Santa Fe Reporter, January 24, 2024

t to limit e s is A P E e h T g water in k in r d in S PFA ectable to barely det tilities u r e t a w n a C levels. ndard? meet the sta CHMIDT, P.12

BY CHARLES S

SFREPORTER.COM

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JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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FACES: Expressive, engaged people and animals. Please get permission from subjects when applicable.

PLACES: Outdoors and the built environment. Enough with the churches and the statues already.

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Spiral Conchas Lake, Summer 2022

by NATE REININGA

Entry fees are $5 per photo. There is no limit to the number of entries each photographer may make. Photos must be submitted electronically at 300 DPI. 2

JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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SFREPORTER.COM

JANUARY 24-30, 2024 | Volume 51, Issue 4

NEWS OPINION 5 NEWS 7 DAYS, CLAYTOONZ AND THIS MODERN WORLD 6

Experienced, local professionals

HONORING HERITAGE 9 SFPS aims to improve student achievement through stronger bilingual education CALLING FOR BACKUP 10 As the FY25 budget development begins, city officials consider job vacancies and new positions to support councilors COVER STORY 12 THE COST OF FREEING DRINKING WATER FROM “FOREVER CHEMICALS” The EPA is set to limit PFAS in drinking water to barely detectable levels. Can water utilities meet the standard?

A Symbol of Commitment for More Than a Century assisting you with your Treasury Management needs. Our team is committed to helping your

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CULTURE

MyCenturyBank.com | 505.798.5908

SFR PICKS 17 New film Ingress comes to the Jean Cocteau for one night only, plus so much beer and soup and a little something-something from former Santa Fean/ ongoing harp badass Jude Brothers THE CALENDAR 18 Where’s the karaoke? The pub quiz? That one band you like? Where are all the freaking flautists, man?

Find ‘em in here!

3 QUESTIONS 22 With Zia Singers Artistic Director Aaron Howe

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER JULIE ANN GRIMM ADVERTISING DIRECTOR ROBYN DESJARDINS ART DIRECTOR ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN CULTURE EDITOR ALEX DE VORE SENIOR CORRESPONDENT JULIA GOLDBERG STAFF WRITERS EVAN CHANDLER MO CHARNOT CLASSIFIEDS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ZOE WHITTLE

FOOD 27 NEW ATTACHMENTS Dear Ortiz, we’re coming back for that burger and you’d better be ready for us because this is serious MOVIES 28 I.S.S. REVIEW Would you understand if we said it’s Danny Castellano in space? No? OK, well what if we said it’s about space madness? Also space sadness...?

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SFREPORTER.COM • • JANUARY JANUARY24-30, 24-30,2024 2024 SFREPORTER.COM

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ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET PRESENTS

MOMIX FEBRUARY 6 7:30 PM

UP NEXT: FEBRUARY 12, 7:30 PM

LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO The World’s Foremost All-Male Comic Ballet Company Photo: Marcello Orselli

Lensic Performing Arts Center

This performance is a part of the 2024 Art + Sol Santa Fe Winter Festival Made possible through the Estate of Dolly Gray-Bussard

For information & tickets: aspensantafeballet.com 4

JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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SFREPORTER.COM

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

SFREPORTER.COM / NEWS/LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR

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Mail letters to PO Box 4910, Santa Fe, NM 87502; or email them to editor@sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

COVER, JAN. 10: “KEEPING SCORE”

WHERE IT BEGINS The education of a child begins around the age of one at home. Just simple songs and stories repeated will help. You can pay teachers 100k a year and test until the cows come home. You’ll get the same results if you don’t get help starting in the home. I was told a few years ago by a teacher in Santa Fe. An “A” student in New Mexico would be a “C” student out of state. The educational system had been dumbed down. For a student to drop out of school, the student has to have the parent or guardian sign a consent.

What does that tell you?

R. AUDAIN SANTA FE

NEWS, JAN. 17: “WALDORF 2.0”

in nourishing young children and burgeoning adults has sustained their passionate engagement and efforts, while stepping forward to take responsibility that Waldorf education in Santa Fe may find its ground and go forward. This practical application of transforming the creative Waldorf curriculum and holistic approach to education into a charter school is courageous and speaks of their devotion and commitment to the principles inherent in growth and change.

May the new Sangre de Cristo Waldorf School flourish and become all the board, families and the community it serves.

MAGGIE LEE SANTA FE

OPINION, JAN. 2:

The Best Way to Learn about Judaism in New Mexico Curious about Judaism? Exploring your Jewish Roots? Perplexed by Antisemitism?

In interfaith/intercultural relationship?

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For more information, Scan QR code or call Lead Teacher, Rabbi Dov Gartenberg at 505.582.9577

“MISSED OPPORTUNITY”

DODGED A BULLET I wonder what the agenda is of people writing… in support of Avangrid. Anyone can look up Avangrid’s reputation and see it’s horrible with consumers, and that New Mexico dodged a bullet doggedly aimed at it for three years. Why would anyone want to partner with a company infamous for the consumer pain it causes wherever it’s established?

ELISSA HEYMAN SANTA FE

CARRY ON I would like to commend the board and families involved in forging a new direction for the continuance of the Waldorf school. Their love for the heart of what a Waldorf education may bring

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SANTA FE EAVESDROPPER “I don’t need to go to London. I’d love to go to London but I don’t need to go to London.”

—Overheard at the Cowgirl “You know, I finally lost my COVID virginity in October.”

—Overheard at a meeting about new state offices

Send your Overheard in Santa Fe tidbits to: eavesdropper@sfreporter.com SFREPORTER.COM SFREPORTER.COM • • JANUARY JANUARY24-30, 24-30,2024 2024

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S FRE P ORTE R.COM / FU N

ANIMAL SHELTER AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ARGUE OVER WHETHER TWO SICK DOGS CONSTITUTE “OUTBREAK” Stay tuned for dog and cat masking protocols.

LEGISLATURE STILL PLUGGING ALONG

In case you forgot, which would have been totally normal.

Wh I nevey, r!

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER JON BLOCK WANTS TOUGHER CRIME BILLS AFTER HIS CAR WAS ROBBED Whereas we didn’t feel like true New Mexicans ‘til our cars were robbed.

PROVIDERS SAY HEALTH DEPARTMENT DRAGGING ITS FEET ON DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS When “mañana” seems like kind of a hassle.

MVD WANTS TO START DIGITAL IDS Great Scott! The future is now.

SANTA FE ONCE AGAIN TAKES MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE’S TOP SPOT FOR SMALL CITIES IN WHICH TO LIVE AND WORK IN MOVIES Y’know, when there’s not a strike going down.

As a man hnormal must uman, I c beep boncede, oop.

DESANTIS DROPS OUT OF GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

File this under foregone conclusion.

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JANUARY JANUARY24-30, 24-30,2024 2024 •• SFREPORTER.COM SFREPORTER.COM

READ IT ON SFREPORTER.COM CITY MONEY

The state auditor says he remains concerned when it comes to city’s financial practices outlined in the FY 2022 audit.

W E A R E WAY M O R E TH A N W ED N ES DAY H ER E A R E A CO UPL E O F O N L I N E EXCLUS I V ES :

BALDWIN INDICTED OVER “RUST”

A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on charges in his fatal movie-set shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

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JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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SFREPORTER.COM

SFREPORTER.COM / NEWS

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

Honoring Heritage

SFPS aims to improve student achievement through stronger bilingual education

Bilingual teacher Cristina Cardenas Lopez makes her classroom at Sweeney Elementary School welcoming to her primarily Spanish-speaking students, though she has a large class size.

BY M O C H A R N OT m o @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

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arents at Santa Fe Public Schools have little time left before the district’s annual lottery, which allows parents to place children in a school outside their residential area, closes Jan. 31 for the 2024-2025 school year. For parents who hope to land their kids at a bilingual English-Spanish program, the window is especially important.

Daniel Pastrana, the district’s new director of the Language & Culture Department, says the district wants to raise awareness about dual language classes offered across 10 of its schools to as many families as possible, in part promoting recent plans to build on bilingual programs to improve educational outcomes for English-learning students.

Pastrana says the “small but mighty” three-person department has been working toward the goal of “biliteracy and bilingualism, grade-level academic achievement and socio-cultural confidence” for the 2,200 English-learning—or, as Pastrana prefers to refer to them, “emergent bilingual”—students in the program.

“We’ve been really focusing on instruction this year with all our schools, going in and working side-by-side with teachers and leaders to grow our understanding of best practices for instruction for multilingual students,” Pastrana tells SFR.

Pastrana says the department’s priorities include professional development; instructional alignment and creating strategic plans to ensure full staffing; and minimizing combination classes of more than one grade to boost student achievement in dual language classes.

At schools where bilingual instruction is necessary to serve a higher proportion of students whose first language is Spanish— like Sweeney Elementary on Santa Fe’s Southside—these improvements could go a long way.

Cristina Cardenas Lopez, for example, teaches a fourth- and fifth-grade combination bilingual class at Sweeney.

“We need a lot of teachers—even English teachers. Here [at Sweeney], with 11 bilingual classrooms, all of them are combo classes,” she says. “It’s a pity, because if I just had half of this classroom, I think the program could do more.”

According to Cardenas Lopez, many new arrivals come to Sweeney from a variety of Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Since this school year began, she says, her class of 23 students grew to 27—three more students than the state’s student:teacher ratio law allows.

However, Cardenas Lopez emphasizes that Sweeney will not turn away students in need of linguistic support.

Pastrana, with more than 23 years of experience teaching bilingual classes and a

lifetime of switching between speaking Spanish and English, echoes the district’s commitment.

“I’m the child of two immigrants, from Ecuador and Colombia, and I did not have the opportunity to have language and culture reflected in my schooling from pre-K through university,” Pastrana says. “So, it’s really a personal calling for me to make sure that was something we did afford to our students. It’s a wonderful and beautiful way to recognize students’ language and culture.”

