasantafe.com
La Plazuela at La Fonda on the Plaza is a feast for the senses. The room is stunning and the menu sophisticated, showcasing old favorites with New World twists and truly authentic Northern New Mexican cuisine. Our wine list is award-winning, our service is impeccable and, according to the reviewers, you’ll be dining in the “best of Santa Fe Style.” Come make memories with us! La Plazuela hours: Breakfast 7–11:30 am daily. Lunch 11:30 am–2 pm Monday–Friday; 11:30 am– 3 pm Saturday and Sunday. Dinner 5:30–10 pm daily.
Santacafé
Street parking lot. Open seven days a week. Lunch 11:30 am–2:30 pm; dinner 5–10 pm. Josh’s Barbecue
3486 Zafarano, 505-474-6466 joshsbbq.com Voted Top 3 Caterer of 2010! Savor the flavor of classic American barbecue created with a special New Mexican twist. Chef/owner Josh Baum, with his manager Rodney Estrada, dish up a huge fresh daily selection of slow-smoked, mouth-watering meat choices, including tender brisket and succulent natural ribs, served with a choice of sides, sauces, and desserts, all house-made. Special regional dishes like smoked chicken taquitos and green-chile brisket burritos have made this eatery a local favorite, with additional chef’s specials offered daily. Also available: beer and wine, dine in or take out, full-service catering for all occasions, and a small private dining room for special events. Located next to Lowe’s and Regal 14 cinemas off Cerillos at Zafarano. Open for lunch and dinner. Winter hours: 11:30 am–8 pm, Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday; 11:30 am–9 pm Friday and Saturday; closed Mondays. La Casa Sena
125 E Palace, 505-988-9232 lacasasena.com La Casa Sena is located in the heart of old Santa Fe, in the historic Sena Plaza. Featuring innovative Americansouthwestern cuisine, an extensive wine list, and a spectacular outdoor patio, La Casa Sena is one of Santa Fe’s most popular restaurants. Recipient of the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator. For a more casual dining experience, visit La Cantina and be entertained by a waitstaff performing jazz and Broadway musical reviews nightly. Lunch is served 11:30 am–3 pm Monday–Saturday; dinner 5:30–10 pm nightly. Sunday brunch in a beautiful patio setting 11 am–3 pm. Our popular wine shop adjacent to the restaurant features a large selection of fine wines and is open 11 am–8 pm Monday–Saturday; noon–6 pm Sunday. mangiamo pronto!
228 Old Santa Fe Trail, 505-989-1904 mangiamopronto.com
A little slice of Tuscany in Santa Fe. This warm and chic Italian café offers fine coffee and espresso, pastries, frittata, pasta, panini, pizza, antipasti, gelato, soup, salads, wine and beer, With a beautiful patio, it is one of Santa Fe’s truly unique sidewalk cafés. You may dream that you are in Italy. Serving Sun–Tue 8 am–3 pm. Wed-Sat 8 am–8 pm. Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen
555 W Cordova, 505-983-7929 marias-santafe.com
We wrote the book on margaritas! The Great Margarita Book, published by Random House. Maria’s features over 160 margaritas, chosen “Best Margarita” in Santa Fe 14 years in a row. Each is hand poured and hand shaken, using only premium tequila, triple-sec, and pure freshsqueezed lemon juice (no mixes; no sugar). A Santa Fe tradition since 1950, specializing in old Santa Fe home-style cooking, with steaks, burgers, and fajitas. You can even watch tortillas being made by hand! Lunch and dinner 11 am–10 pm Monday–Friday; noon–10 pm Saturday and Sunday. Reservations are suggested. Rancho de Chimayó
Santa Fe County Rd 98 on the scenic “High Road to Taos,” 505-984-2100
231 Washington, 505-984-1788 santacafe.com Centrally located in Santa Fe’s distinguished downtown district, this charming southwestern bistro, situated in the historic Padre Gallegos House, offers your guests the classic Santa Fe backdrop. Step into the pristine experience Santacafé has been consistently providing for more than 25 years. New American cuisine is tweaked in a southwestern context, and the food is simply and elegantly presented. Frequented by the famous and infamous, the Santacafé patio offers some of the best people watching in Santa Fe! During high season, our courtyard, protected by a sun canopy, becomes one of the most coveted locales in Santa Fe. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Rio Chama
414 Old Santa Fe Trail, 505-955-0765 riochamasteakhouse.com Rio Chama is located just off the plaza near the state capitol. Featuring the finest prime and choice dry and wet aged steaks, chops, seafood and an extensive wine list. Chef Tom Kerpon draws on French, Mediterranean and Asian influences to complement our indigenous Southwestern cuisine. Rio Chama offers a mix of intimate dining rooms with kiva fireplaces, and a lively bar scene. Rio Chama is a favorite of locals and visitors alike.