SFPS utilizes three different models of bilingual programming. Heritage programs at Ramirez Thomas Elementary, Kearny Elementary, Santa Fe High and Capital High help students develop and maintain a level of comprehension and speaking in Spanish, with less focus on reading and writing. The other two dual language models aim to graduate students who can fluently read, write, speak and comprehend both English and Spanish. At one school, students receive 50% of their instruction per day in English, while at others, teachers use an 80/20 model, starting with more Spanish instruction and increasing the percentage of English each year.

Cardenas Lopez says educators must trust the process and respect the percentages of Spanish instruction each year for the instruction to work, and by the time students reach fourth or fifth grade, they will have a stronger grasp on both languages—at least for speaking.

NEWS

Last year, Sweeney students did not perform to their full potential. Only 12% of Sweeney students scored proficient on state tests in English and language arts in the 2022-2023 school year, the lowest percentage in the district. Despite these scores, English language learners at Sweeney actually grew in ELA proficiency by 6% over the past year, from 4% to 10%.

“Orally, they’re really fluent. But tests are not always for oral proficiency; they’re always for reading, writing and the grammar as well,” Cardenas Lopez says. “Sometimes they cannot show how smart they are because on tests—even the Spanish tests—the instructions are English.”

To help her students, Cardenas Lopez teaches concepts and definitions in Spanish, then shifts to English words they need to know. For example, in a science class she taught, she explained an anatomical chart to students in Spanish before translating key vocabulary into English as it appears in textbooks.

“We want our students to succeed,” she says. “That’s the motto of our school: Sweeney Succeeds.”

However, some question whether or not students can succeed in dual language programs when test scores are low. A few studies raise concerns about students leaving bilingual programs without proficiency in either of the languages taught.

Pastrana believes differently. One highly influential 2003 study by Thomas and Collier he cites tracked students longitudinally across various language program models, and found that students who consistently learn in well-supported bilingual programs outperform their monolingual peers over time.

Pastrana also cites his own experience teaching dual-language at Manzanita SEED School in Oakland, California as an example of a project succeeding substantially. Within six years of being designated a “failing” school for its low English literacy rates, Manzanita SEED was recognized in the press for receiving a National Title I distinguished school award for closing student achievement gaps for emergent bilingual students better than any other school in the state.

“That showed me really early on in my career what’s possible when done right,” Pastrana says. “Programs need to be properly staffed, they need to be properly supported with professional development and we need to have the correct materials and curriculum to teach grade levels and standards.” SFPS, he says, is poised to “show what the potential is and can be of our bilingual programs.”

SFREPORTER.COM SFREPORTER.COM • • JANUARY JANUARY24-30, 24-30,2024 2024

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NEWS

Calling for Backup As the FY25 budget development begins, city officials consider job vacancies and new positions to support councilors B Y E VA N C H A N D L E R e v a n @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

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he City of Santa Fe will soon begin crafting its budget for the next fiscal year, and officials are looking at ways to respond to increased workloads for city workers in the face of hundreds of vacant jobs.

A classification and compensation study from Evergreen Solutions late last year cited a need for higher wages for city employees.

Today, more than one-fifth of the city’s authorized positions don’t have workers. Human Resources Director Bernadette Salazar tells SFR the latest headcount of city employees, both union and non-union, shows 1,290 filled positions and 373 vacancies—a vacancy rate of 22%.

The Transit Division tops the list of the most in need, accounting for about 50 vacancies. The city’s most recent audit report, which covered Fiscal Year 2022, noted staff shortages were the among the reasons for failure to comply with financial controls, grant requirements and other functions.

City Manager John Blair tells SFR Mayor Alan Webber is “in the early stages” of drafting his FY 2025 budget proposal and does not have solid plans to create new positions.

Webber will evaluate positions that have been vacant for long periods of time to deter-

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mine if they should be kept open. One option, Blair says, would be to repurpose positions to be more “customer service facing” in order to do “a better job of responding to resident needs as quickly as possible.”

“It’s about making government work for the residents who are here now, not holding positions in place for potential future administration down the road that may or may not want this position,” Blair says.

But with proposals due in the coming months and hearings before the Finance Committee for the next budget set to begin this spring, some city councilors are pushing for certain new positions.

District 2 Councilor and Finance Committee Chair Carol Romero Wirth says it’s time to create support positions specifically to help elected officials respond to city residents. She tells SFR her workload as a councilor continues to increase and she’s been looking at the cost of adding several of

SFREPORTER.COM SFREPORTER.COM

SFRE PO RTER .CO M / N EWS

those jobs to the city roster.

“We’re technically part time, but it’s anything but a part-time job. Many of us have other full-time jobs, so I really see this as building the capacity of the council is one thing we can do,” Romero Wirth says. “It would be helpful to have somebody who could help me gather the necessary information to provide a thoughtful and detailed response to people’s concerns.”

In 2023, the council passed an ordinance allowing the city to hire staff to support councilors when funds are available, which Romero Wirth says means “it really is now a budget question.”

“I think it would be a tall order to have one person serve eight councilors. Exactly what we can afford and what this will look like, I think that’s part of the ongoing conversation,” Romero Wirth says.

District 2 Councilor Michael Garcia, on the other hand, tells SFR he agrees more positions are needed, but the council needs to consider how positions might work together.

“I think it ultimately comes down to what is the job description going to be,” Garcia says.

In the Constituent Services Office, for example, he says the city needs to “increase capacity directly…We’re now seeing with an

increase in population and the aging infrastructure, that these repeat, increasing requests are going to become much, much more common.”

That office has three full-time staff members and two vacant full-time jobs.

The volume of requests it receives demonstrates the need for the department to staff up, Constituent Services Manager Isabella Sharpe told councilors at a Jan. 3 study session.

The city added new positions including two public records specialists and eight new jobs in the Community Health and Safety Department in December 2023 after finance officials reported collecting more gross receipts tax revenue than it anticipated.

Garcia and Romero Wirth both said the city should consider using that revenue source to create new positions, but Blair tells SFR it’s not a simple prospect.

“What happens if fewer people come to Santa Fe next year, and we’re looking at less revenue in which to spend on employees and staff and resources?” Blair says. “That will be a thing that the governing body I suspect will take seriously, ensuring that there are enough recurring dollars every year to fund the positions that they want.”

ANSON

ST E V E N

S-BOLLE

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Brad Mehldau: 14 Reveries Wednesday, February 7 I 7:30 pm I New Mexico Museum of Art

Jazz The Santa Fe Harmonizers barbershop chorus invites you to join us for 2 special events in January and February...

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! JANUARY 27, 2024 7:00PM

Delfeayo Marsalis

ST. JOHN'S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra Saturday, February 10 I 7:30 pm I Lensic Performing Arts Center

PerformanceSantaFe.org | 505 984 8759

Purchase tickets at the door, by calling 505-596-0350, or online at https://bit.ly/3rS6ckr - $15 adults, $5 students. Cash or check.

For Valentine's Day, you can do something special for a special someone in the Santa Fe area. The Harmonizers will send at least 4 singers to deliver 2 love songs, a card, and a rose.

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Call our hotline at 505-596-0350 or email santafeharmonizers@gmail.com SFREPORTER.COM

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JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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The Cost of Freeing Drinking Water from “Forever Chemicals” The EPA is set to limit PFAS in drinking water to barely detectable levels. Can water utilities meet the standard?

BY C H A R L E S S C H M I DT Fo r U n d a r k

S

ituated in a former sand and gravel pit just a few hundred feet from the Kennebec River in central Maine, the Riverside Station pumps half a million gallons of fresh groundwater every day. The well station processes water from two of five wells on either side of the river operated by the Greater Augusta Utility District, or GAUD, which supplies drinking water to nearly 6,000 local households. Most of them reside in Maine’s state capital, Augusta, just a few miles to the south. Ordinarily, GAUD prides itself on the quality of its water supply.

“You could drink it out of the ground and be perfectly safe,” said Brian Tarbuck, GAUD’s general manager.

But in March 2021, environmental sampling of Riverside well water revealed trace levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or “forever chemicals,” as they’re better known. The levels at Riverside didn’t exceed Maine’s drinking water standard of 20 parts per trillion (ppt), which was a relief, Tarbuck said. Still, he and his colleagues at the utility were wary. PFAS have been linked to a variety of health problems, and Maine lawmakers at the time were debating an even stricter limit for the chemicals. Tarbuck knew a lower stan12

JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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dard was coming someday. The only question was when.

As it turns out, a tougher standard is expected early this year. That’s when the US Environmental Protection Agency is set to finalize an enforceable cap on PFAS in drinking water that will require GAUD and thousands of other utilities around the country to update their treatment methods. The standard, which in regulatory terms is called a maximum contaminant level or MCL, limits permissible amounts of the two most studied and ubiquitous PFAS compound—PFOA and PFOS—to just 4 ppt in drinking water each. Roughly equivalent to a single drop in five Olympic-size swimming pools, this is the lowest concentration that current analytical instruments can reliably detect “within specific limits of precision and accuracy during routine laboratory operating conditions,” according to the EPA. Four other PFAS— FHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and HFPO-DA, which along with a related chemical is sometimes referred to by the trade name GenX—will be regulated by combining their acceptable levels into a single value. Utilities will have three to five years to bring their systems into compliance.

Agency officials estimate that between 3,400 and 6,300 water systems will be affected by the regulation, which is the EPA’s first ever PFAS standard and the first MCL set by the agency for any chemical in drinking water in over 25 years. PFOA and PFOS account for the majority of anticipated exceedances.

GAUD is now gearing up to spend $3 to $5 million on PFAS removal technology, according to Tarbuck, much of which will be passed on to its customers in the form of

SFREPORTER.COM

higher water bills. Nationally, the price tag of meeting the standard could top $37 billion in upfront costs, in addition to $650 million in annual operating expenses, according to the American Water Works Association, or AWWA, a nonprofit lobbying group representing water utilities. That’s far higher than the EPA’s cost estimate of $777 million to $1.2 billion and a significant burden for an industry already contending with other costly priorities, such as boosting cybersecurity and “replacing all those antiquated, leaking big water pipes that transport the water from the treatment plant to the service line” that connect to homes, said Marc Edwards, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech. Chris Moody, the AWWA’s regulatory technical manager, said most of the money will be spent in the next several years, as utilities race to install PFAS removal systems and other infrastructure needed to meet compliance deadlines.

In proposing the limits, EPA officials said that they had leveraged the latest science to protect the public from PFAS pollution.

Environmental groups welcomed the move as long overdue. But the standard has drawn widespread criticism from the water utility industry and some scientists who say that in many places, small drops in PFAS water levels will matter little for exposure or health.

“There are other strategies that get us to safer, public health protective approaches to PFAS that don’t involve the really strict standard that EPA is putting forward,” said Ned Calonge, an associate dean for public health practice at the Colorado School of Public Health and chair of a 2022 National

Academies of Sciences report on PFAS exposure, testing, and clinical follow-up.

A key issue, critics say, is that the standard ensnares too many utilities with very small PFAS exceedances. Roughly 98% of drinking water utilities in the country, including GAUD, have maximum PFOA and PFOS levels below 10 ppt, according to the AWWA. When the levels are already so low, further reductions of a few parts per trillion “is not going to have much effect on total exposure intake,” wrote Ian Cousins, an environmental chemist at Stockholm University and one of the world’s leading researchers on PFAS exposure, in an email to Undark.

Drinking water is only one among many different pathways by which people can be exposed to PFAS. The chemicals are also in agricultural produce, fish, meat, outdoor soil, household dust, nonstick cookware, cosmetics, fast-food wrappers, stain- and water-resistant fabrics and other products. Just how much these sources each contribute to PFAS exposure is a subject of ongoing research. But the EPA estimates that Americans get 80% of their PFAS intake from sources other than drinking water, and according to Cousins, dietary contributions likely account for most human exposure. The US Food and Drug Administration has required the phase out of some PFAS in food packaging. But “food is contaminated via bioaccumulation in agricultural and marine food chains,” Cousins said. “We cannot clean up our food in the same way that we can add a treatment process to our drinking water.”

Yet another point of contention has to do with EPA’s methods in deriving the new limits. Scientists broadly disagree over how PFAS affect human health. Jamie DeWitt, a professor of environmental and molecular toxicology at Oregon State University who also sat on the EPA’s PFAS review panel and has appeared as an expert witness for plaintiffs in PFAS cases, emphasized that evidence from different studies links the chemicals with cancer, as well as higher cholesterol levels, elevated enzymes associated with liver damage, and reduced birth weights. Much of that evidence comes from studies of people who were highly exposed under occupational settings, or who lived near sites where the chemicals were routinely discharged into the environment.

But evidence linking the effects to trace PFAS levels is “less convincing,” said Alan Boobis, emeritus professor of toxicology at Imperial College London. Meanwhile, the EPA errs on the side of extreme caution, while health agencies elsewhere in the world apply less conservative assumptions to their own PFAS regulations. The World Health Organization, for instance, citing what it describes as “significant uncertainties and absence of consensus” over critical PFAS health

First created in the 1930s, PFAS were later developed for commercial use during the 1940s by companies including the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, later renamed 3M. Made from a carbon backbone entwined with atoms of fluorine, the chemicals deflect water, grease, and heat and have been produced in industrial quantities for decades. PFOA and PFOS were among the first of thousands of different PFAS produced to reach the market. Used to manufacture products such as Teflon, GoreTex, Scotchgard fabric protectors, firefighting foams, and microchips, the two compounds are dubbed long-chain PFAS because their backbones contain eight carbon atoms.

Unfortunately, the same properties that make PFAS commercially useful also make them stubbornly persistent. The carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest in organic chemistry. PFAS resist environmental degradation and metabolism by nearly all living creatures. The most contaminated sites occur near manufacturing facilities or sites where historic PFASs were heavily used before they were phased out. For instance, groundwater sampled at wells adjacent to an industrial tannery in Rockford, Michigan, operated by a company called Wolverine World Wide, contained PFOA and PFOS at combined levels higher than 75,000 ppt. But PFAS circulate

MICHAEL G. SEAMANS FOR UNDARK

endpoints, recently set a provisional guideline that limits PFOA and PFOS to a higher value of 100 ppt in drinking water and 500 ppt for all other measurable PFAS. In Australia, the drinking water PFOA guideline is 560 ppt.

Moody said neither grant programs nor settlements from litigation against PFAS manufacturers will fully cover the anticipated cost of complying with the EPA’s new standard. Some funding could be made available through recently proposed settlements with 3M and other PFAS manufacturers worth up to nearly $11.5 billion. But the pay to any one water system is limited, and utilities that opt out of the settlements might wait years to resolve their own cases.

Moody’s association says that the costs of building and operating PFAS treatment systems will be borne mainly by consumers.

The AWWA’s estimated rate hikes range from $305 to $3,570 per household—and could be even higher. According to Moody, the smallest communities will pay the most, since fewer households share in the total cost.

Given the “huge amount of money to comply to these guidelines,” Cousins argued that the public might be better served by a policy that prioritizes hot spots of PFAS contamination. “That would make sense from my point of view,” he said in an email. “There needs to be some pragmatism built into the regulatory process so that the limited money can be spent on the worst contamination cases first.”

There needs to be some pragmatism built into the regulatory process so that the limited money can be spent on the worst contamination cases first.

- Ian Cousins, environmental chemist at Stockholm University

in the global atmosphere, and the chemicals have been detected as far afield as Antarctica and the Tibetan plateau, deposited there by rain and snow.

Tarbuck said he isn’t sure how the wells at Riverside Station in Maine became contaminated. “Because these numbers are so incredibly small, it’s hard to pinpoint,” he said. “It’s a head-scratcher.” The site is located far from any industrial sources, but sampling has shown slightly elevated PFAS in the Kennebec, possibly originating from contaminated sludge used as fertilizer by upstream farms. “We believe that the PFAS is coming from the river,” Tarbuck said.

A view of the Greater Augusta Utility District’s Riverside Station facility, near the Kennebec River.

In 2021, water collected at the well station, which pumps half a million gallons of fresh groundwater every day, revealed trace levels of PFAS.

In 2003, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published sampling results suggesting that nearly all Americans had measurable amounts of PFAS in their blood. Published studies had by that time associated PFOA and PFOS with liver disease, reproductive problems and cancer in laboratory animals, and one study suggested a link between PFOS and human bladder cancer, but only among workers who were exposed to high levels on the job for at least five years. More recent evidence associates PFOA and PFOS with testicular and kidney cancers, and based on these results, the EPA now classifies both compounds as likely human carcinogens.

Internal industry documents show that 3M, DuPont and other manufacturers secretly knew decades ago that PFAS are toxic. But it wasn’t until the 2000s that these companies voluntarily started pulling PFOA, PFOS and other long-chain compounds off the market. By 2018, according to the CDC’s most recent data, blood levels of PFOA and PFOS in the US population had plummeted by 70% and 85%, respectively.

But that’s not to say PFAS production ended. Companies merely substituted with different molecules, such as PFBS and GenX, called short-chain PFAS in part because they contain no more than six carbon atoms each.

The thinking was that short-chain PFAS — still widely used in food wrappers, floor wax,

paints, coatings, and many other products — were safer because they’re more rapidly excreted from the body. Yet mounting evidence shows that they too are environmentally persistent and have toxic effects. Short-chain PFAS have been shown to cause thyroid and liver problems in animal studies, and recent evidence links them to metabolic changes in isolated lab-grown human cells. Significant human exposures, Cousins said, come from short-chain PFAS contaminating the air and dust in homes. The chemicals are abundant in indoor environments, research shows, and the levels in human blood rise with increasing exposure to household dust as well as drinking water.

Evidence of PFAS toxicity prompted growing efforts to reduce human exposure in water and other sources. But the regulatory landscape evolved without any consistency, so now drinking water standards in the US and elsewhere vary widely according to the “interpretations of different agencies and how they view the same data and what concentrations they think are appropriately protective,” said Tom Lee, a partner and leader of the PFAS team at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP, an international law firm. MCLs in the US, for instance, currently range from a low of 6 ppt in Michigan for PFNA all the way to 400,000 ppt in Michigan for a compound called PFHxA. The EPA’s pending standard could level CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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KEN WRIGHT/U.S. AIR FORCE COURTESY IAN COUSINS

the playing field for PFAS exposures in water.

But the agency’s path to deriving the regulatory thresholds has proven divisive. In 2016, the EPA issued a health advisory of 70 ppt for PFOA and PFOS combined that EPA scientists said would be safe over a lifetime of exposure. According to the agency, the level had been derived using “the best available peer-reviewed studies” and would aid health officials confronting PFAS in their own local water systems. But health advisories such as this one are non-enforceable, and utilities were not actually bound to it.

Then, in 2022, the EPA pivoted to another, much lower non-enforceable target. This time, the agency called for limiting PFOS to 0.02 ppt and PFOA to just 0.004 ppt drinking water—levels even lower than what was being detected in rainwater at various sites around the world. Moving from these interim updated health advisory levels, as the EPA called them (they are also referred to as maximum contaminant level goals, or MCLGs), to the currently proposed standard could create concern among consumers who might feel that “no matter what’s in my water, it’s still dangerous,” said Andrew Cohen, a hydrogeologist based in Westfield, New Jersey, who specializes in PFAS and consults for DuPont.

The EPA had set the 2022 values on the basis of evidence suggesting that PFOS and PFOA prevent diphtheria and tetanus vaccines from raising adequate immune responses in children. In the agency’s view, this immune system toxicity was the so-called critical effect—the first adverse effect that could be observed at the lowest tested dose— resulting from PFOA and PFOS exposure, explained Michael Dourson, a former EPA official who is also president and director of science at Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, a nonprofit consulting firm that evaluates chemical hazards on behalf of industrial and government clients.

But the degree to which trace PFAS levels in the part per trillion range harm human im-

A sea of fire-retardant foam was “unintentionally released,” according to Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, in an aircraft hangar at Travis Air Force Base in California on Sept. 24, 2013. Firefighting foam is one of many products manufactured with PFAS.