featured listing Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi
113 Washington 505-988-3030 innoftheanasazi.com
New Mexico’s only Mobil Four-Star, AAA Four Diamond hotel is also home to Santa Fe’s highly acclaimed culinary destinations. The Anasazi Restaurant features a welcoming and rustic Southwestern atmosphere. Chef Oliver Ridgeway offers seasonal menus celebrating American cuisine with fresh, regional ingredients.
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Fiesta Forever F E S T I V A L S Why should all the fiesta fun happen in September? Get out and enjoy the city’s more wintry offerings during the inaugural Santa Fe Winter Fiesta, February 18–27 at venues all over town. A $20 lanyard—available at the Lensic Performing Arts Center box office—entitles the wearer to free deals and discounts on restaurant meals, nightlife, museum admission, and outdoor adventures, including a 15 percent discount at Ski Santa Fe. For more information, visit santafewinterfiesta.com
On Their Toes
Two new ballets—including Stamping Ground, choreographed by Jiri Kylian—will premiere at the Lensic Performing Arts Center on March 11 and 12 when the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet comes back into town with a mixed repertory. It’s a performance that celebrates the nationally acclaimed company’s 15th anniversary season and, as always, the incredible athleticism and grace of some of the country’s finest dancers. $20–$72, 7:30 pm, 505-988-1234, ticketssantafe.com
Deals for Two
D I N I N G If you’ve been thinking about checking out one of Santa Fe’s many outstanding eateries, here’s the nudge you need: Santa Fe’s second annual Restaurant Week. From March 6 to 13, more than three dozen establishments, from Amavi to Zia Diner, will offer dinner for two at fixed prices ranging from $25 to $40. Look for chef demonstrations, wine tastings, and other special events, too. Visit santafe.newmexicorestaurantweek.com
clockwise from top: istock, DOUGLAS MERRIAM, rosalie o’connor
DANCE
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Buying or Selling Indian Art¶ Know the Law
For the most complete, up-to-date calendar of events in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, visit santafean.com
Artsy Feasty “Stop, Look and Eat” when top galleries pair up ART with local chefs for the Edible Art Tour. Visit homes filled with paintings, sculpture, and other fine works from area galleries on the Art of the Home Tour. Attend a fashion show luncheon, a gala dinner and silent auction, or a guys-only lunch at the Rio Chama Steakhouse, featuring special guest Jim Jeffcoat (former Dallas Cowboy), fine spirits, and fine cigars. These events and more are part of the 14th annual ArtFeast, February 25–27, a weekend of activities that benefit ArtSmart, a nonprofit organization that supports art programs in the Santa Fe public schools. For more information, visit artfeast.com
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Clay Nation San Ildefonso artist Tony Da (1940–2008) came from a family of accomplished potters: his grandmother was Maria Martinez; his father was Popovi Da. Tony continued the tradition of pioneering works in clay, creating innovative pottery that incorporated turquoise, wrought silver, and shell beads. See some of his most outstanding work—including red, black, and polychromatic pieces and sculptural bears and turtles—at Creative Spark! The Life and Art of Tony Da, opening February 13 at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (710 Camino Lejo, 505-476-1250). Exhibit runs through December 31, 2011. Museum hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 10 am–5 pm. For more information, visit indianartsandculture.org
top: artfeast; bottom: King Galleries of Scottsdale
ART
photograph by gabriella marks TRIGGERFINGER PHOTOGRAPHY www.triggerfinger.com
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Weight Training for Your stay becomes extraordinary at the Hilton Santa Fe Historic Your Lifestyle Plaza. Originally the hacienda of the influential Ortiz Family
Achieve who your settledfitness in Santagoals Fe in 1694, we offer luxury guestrooms, private casitas and thoughtful touches for the leisure and business traveler alike. For the start of the day, lunch, or a lite dinner El Caùon offers fabulous fare morning, noon & night. Just steps from Santa Fe’s Historic Plaza with fine art galleries, museums and shopping—a unique experience in a unique destination.