Environmental chemist Ian Cousins is one of the world’s leading researchers on PFAS exposure.

mune systems is heavily debated, and some outside the EPA “have been very hesitant to use these data,” said Boobis, the emeritus professor at Imperial College London. Indeed, health agencies in different countries—and even within the US—have based drinking water regulations on different critical effects seen at higher PFAS doses in animal studies.

The Australian PFOA guideline, at 560 ppt, is the least stringent value cited in a 2023 paper on international safe doses, and is based on developmental and reproductive problems observed in exposed mice.

Now the EPA is striking out in a different direction. Rather than basing the enforceable limits on immune effects, the agency instead derived the upcoming MCLs with an eye largely towards protecting people from cancer. But the agency took a highly precautionary stance—one that in this case amounts to a cautious policy choice, “not the state of

the science,” wrote Lynne Haber, a toxicologist and a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine who specializes in the assessment of cancer risks, in an email to Undark.

The EPA’s default position when setting cancer-protective exposure levels is that, without evidence to the contrary, just one molecule of a carcinogen can spawn cancerous changes in a cell. This controversial — and some would say outdated — line of thinking is grounded in what toxicologists know as the linear no-threshold dose-response model.

Dating back to the late 1920s, that model assumes that any exposure to ionizing radiation or a chemical carcinogen, no matter how small, can set off cancerous changes in a cell.

Because no amount of exposure is safe, the EPA rationalizes, the MCLG for a carcinogen should be set at zero.

But a standard of zero is unmeasurable

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WHAT ABOUT SANTA FE’S WATER?

T

he EPA’s current proposal to drop acceptable levels of PFAS to 4 ppt in drinking water would have no ostensible impact to Santa Fe’s municipal water sources because recent testing shows the compounds aren’t present in detectable amounts.

The City of Santa Fe hired a contractor last year for tests of all its supply wells and storage tanks, as well as at its Santa Fe River treatment plant on Canyon Road and at the Buckman Direct Diversion, which draws water off the Rio Grande for city and county taps. After four days of sampling in June 2023, a July report indicated no detection of PFAS concentrations.

BDD Facilities Manager Rick Carpenter tells SFR he does not anticipate increased costs or operations changes for the regional facility “PFAS is the soup of the day. It’s high profile and it will get controversial,” he tells SFR. “It probably will be very expensive for utilities that are not prepared. We are ahead of the curve.”

Using its own private contractor, the BDD conducted two rounds of PFAS analysis at the river intake and of the treatment plant finished water. In May 29, 2019, it tested for five compounds that were then part of the EPA’s standard list for contaminants and found no detectable levels. Then, in March 2023, tests at the same locations for 24 EPA-identified compounds also came up with nothing.

“From what we’ve seen so far, we don’t have a problem,” says BDD chemist Danny Carter. “In fact, we can’t even find any.”

Some domestic well owners in Santa Fe County, however, might need to address the presence of the contaminants. Last year, evidence of PFAS turned up in tests the county ordered after the Air National Guard confirmed PFAS was present in the ground under its facility at the Santa Fe airport.

It’s a different story for private wells owners in Santa Fe County, however. The county reported in November that five of six groundwater wells sampled in La Cienega and La Cieneguilla showed the presence of PFAS—at levels between 1.8 ppt and

25 ppt for the two compounds the EPA plans to regulate, PFOA and PFOS. The EPA recommends all private domestic well owners conduct regular testing for PFAS, and the county secured a grant from the state Environment Department for more testing that will help determine “the nature and extent of the potential impact to groundwater in these areas.”

The Air National Guard and other hundreds of military bases nationwide, including Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases contaminated land with firefighting foam that contained PFAS and was used for repeated training.

PFAS have also been detected in soil and sediment samples at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Technical Area 15 and within waters and sludge of its Wastewater Treatment Plant.

PFAS LIMITS ACROSS THE COUNTRY As of August 2023, just 24 states had instituted varying regulations for PFAS levels in drinking water. While some standards are enforceable, others are simply recommendations or only trigger notification. Shown below are the highest standards established for the two most studied compounds, PFOA and PFOS, or a combination of these, sometimes with other PFAS.

California NEvada New York north carolina illinois new jersey New hampshire Washington connecticut Michigan pennsylvania Maine massachusetts Rhode island Vermont Oregon Minnesota hawaii ALASKA Colorado deleware New Mexico Ohio wisconsin

10

20

30

40

50

Concentration of PFAS in parts per trillion (ppt)

60

70

SOURCE: BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER LLP

BY JULIE ANN GRIMM e d i t o r @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

and therefore unenforceable, according to Detlef Knappe, a professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University. So, the EPA instead is tying the MCL to the lowest concentration of a given carcinogen that analytical instruments can reliably detect. And in the case of PFOA and PFOS, that concentration happens to be 4 ppt.

The linear model is plausible, Dourson said, only in the hypothetical event that a single molecule enters the cell nucleus and changes DNA. Under that scenario, a genetically damaged cell could theoretically multiply into a tumor. Carcinogens that act on DNA are said to be mutagenic, in that their effects result from how they cause cancer-inducing mutations in the genome. But mounting research shows carcinogens can also work in ways other than interacting with DNA, Haber said. For instance, a chemical might cause cancer only after doses cross a threshold that results in organ injury. That’s the case with chloroform. A common contaminant in drinking water, it causes liver and

kidney cancer in mice, but only at levels high enough to injure cells in those organs first.

Tumors develop secondarily after cells start to regenerate during the healing process.

Weihsueh Chiu, a quantitative risk scientist at Texas A&M University, chaired the EPA’s PFAS review panel. He said the agency will depart from the assumption that a chemical follows the linear model, but only if evidence reveals a key biological event upon which cancerous changes depend, such as cell toxicity and regenerative proliferation in the case of chloroform. Scientists face a burden to prove this sort of nonlinearity, Chiu explained in an email, and in the absence of that proof, “it is assumed that there is a linear relationship between dose and probability of tumors.” When it came to PFOA and PFOS, the EPA could not establish or identify a key event that would support a nonlinear response, Chiu added.

But squabbles have broken out over the underlying data, and evidence in support of either linear or nonlinear approaches is very much in question. Saying that “no one really believes that one molecule of any chemical is going to cause cancer,” Dourson, whose connections to industry have sometimes drawn scrutiny, insisted that PFAS do not cause gene mutations. “So how do you get a linear dose response curve from that?” he asked. “Well, you don’t.”

Boobis concurred, saying that most health authorities outside the US would say that PFAS has a dose threshold, whereby cancer would be considered possible only at levels greater than a single molecule of exposure.

Linear low dose extrapolation is a “uniquely American problem,” Boobis said, adding “nobody in Europe, for example, has used the cancer endpoint to drive the risk assessment” for PFAS. In a recently published commentary, Kyle Steenland, an epidemiologist at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, wrote that human testicular and kidney cancers have the strongest associations with PFAS exposure, “although the literature remains rather sparse for both.” Most of the human evidence for these two cancers comes from highly exposed populations, Steenland pointed out, citing the example of communities near the DuPont Washington Works plant in Washington, West Virginia, which dumped PFOA-contaminated wastewater into the Ohio River for half a century. In an email, Steenland stated he was unable to comment publicly on the cancer evidence, given that he was preparing for an upcoming World Health Organization meeting during which participants will rate PFOA and PFAS carcinogenicity.

To provide more clarity on PFAS health impacts, the 2022 National Academies of Science report broke out the risks by their asCONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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The maximum PFAS concentration detected so far at GAUD’s Riverside well was PFOA at a level of 7.3 ppt, in November 2022. To drop below 4 ppt, GAUD plans to install a multimillion-dollar system that works by trapping PFAS molecules in granular activated carbon. Tarbuck said that system will be housed in a facility outfitted with heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and will require permitting and additional labor to sustain operations.

Disposal of the spent carbon filters is also an issue since they’re contaminated with 16

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At a PFAS treatment test site, GAUD measures the effectiveness of PFAS removal technology. Such systems are pricey to install and maintain. “The gut reaction is that it will be expensive for our rate payers to fix this,” Tarbuck said.

PFAS and “that’s material that nobody wants to touch,” Tarbuck said.

How to get rid of PFAS and other pollutants that build up in granular activated carbon is an ongoing area of research. One option is to incinerate the material, thereby regenerating it for repeat use. But that should be done in ways that ensure PFAS are destroyed completely, Knappe said.

Jennifer Kocher, a spokesperson for the National Association of Water Companies, which lobbies on behalf of water utilities, said the EPA still hasn’t come with a plan for how to manage the wastes. “Water and wastewater companies do not create or use any of these PFAS, PFOAs—any of these chemicals—within their processes at all, and yet here we are, now we’re being charged with cleaning it up,” she said. And PFAS waste disposal could pose a “huge logistical obstacle for our water

systems.” The association is now attempting to secure an exemption from federal hazardous waste laws, she said, that could shift potential cleanup costs onto PFAS manufacturers.

Does the effort to lower PFAS concentrations at most locations by just a few parts per trillion represent the best use of money spent with regard to water safety?

Oregon State University’s DeWitt insisted the answer is yes, given that the only completely risk-free level of “these compounds that were not really ever designed to go into human bodies” is zero.

Offering a counterargument, Boobis suggested that small PFAS reductions in water are “not going to make a huge difference to overall exposure unless you do something else.” Along those lines, some states are setting laws to ban the sale and distribution of PFAS containing products.

MICHAEL G. SEAMANS FOR UNDARK

sociated blood levels. The report reached the conclusion that people with PFAS blood levels under 2,000 ppt likely face no risk from the chemicals. Those with blood levels ranging between 2,000 ppt and 20,000 ppt—especially sensitive populations—were advised to seek screening for elevated cholesterol and breast cancer.

Pregnant people were also advised to be checked for hypertension. PFAS at blood levels higher than that were further associated with potential thyroid problems, ulcerative colitis, and signs of kidney and testicular cancer. In 2018, the CDC released data showing that blood levels of PFOA and PFOS fell sharply in the general US population after the chemicals were phased out. Average PFOA levels were 1,400 ppt in 2018, which is 70% lower than average measurements taken in 1999 to 2000. Similarly, PFOS levels fell 85% over the same time frame—to 4,300 ppt. More recent data are not available, but in an email to Undark, Calonge wrote that, “I would expect there would not be a steady state and that levels will continue to go down over time.”

Calonge, chair of the National Academies panel that produced the report, added that the members tried to distinguish between health effects for which there was sufficient as opposed to more limited evidence. But a key limitation in assessing the potential risks —one that also fuels Calonge’s skepticism towards the new MCL—is that scientists still haven’t resolved how PFAS levels in blood and drinking water relate to each other.

The chemicals are slowly excreted from the body in urine and during menstruation, so “how much would you have to drink before you reached the serum level that would put you into an area of concern?”

Calonge, who is also the chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, asked. No one knows that, and that’s “the problem with the EPA standard.” The EPA should base its MCL on a concentration that leads to harmful blood serum levels, Calonge said, instead of just analytical detection limits.

A farm sits on the banks of the Kennebec River north of Waterville, Maine. Though Tarbuck isn’t sure how the the utility’s wells became contaminated, he said GAUD believes the river is the source.

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Maine, which was the first to move in this direction, set a deadline of 2030 for the ban and has called on companies to report the presence of PFAS in their products beginning January 1, 2025.

Still, thousands of companies have requested and received extensions to the law’s notification requirements. Some of those companies insist the chemicals are irreplaceable, especially in microchip-making and battery production. And on a national level, legislative proposals to regulate PFAS in everyday items have repeatedly failed in Congress.

Moody said there’s another option: Raise the MCL from 4 ppt to 10 ppt. Doing that, the AWWA asserts, would allow limited resources to be targeted on areas with the worst PFAS contamination. Numerous water systems in the US have PFAS at levels in the “hundreds or thousands of ppt,” Moody said.

Investing in those communities first “makes a lot more sense,” he said, especially since it’s unclear “whether or not reducing drinking water exposure at single-digit ppt will impact the blood levels.”

Steps towards finalizing the rule are “quite involved,” Dourson said. The EPA first had to compare the standard’s anticipated health benefits with its estimated costs and evaluate whether PFAS exposures in drinking water are sufficient to justify national rulemaking. Dourson said the EPA sent the rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget for approval, likely in late 2023.

Tarbuck said GAUD’s exceedance has been a tough pill to swallow. The utility recently obtained a $200,000 grant from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to pilot-test some PFAS removal technology.

The funding will help, but it’s not enough to avoid passing much of the $3 to 5 million cost on to households in GAUD’s service areas.

“The gut reaction is that it will be expensive for our rate payers to fix this,” Tarbuck said.

Tarbuck worries that higher water bills could be especially hard on people of limited means and said the upcoming compliance cost will now add to the financial burden of replacing aging infrastructure. “We can remove it, we will remove it,” he said. If the PFAS is as risky as they say it is, Tarbuck added, then it’s appropriate to spend the money. But the levels are not so high that they have caused a major public health concern, Tarbuck said, and that “could be hard for us to explain to rate payers.”

This story was published by Undark, where Charles Schmidt is a senior contributor. He has also written for Science, Nature Biotechnology, Scientific American, Discover Magazine and The Washington Post, among other publications. Undark is a nonprofit, editorially independent digital magazine exploring the intersection of science and society.

SUDS AND BUDS New Mexico loves beer in a legendary way. Like, how and why does our state have so many craft brewers?

The correct answer is “Who cares? It rules.” So, when the New Mexico Brewers Guild throws together a whole heaping mess-load of ‘em to show off their stuff, folks who like to knock back a brewski or two should take notice. Enter Winterbrew 2024, a gathering that features new and familiar concoctions from 16 breweries, including: Bosque, Beer Creek, Marble, La Cumbre, Red River, Tumbleroot, Second Street and Bathtub. Tickets include samples from each brewer, plus a pint of your favorite and a glass to take home.

You’ll have to be 21, obviously, and we strongly suggest arranging a ride. (ADV) Winterbrew 2024: 6 pm Friday, Jan. 26. $35-$45 Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Perlata, nmbeer.org

S FR EPO RTER .CO M /A RTS / S FR PI CKS COURTESY IMAGE

COURTESY IMAGE

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COURTESY THE FOOD DEPOT

FOOD SAT/27 SOUP’S ON Are you looking for soup? Soup for your family? If you are, in fact, looking for soup, everyone knows (or should know) that there’s no greater event to get soupin’ than The Food Depot’s annual Souper Bowl fundraising event. Now hitting its 28th iteration, the local food bank’s soup-heavy party features more than two-dozen chefs crafting their very best soups for your perusal. Enjoy dishes like butternut squash and coconut from San Francisco Street Bar & Grill; porcini mushroom with smoked shiitake chimichurri from Catch Poke; corn chowder from Tibet Kitchen and so many more; plus, you’ll be supporting a good cause. Last we checked, too, there are tons of tickets left, including VIPs—and that means skippin’ lines for your soupy pleasure. (ADV) Souper Bowl XXXVIII: 11 am-2 pm Saturday, Jan. 27 $30-$100. Santa Fe Community Convention Center 201 W Marcy St., thefooddepot.org

ADELIZA BACKUS-PACE

MUSIC WED/31 HEY, JUDE Surely there’s many a Santa Fean who recalls formerly local songwriter Jude Brothers. Perhaps for their work with superband Storming the Beaches With Logos in Hand? A once-beloved solo career that spanned genres, instrumentation and collaborations?

That last part is kind of Brothers’ deal these days, though their upcoming Santa Fe show at Midtown DIY space Ghost focuses on going solo with a harp for indie-folk melodies that cull from country and folk traditions and age-old beautiful melodies. Brothers is a wild singer, too, what with their studied range and next-level ability to emote. You’re gonna feel it.

(ADV) Jude Brothers with Creekbed Carter and The Little Tulips: 7 pm Wednesday Jan. 31. $10 suggested donation (no one turned away) Ghost, 2889 Trades West Road

FILM THU/25

Time After Time Filmmaker Rachel Noll’s Ingress hits the Jean Cocteau Cinema for one night only Contrary to popular belief, the concept of a multiverse in popular culture was neither created by, perfected or even close to fully explored by companies like Meow Wolf or Marvel. Is there real-world work in physics to support the theory? Yes. Is it fun to consider in book or movie form? Also yes. And there’s an entire world of multiversal film, TV, video games and books to explore (2013 game Bioshock Infinite, for example, or Matt Haig’s 2020 book The Midnight Library just for starters, plus lots of comic books, too).

In recent film form, we can turn to Ingress from Washington state-based filmmaker and former Santa Fean Rachel Noll James. In short, the film finds its lead facing the death of her husband but, with the power to traverse parallel realities, she sets out to find a timeline where he’s still alive. It’s the sort of thing any one of us might do in similar circumstances, but a reminder that just because one aspect of existence seems better doesn’t mean the rest will be, too. Hurt is a part of life and is valuable, even though it’s so hor-

rendous when it’s fresh.

“I think the movie will surprise you and challenge you and make you feel something,” James tells SFR. “What I’ve heard from people is they’ll talk about it for hours and…I think there are a lot of ways people have been interpreting it.”

Like many in film, James gave the Los Angeles thing a shot earlier in her career. But when she suffered burnout, she headed to the Pacific Northwest, where Ingress was filmed. She wrote, directed and stars in the movie, which also features Oppenheimer actor Tim DeKay among others.

“I would say the story is rooted in my life and expanded to the furthest reaches of my imagination,” James says. “It’s a very personal story for me.”

Hear more from James in a talkback session following the screening this week. (Alex De Vore) INGRESS SCREENING AND TALKBACK 7 pm Thursday, Jan. 25. $10-$12 Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Ave. (505) 466-5528

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Want to see your event listed here?

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THE CALENDAR

We’d love to hear from you. Call (505) 695-8537 or send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth.

Submission doesn’t guarantee inclusion.

WED/24 BOOKS/LECTURES RECENT ACQUISITIONS New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Exhibition discussion with Photo Curator Katherine Ware.

11 am-Noon

DANCE POMEGRANATE SEEDS YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM Pomegranate Studio 535 Cerrillos Road, (505) 501-2142 After-school program for teens.

5-7 pm

EVENTS AMERICA’S BEST RESTAURANTS The Mystic Santa Fe 2810 Cerrillos Road, (505) 471-7663 America’s Best Restaurants films at the Mystic. You could be in the background of an episode.

9 am-noon

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Rebecca Padilla-Pipkin’s “Traces of Intervention” from her Dwelling Within exhibit at Strata Gallery represents a transitional area between two biological communities.

JOHN MATHER: SANTA FE FREE THINKERS FORUM UU Santa Fe 107 Barcelona Road, (505) 466-3533 The Santa Fe Free Thinkers host John Mather, Nobel Prize for Physics winner and co-creator of the Webb Telescope. Mather will give a presentation with visuals from the telescope.

7-9 pm GEEKS WHO DRINK Second Street Brewery (Railyard) 1607 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 989-3278 Challenging trivia with prizes.

Show ‘em what you got.

8-10 pm

JANUARY JANUARY 24-30, 24-30, 2024 2024 •• SFREPORTER.COM SFREPORTER.COM

KIDS SING ALONG: RAILYARD PARK Railyard Park Cerrillos Road and Guadalupe St., (505) 982-3373 Teachers Sarah-Jane and B lead music games and sing-alongs for toddlers and babies.

10:30-11:15 am PLANT SWAP: THE JOY OF PLANTS Santa Fe Public Library (Southside) 6599 Jaguar Drive, (505) 955-2820 Make friends while trading plants. Planting supplies and books are also welcome. No sick or infected plants, please.

6-7 pm

THE AUNTIES: WOMEN OF THE WHITE SHELL WATER PLACE Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St., (505) 988-1234 A multimedia storytelling experience featuring three Indigenous matriarchs from Northern New Mexico.