open nightly for lite dining and spirits
100 Sandoval St., Santa Fe, NM 87501 | 800-336-3676 | HiltonOfSantaFe.com
Carl and Training Sandra's Gym Weight for 153A Paseo de Peralta Your Lifestyle in DeVargas Center Achieve your fitness goals Santa Fe, NM 87501 www.carlandsandras.com Call Today 505 982 6760
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santafeancalendar.com Carl and Sandra's Gym 153A Paseo de Peralta in DeVargas Center Santa Fe, NM 87501 www.carlandsandras.com Call Today 505 982 6760
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Mac (and PC) Consulting Training, Planning, Setup, Troubleshooting, Anything Final Cut Pro, Networks, Upgrades, & Hand Holding
Art • Music • Community Festivals • Food Historical • Kids Stuff Readings • Theater FEATURING TEXT MESSAGE & EMAIL EVENT REMINDERS
THE BEST CALENDAR IN SANTA FE
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phone: (505) 577-2151 email: Pov@Skardis.com Serving Northern NM since 1996
Santa Fe • 505.984.1146 • divainteriors.com
Custom Furniture • casamarron.com
Febr uar y 18-27 , 2011 Lots of Exciting Events! Hundreds of Businesses! Big Discounts for Lanyard Holders!
Presented by: Hutton Broadcasting & The City of Santa Fe Convention Brought to you in part by:
Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino Chalmers Capitol Ford Lincoln Five & Dime General Store Heineken Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops Santa Fe Mountain Sports Sierra Santa Fe GMC Buick
For more info, go to
SantaFeWinterFiesta.com
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| D AY T R I P |
Cerrillos photo by Ca r ri e McCa r t h y
Destination: Casa Grande Trading Post, Petting Zoo, & Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum Distance from Santa Fe: 25 miles
Directions: Take I-25 to exit 278a
Hours: Open daily 9 am–6 pm
Details: The 28–room “living hacienda” was built by Patricia and Todd Brown with 65,000 handmade adobe bricks in 1975, and they have been open for business for 33 years. The Mining Museum is their “gem,” with four rooms full of local antiques that—with a kitschy edge and a life’s pursuitful of expertise—celebrate, explore, and explain the industry that almost made Cerrillos the capital of New Mexico. Bonus tip #1: Ask to see to the Acme Triumph wood-burning range in Patricia and Todd’s kitchen; made in Ohio in 1890, it still works. Bonus tip #2: Ask Todd for a tour of his “rock garden”—he does his lapidary work there, cutting and grinding the turquoise from their mine. If you’re lucky, the 3:40 train will roll by, completing your Old West time-travel experience. Info: 17 Waldo, 505-438-3008, casagrandetradingpost.com 64
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N O C O N A B U RG E S S
AT L A N TA W I T H H U M M I N G B I R D S
A C RY L I C O N C A N VA S
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LEGENDARY MOVE O U R N E W L O C A T I O N : 12 5 L I N C O L N , S A N T A F E
FEBRUARY 4, 2010
LEGENDS SANTA FE
125 Lincoln Avenue Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 505 983 5639
L E G E N D S S A N TA F E . C O M