7:30 pm, $25-$85 WITCHY WEDNESDAY The Mystic Santa Fe 2810 Cerrillos Road, (505) 471-7663 Stephanie Alia, creator of the Viator Somniorum and Gothmancy: Divination & Darkness tarot decks, offers in-depth tarot readings.

7 pm

MUSIC ALBERT CASTIGLIA BAND Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 Castiglia delivers rockin' blues with instrumental prowess, searing vocals and lively performances that dazzle audiences coast to coast.

7:30 pm, $25-$30 CHESSA PEAK Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Just a singer-songwriter and her acoustic guitar bringing Santa Fe her folk, blues, rock and Americana tunes.

4 pm

JOHN FRANCIS AND THE POOR CLARES FEAT. LEON III El Rey Court 1862 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1931 This country Americana band takes the stage with Texasbased psychedelic songweavers Andy Stepanian and Mason Brent.

8-10:30 pm SECOND CHANCES COUNTRY BAND Social Kitchen & Bar 725 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-5952 Country (originals and covers), two-steppers, Texas swingers, slow waltzes and even the occasional line dance.

6-9 pm

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOLKS: MINERAL HILL Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom) 2920 Rufina St., (505) 954-1068 Funk, honky-tonk, bossa nova, polka and a lot of other words that are fun to say.

6-9 pm

THU/25 BOOKS/LECTURES READING LANDSCAPES: EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL, OUTSIDE AND IN, WITH SUSAN TWEIT Santa Fe Public Library (Main) 145 Washington Ave., (505) 955-6780 Hear certified plant nerd and science writer Tweit talk about her writing journey—from her books about the desert Southwest to her personal essays and memoir—and the challenges of finding her voice as a woman in science and writing.

6-7 pm WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT SANTA FE: A CONVERSATION ABOUT INNOVATION, ALTRUISM AND THREEHEADED HYDRAS El Zaguán 545 Canyon Road, (505) 982-0016 Author Dominic Cappello talks about his work at NMSU with the 100% New Mexico Initiative to transform the Land of Enchantment, including the City Different, into a place where every New Mexican thrives.

3 pm, $10

DANCE POMEGRANATE SEEDS YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM Pomegranate Studio 535 Cerrillos Road, (505) 501-2142 An after-school program hosted twice per week for young women aged 13-18, founded by dancer Myra Krien.

5-7 pm

EVENTS ANIMAL MEET & GREET Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359 Meet the museum pets and see them eat their lunch. Say “hi” to Cornelius the corn snake, Bisquick the tortoise and Fafnir the lizard. Petting snakes is cool.

12:30-1 pm GEEKS WHO DRINK Social Kitchen & Bar 725 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-5952 Challenging trivia with prizes.

Show ‘em what you got.

7-9 pm

MOZART'S BIRTHDAY PARTY: CONVERSATION AND DEMONSTRATION New Mexico Governor's Mansion One Mansion Drive, (301) 318-0940 Conductor Marcello Cormio and flutist Anthony Trionfo celebrate Mozart's language and legacy at the Governor’s Mansion on his 268th birthday.

6 pm, $100 QUEER HAPPY HOUR The Mystic Santa Fe 2810 Cerrillos Road, (505) 471-7663 A queer get-together for singles and couples of all ages! Parking available on site and next door at Jackalope.

5-7 pm SEEDS & SPROUTS Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359 Kids explore hands-on gardening and nature-themed activities year-round. Enjoy a naturebased project with museum educators.

10:30-11:30 am

FILM ONE NIGHT ONLY: INGRESS Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528 Written and directed by Rachel Noll James, this film centers a woman who can move between parallel realities losing her husband. She must overcome past trauma to find her way into a reality where he is still alive.

(See SFR Picks, page 17.)

7 pm, $10-$12 THROWBACK MOVIE NIGHT: STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE La Farge Library 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 La Farge's first monthly Throwback Movie Night of 2024 is a free screening of Star Wars: A New Hope! Popcorn and hot cocoa provided. Costumes welcome.

5:30-7:30 pm

FOOD SUSHI POP UP WITH BRENT JUNG Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 Chef Jung brings fresh sushi to New Mexico and rolls it to order. Sourced directly from the fishing boat and shipped overnight to Santa Fe for the freshest, tastiest sushi in town.

5 pm

MUSIC BILL HEARNE Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Share happy hour with Santa Fe’s own country music legend Hearne.

4-6 pm

DISCOVERING THE MUSIC OF PAINTINGS Center for Contemporary Arts 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 982-1338 An interactive musical exploration of an abstract painting

by Tony Abeyta, featuring conductor and educator Oliver Prezant and musicians Carla Kountoupes, violin; Jerry Weimer, clarinet; and Katie Harlow, cello.

6-7:30 pm, $25 FOLK JAM La Reina El Rey Court, 1862 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1931 Open to all levels and instruments. Come jam your favorite folk tunes. Don't know much?

Songbooks are available.

7-8:30 pm OPEN MIC WITH STEPHEN PITTS The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Open mic night with...hey, it's that guy you might’ve seen at the Tavern a few weeks back.

7 pm PAT MALONE TerraCotta Wine Bistro 304 Johnson St., 989-1166 Jazz guitar.

6-8 pm

FRI/26 ART OPENINGS DAVID SIMPSON: FIRST LIGHT (OPENING) Charlotte Jackson Fine Art 554 S Guadalupe St., (505) 989-8688 Photographer Simpson uses light like an impressionistic painter to reveal the ever-changing beauty, colors and serenity of natural settings.

5-7 pm REBECCA PADILLA-PIPKIN: DWELLING WITHIN (OPENING) Strata Gallery 125 Lincoln Ave., Ste. 105, (505) 780-5403 Padilla-Pipkin’s work explores ecologies of place through site-specific materials and processes that index interaction between the human and morethan-human. These installations are life-like and unique, showing strong connections to Earth.

5-7 pm RYAN SINGER: NOSTALGIC MYTHOS (OPENING) Blue Rain Gallery 544 S Guadalupe St., (505) 954-9902 A key figure in the Indigenous Futurism movement, Singer (Diné) explores Native culture through a unique cultural mash-up in his primarily acrylic art, where scenes of scary dinosaurs, Star Wars characters and UFOs intertwine with Diné sheepherders.

5-7 pm

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2023–24 SEASON SEASON 2023–24

THE CALENDAR

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Ti c k e t sST $ 2 2SEASON –$92

41 ST

ORCHESTRA | BAROQUE ENSEMBLE | STRING QUARTETS

ORCHESTRA | BAROQUE ENSEMBLE | STRING QUARTETS

SEASON

BOOKS/LECTURES

MUSIC

A READING OF WILLIAM DARKEY’S TRANSLATION AS A LIBERAL ART: NOTES TOWARD A DEFINITION St. John's College, 1160 Camino De Cruz Blanca, (505) 984-6408 Tutors Marsaura Shukla and Sarah Stickney deliver former St. John's Dean William Darkey’s Translation as a Liberal Art: Notes Toward a Definition, a lecture first delivered in 1975.

7 pm

ABBAQUERQUE AND THE RED LIGHT CAMERAS Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 Dust off your bell bottoms and feed the goldfish in your platforms! Albuquerque’s premier ABBA tribute band drips with glitter and fabbalous gold-lined sonic joy. With rock from the Red Light Cameras.

7:30 pm, $15 CANDLELIGHT CONCERTS: A TRIBUTE TO TAYLOR SWIFT New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 A tribute to Taylor Swift. Sold out.

7 pm, $43-$64 JIM ALMAND The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Jazz songs on guitar (and harmonica).

5 pm LOS DESPERADOS Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Hard rockin' boogie and blues.

4 pm MELANGE Social Kitchen & Bar 725 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-5952 Original Spanglish funk fusion.

6-9 pm THE OTIS B. GOODE HONKY TONK EXPERIENCE The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Stereophonic honky-tonk tunes.

8 pm ZAPHICA AND ARTRIO Paradiso 903 Early St., (505) 577-5248 Jazz/post-fusion music followed

by Artrio, a band whose genre remains mysterious (but we know involves a saxophone).

7-10 pm, $10-$20

DANCE AUTHENTIC MOVEMENT: MINDFULNESS-IN-MOTION Pomegranate Studio 535 Cerrillos Road, (505) 501-2142 Experience this profound self-directed, eyes-closed movement class. Email susan@ susanbauer.com to register, and include your phone number in the message.

10:30 am-1 pm, $65

EVENTS

WINTER ORCHESTRA CONCERT

Celebrate Mozart!

Sun, Jan 28 at 3 PM Meet the Music at 2 PM (included with ticket purchase)

Lensic Performing Arts Center Santa Fe Pro Musica Orchestra Marcello Cormio, conductor Anthony Trionfo, flute MOZART Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 CARL NIELSEN Flute Concerto JESSIE MONTGOMERY Strum MOZART Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter” MOZART’S BIRTHDAY PARTY Thur, Jan 25 at 6 PM | Governor’s Mansion Conversation with Cormio and Trionfo Wine & appetizers included | Reservations required | $100

505.988.4640 sfpromusica.org

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EN TER EV EN TS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

FINE ART FRIDAY Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359 A weekly exploration of art.

Learn about Vincent Van Gogh's work and create art inspired by his intense and unique style.

2-4 pm MAKE AND BELIEVE TIME Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369 An art- and reading-based hour for kids to explore a world of story and imagination in the Rainbow Rainbow room at Meow Wolf Santa Fe's House of Eternal Return.

10 am RED VELVET FRIDAYS Cake’s Cafe 227 Galisteo St., (505) 303-4880 DJs and dancing. 21 and up.

8 pm-1 am WINTERBREW 2024 Santa Fe Farmers' Market 1607 Paseo De Peralta Sixteen breweries from across the state offer samples to warm you up mid-winter. From Scotch ales and imperial stouts to lagers and IPAs, there's sure to be something for every palate.

(See SFR Picks, page 17.)

6 pm, $35-$45

FILM SIGHTINGS: THE COSMIC RAYS EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL No Name Cinema 2013 Pinon St. nonamecinema.org An annual celebration of non-commercial short films, live-cinema and new media projects that speak with a personal voice and challenge audience expectations of cinema form and content. Suggested donation is $5-$15. Free popcorn included.

7 pm

THEATER MACBETH New Mexico Actors Lab 1213 Parkway Drive, (505) 466-3533 Upstart Crows presents Macbeth, examining trust, madness, morality versus desire and the human need for safety and contentment.

6:30 pm, $10-$20

SAT/27 BOOKS/LECTURES REBEL READERS BOOK CLUB Online An adult book club. January's assignment: read any book adapted into a movie or TV show, then tell the group what you thought. Register for the meeting at tinyurl.com/ RebelReaders11.

10:30-11:30 am

Want to see your event listed here?

We’d love to hear from you. Call (505) 695-8537 or send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.

Submission doesn’t guarantee inclusion.

DANCE 1001 NIGHTS OF BELLYDANCE Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom) 2920 Rufina St., (505) 954-1068 A breathtaking bevy of bellydance talent.

8-10 pm

EVENTS OPEN HOUSE AT NEW OBSCURA GALLERY LOCATION Obscura Gallery 225 Delgado St., Representing all things photography through exhibitions, consignments and appraisals.

1-5 pm SCIENCE SATURDAY WITH SANTA FE REPTILE & BUG MUSEUM Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359 Wade Harrell from the Santa Fe Reptile & Bug Museum brings his cold-blooded amphibians and reptile pals to meet you.

2-4 pm SOUPER BOWL Santa Fe Community Convention Center 201 W Marcy St., (505) 955-6590 The Food Depot’s signature event—The Souper Bowl XXVIII! A friendly soup competition between 25+ local chefs who aim to win the hearts and stomachs of attendees by earning the most votes. All proceeds go to the Food Depot. (See SFR Picks, page 17).

11 am-2 pm, $30-$100

MUSIC ANNA LIONZ Paradiso 903 Early St., (505) 577-5248 Enjoy the live music of anna lionZ: Jesse Garcia, Keenan Story and Raven Swing—playing for experience, spirit and soul.

7:30-10 pm, $10-$20

ATC CONTRADANCE Oddfellows Hall 1125 Cerrillos Road, (575) 387-6853 The Academy for Technology and the Classics' Acoustic Americana students, along with the Varsity Stringband, play for a public Contradance—a New England folk dance related to square dancing.

7 pm BOB MAUS Inn & Spa at Loretto 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 988-5531 Blues and soul classics.

6-9 pm HELLO DARLIN' Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Mostly original Americana.

1 pm LARRY HAMILTON BAND Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Country music at its finest.

10 pm SANTA FE FLUTES PERFORMANCE Santa Fe Public Library (Southside) 6599 Jaguar Drive, (505) 955-2820 Enjoy the enchanting sounds of the city's flute choir.

3-4 pm ZEKE BEATS PRESENTS: SELF SABOTAGE TOUR Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369 Hip-hop threaded with monstrous bass lines that have long been an indispensable part of Beats’ sound.

8 pm, $15-$22 ZIA SINGERS WINTER CONCERT: TUVAYHUN New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Santa Fe’s Zia Singers perform Tuvayhun: Beatitudes for a Wounded World, 80 minutes of classical, jazz and world music.

3 pm, $10-$35

THEATER THE MET: LIVE IN HD | CARMEN Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St., (505) 988-1234 Director Carrie Cracknell reinvigorates a classic story of deadly passion, with Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leading a powerhouse quartet in the touchstone role of Carmen.

11 am, $15-$28 JAMMED Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St., (505) 988-4262 During a performance of Hedda Gabler, a missed cue triggers a conversation, a confrontation, a revelation and a misguided solution backstage. Two actresses, longtime workmates and friends unravel the circumstances of their lives.

7:30 pm, $30-$60

THE CALENDAR

COURTESY GERALD PETERS CONTEMPORARY

ENTER EV EN TS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

Movement and energy erupt in José Sierra’s Cholla Galáctica exhibition at Gerald Peters Contemporary. His 2023 work “Stoneware” pulsates with delicate surface details that immerse the viewer into Sierra’s personal expression of the lands he has lived in.

MACBETH New Mexico Actors Lab 1213 Parkway Drive, (505) 466-3533 Upstart Crows of Santa Fe presents Macbeth, a production examining trust, madness, morality versus desire and the human need for safety and contentment.

6:30 pm, $10-$20

WORKSHOP REFLECTIONS OF NEW MEXICO THROUGH POETRY Santa Fe Public Library (Main Branch) 145 Washington Ave., (505) 955-6780 A lively reading and writing workshop with Poet Laureate Ambassador Janna Lopez.

Guests write their own poems and reflections in response to gentle, inspired guidance.

11 am-1 pm

STAINED GLASS SUNCATCHER WORKSHOP Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369 During this three-hour workshop, you'll make a one-of-akind stained glass "Mountain Moonrise" suncatcher.

4 pm, $195

SUN/28 BOOKS/LECTURES A BEASTLY BOOK CLUB Beastly Books 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 395-2628 This year, Beastly Books kicks off with a favorite, The Hobbit. Read it already? Read it again! No— really. Then, share your thoughts at the meeting.

1-2 pm

EVENTS GEEKS WHO DRINK Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 It’s free to play and there are prizes. Seven rounds of quiz.

7:30 pm LET’S LEGISLATE DRAG BRUNCH Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 The Human Rights Aliiance’s annual fundraiser.

11:30 am-2:30 pm, $20 MAGICAL SUNDAYS The Center for Wisdom Healing Qigong/Chi Center 40 Camino Vista Clara, Galisteo, 800-959-2892 Enjoy brunch and live music from singer-songwriter duo Rick and Judy Cormier, followed by a free drum circle with Rick.

9 am-12:30 pm, $20-$40

RAILYARD ARTISAN MARKET Farmers' Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta, santafefarmersmarket.com/ railyard-artisan-market Forty local painters, potters, jewelers, weavers, pinon incense makers and more every Sunday.

10 am-3 pm

MUSIC APRÈS SKI WITH SPOOLIUS El Rey Court 1862 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1931 A dynamic DJ duo’s unforgettable dance floor experience.

5-9 pm CANTATA SERIES I Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel 50 Mt. Carmel Road, (505) 988-1975 New Mexico Performing Arts Society presents a program of J.S. Bach’s sacred cantatas.

5:30 pm

CELEBRATE MOZART: PRO MUSICA ORCHESTRA WINTER CONCERT Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St., (505) 988-1234 The Pro Musica Orchestra celebrates Mozart’s music, legacy, and birthday by featuring Divertimento in D Major K. 136 and his monumental Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter,” led by conductor Marcello Cormio.

3 pm, $28-$98 CLARK LIBBEY The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Alt-country, Americana and acoustics.

2 pm DK & THE AFFORDABLES Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 A go-to act for Northern New Mexico Entertainment. DK & The Affordables kick out a jiving, jumping variety of roots music to get you moving.

Noon-3 pm DOUG MONTGOMERY Rio Chama Steakhouse 414 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 955-0765 Listen to Santa Fe's Piano Man play everything from Broadway favorites and movie themes to the Great American Songbook standards.

6-9 pm KARAOKE WITH CRASH! Social Kitchen & Bar 725 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-5952 Finish out your Sunday with karaoke!

6-9 pm SUNDAY SWING: BAH JAZZ TRIO Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom) 2920 Rufina St., (505) 954-1068 We think this group might play jazz.

1-4 pm ZIA SINGERS WINTER CONCERT: TUVAYHUN New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Santa Fe’s Zia Singers perform Tuvayhun: Beatitudes for a Wounded World, an 80-minute classical, jazz and world music production based on the beatitudes by Norwegian composer Kim Andre Arnesen (See 3 Questions, page 22.)

3 pm, $10-$35

THEATER MACBETH New Mexico Actors Lab 1213 Parkway Drive, (505) 466-3533 Your last night to catch Upstart Crows’ production of Macbeth, examining the effects of war on interpersonal connections, trust, madness, morality versus desire and the human need for safety and contentment.

6:30 pm, $10-$20 CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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JANUARY 24-30, 2024

21

ROLAND PABST

with Artistic Director Aaron Howe

When it comes to working with choruses, Artistic Director Aaron Howe looks for “people who are very energetic and excited about doing different kinds of music, who are open to variety.” Both the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus and the Zia Singers, for whom Howe serves as artistic director, fall into that category, he says, although his 20 years of community music leadership in New Mexico includes myriad endeavors, such as co-founder in 2013 of the Rio Rancho Youth Chorus as its first artistic director; and current chorus master for Albuquerque’s Opera Southwest. He’s held his role with Zia Singers since 2016 and will conduct its winter concert Jan. 27-28 at the St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art and Feb. 4 at Central United Methodist Church in Albuquerque (find tickets at theziasingers.com/public-events).

The 80-minute production of Tuvayhun: Beatitudes for a Wounded World by Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen was first commissioned and premiered by the Manhattan Girls Chorus in 2018.

The Zia Singers’ performance will include Sevda Choir soloist Willa Roberts; soloist Katherine Garcia-Ortega from St. Michael’s High School; instrumentalists; and the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra. The following interview has been edited for clarity and concision. (Julia Goldberg) How did you encounter Arnesen’s music?

He’s actually quite big in the choral world.

A lot of college groups like to do his music because it’s very emotional, and difficult and big…but he also, from what I’ve observed, has a passion for music that heals the world or is about the human struggle and is very much about lifting up the person who is discriminated against or oppressed.

We did his Magnificat [in 2022]…which all composers, from Bach to every modern composer, does, but his take was that he felt that Mary, when she sang that hymn in the Bible, was specifically trying to lift up the people who were hungry, who needed help, and so that Magnificat was filled with gentleness and sweetness and kindness, empathy.

For Tuvayhun [Arnesen]…specifically

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wanted it to be from the perspective of a young person who is empathetically experiencing the struggles of people who are going through war, oppression, death, hunger. As I said, he has lyrically and conceptually this passion for lifting up people and so this is a unique delve into that from the perspective of the beatitudes from the Bible: blessed are the merciful, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers.

The librettist for Tuvayhun, Charles Anthony Silvestri, once said he thinks choral music touches people’s spirits in a different way than other types of music because of the way the composer and the poet work together. Do you find that to be true as well?

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I love Arnesen’s music a lot. But what really sold me on doing this was the text of Silvestri’s because it’s just so profound, just reading it silently gets you emotional. For example: ‘What is Peace?

Peace is not a silent state That comes upon us from within— Serene, detached, oblivious.

Peace is not a force like rain That comes, unbidden, from above— Gentle, enfolding, natural.

Peace is fire! Yes, peace is fire!

And peace is passion!

Peace requires a strength of will, A certain courage, a heart of iron, A force abiding to fulfill.’

I mean, that’s just good stuff. And there’s another one called ‘Song of Justice’ that really appeals to my sensibilities as a person, as a human.

When I listened to ‘Song for Justice’, I thought you might have to hand out Kleenex at the performance. What do you hope the audience will experience?

Even rehearsing this music, I get emotional. I imagine that people will be very connected.

As part of this concert, we reached out to a lot of different social justice organizations and we created a little list that we’re including in the program to say, ‘if this music touched you, if want to help celebrate beauty and end suffering in the world, here’s some organizations that are doing that in the community and you can support them.’

In my 20s and 30s, it was all about just doing great music and doing it really well and everyone thinking my choirs were great. As I got in my 40s…I started to think to myself, ‘yes, it’s wonderful to do good music, but it has to connect to people for me.’ Healing is not just feeling better about all the horrible things; it’s about connecting the dots of empathy. It’s not just about crying during a concert, it’s what that leads you to do and how you are connected after that, and hopefully the ripples broadly effect things world-wide.

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JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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THE CALENDAR

Winter Lecture Series

Want to see your event listed here?

Jayne Aubele New Mexico’s Geological Landscape and Its Effect on Our Culture and Social History January 30 | 6pm, Doors at 5:30pm

We’d love to hear from you Call (505) 695-8537 or send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art

Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.

$10, Free for Las Golondrinas and MNMF Members Learn about the unique geology of the state and how it has influenced the location of major trails, historic settlements, and resources.

Go to golondrinas.org to reserve tickets.

Submission doesn’t guarantee inclusion.

all tickets must be purchased online

TUVAYHUN Beatitudes for a Wounded World Featured Performers: Willa Roberts, Alina Pontius and Katharine Garcia-Ortega.

With select string players from the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra.

January 27th & 28th, 3:00PM

WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION TO ZEN MEDITATION Mountain Cloud Zen Center 7241 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 303-0036 A free weekly introduction to zen meditation class offered in the zendo. Everyone is welcome for community tea at 9:30 am.

10-11:15 am PAINT & SIPZ Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369 Olivia Jane offers a 21+ Paint & Sipz class guiding participants through painting. Ticket includes one drink at the bar.

4 pm, $55 RESOLVE NM SELF-DEFENSE WORKSHOP Santa Fe Girls’ School 310 W Zia Road, resolvenm.org A self-defense class. Learn to de-escalate elevated situations and defend against violence with physical skills. Register at resolvenm.org/registration.

1-5 pm

New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM

MON/29

Central United Methodist Church, Albuquerque, NM

VIDEO LIBRARY CLUB Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528 Free films every Monday with Lisa from Video Library—the country's oldest continuously operating video rental store.

6:30-8:30 pm

February 4th, 3:00PM

Adult Preferred Seating: $35 Adult General Seating: $25 Child/Student (under 13): $10 Tickets can be purchased & more info found at www.TheZiaSingers.com

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DOUG MONTGOMERY Rio Chama Steakhouse 414 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 955-0765 Santa Fe's Piano Man plays everything from Broadway and movie themes to the Great American Songbook standards.

6-9 pm KARAOKE WITH CRASH! Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Start the week with karaoke!

7-10 pm RANDOLPH MULKEY Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Singer-songwriter tunes.

4 pm

WORKSHOP

Partially funded by the city of Santa Fe Arts Commission and the 1% Lodgers’ Tax, County of Santa Fe Lodgers’ Tax, and New Mexico Arts.

Concert Sponsors:

EN TER EV EN TS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

FILM

MUSIC AMY RAY Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 Over the course of 10 gracefully crafted and galvanizing solo tracks, Georgia-bred Indigo Girl Amy Ray threads every song with both intensely personal storytelling and clear-eyed observation.

7:30 pm, $25

THE WRITING CIRCLE La Farge Library 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 A group for writers and those interested in developing a writing practice to share ideas, read works, give and receive feedback and support peers.

3:30-5:30 pm

TUE/30 BOOKS/LECTURES NEW MEXICO'S GEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE AND ITS EFFECT ON OUR CULTURE AND SOCIAL HISTORY St. Francis Auditorium at New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Learn about the unique geology of the state from Jayne Aubele, and how it has influenced the location of major trails, historic settlements and resources.

6 pm, $10

EVENTS ELDORADO KNITTERS Vista Grande Public Library 14 Avenida Torreon, (505) 466-7323 Knitting every Tuesday.

10 am

MUSIC SHANE WALLIN Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Support another local singer-songwriter’s show.

4 pm

ONGOING ART OPENINGS AN INNOCENT LOVE: ANIMAL SCULPTURE ARTISTS OF NEW MEXICO Canyon Road Contemporary Art 622 Canyon Road, (505) 983-0433 The cutest little animal sculptures you ever did see by artists Kari Rives and Fran Nicholson.

ANDREW DASBURG: SYMPHONIC DRAWINGS Addison Rowe Gallery 229 E Marcy St., (505) 982-1533 A collection of Cubist artist Dasburg’s Western landscape works from when he settled in Taos during the 1930s.

ANDRÉ RAMOS-WOODARD: BLACK SNAFU Foto Forum Santa Fe 1714 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 470-2582 Ramos-Woodard depicts realities of his Black experience while exposing and subverting tropes of anti-Blackness embedded in American pop culture, from the 20th-century racist caricatures in Don Raye’s “Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat” to more contemporary, uplifting, and pro-Black characters like Huey and Riley Freeman from Aaron McGruder’s “The Boondocks.”

BEYOND THE INTERFACE Art Vault 540 S. Guadalupe St., (505) 428-0681 A show where you’ll find pieces rapidly changing LEDs that represent the cosmos by light artist Leo Villareal; a reality-bending photo collage by Sohei Nishino; generative imagery, film and more. Pieces change as you view them, or practically or literally pull you into the art itself.

BILLIE ZANGEWA: FIELD OF DREAMS SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 989-1199 Zangewa creates intricate collages composed of handstitched fragments of raw silk.

Her use of silk as a material speaks to the transformative nature of the work itself, and introduces beveled, antiqued mirrors designed to echo the organic shapes of the silk portrait, creating an immersive and reflective experience.

CABINET OF CURIOSITIES Gerald Peters Gallery 1005 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 954-5700 A group show with everything from sculpture to tin-type prints and mixed media images that prompt the viewer to reflect on the small wonders of the world.

FRITZ SCHOLDER: ON PAPER LewAllen Galleries 1613 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 988-3250 Art that radically departs from traditional, stereotypical depictions of the mythic Indian. The late Scholder’s drawings and prints feature bold, expressive lines, vibrant colors and powerful imagery.

GABE LEONARD: SHADOWS OF THE WEST—A CINEMATIC EXHIBITION Chuck Jones Studio Gallery 126 W Water St., (505) 983-5999 Delve into the inspirations behind Gabe Leonard’s Western Film Noir artworks, gaining insights into the meticulous craftsmanship that defines each of his evocative masterpieces.

ENTER EVEN TS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

Want to see your event listed here?

We’d love to hear from you. Call (505) 695-8537 or send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. Also, local photographers can enter this year’s SFR Photo Contest at sfreporter.com/contests.

Submission doesn’t guarantee inclusion.

JUDITH RODERICK: THE CRANE Wild Hearts Gallery 221 B Hwy. 165, Placitas, (505) 867-2450 A tribute to the sandhills and the endangered whooping crane.

The exhibition features silk art quilts, watercolors and a newly revised book of poems and artwork depicting their grace and beauty. These ancient, iconic, symbolic birds have been revered by myriad cultures worldwide for thousands of years as symbols of peace, hope, longevity, fidelity and as messengers between Heaven and Earth.

MILTON’S BAR No Man’s Land Gallery 4870 Agua Fria St., 307-399-5665 Four artists had 24 hours to respond to the prompt, “The year 2050.” It’s 2050, the 25th anniversary of the late artist Milton Faver’s breakthrough, who passed away last year. The artists present his bar, where he made art, friends and the occasional enemy.

N. DASH: AND WATER SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 989-1199 These ecologically-driven paintings highlight the artist’s most significant aesthetic and conceptual approaches: harnessing the interaction of earth and water to create vertical topographical fields of desiccated mud; layering commercial printing technology onto the paintings’ prepared grounds; and arranging readymade found objects and industrial detritus— water bottles, agricultural netting, architectural insulation— alongside natural materials.

B. BROWN: A HANDFUL OF EARTH, A HANDFUL OF SKY Hecho a Mano 129 W Palace Ave., (505) 916-1341 Referencing a draft speech in science fiction writer Octavia Butler’s archive, Brown’s show explores Afro and Indigenous futurism and “the whole conundrum of being alive in this era.”

Large clay vessels in earthen hues with recurring shapes and patterns.

THE NEW VANGUARD: EXPLORATIONS INTO THE NEW CONTEMPORARY V Keep Contemporary 142 Lincoln Ave., (505) 557-9574 Presenting the winners of an international juried competition open to all artists working in painting, printmaking, drawing, mixed media, digital, collage, fiber, sculpture and photography.

TIA X CHATTER: THE B/W SHOW Center for Contemporary Arts 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 982-1338 Curator Sarah Greenwood presents works in black and white from a collection of artists including Tony Abeyta, Rosemarie Castoro, Torkwase Dyson, Eric-Paul Riege, David Simpson, Tony Smith and Judy Tuwaletstiwa.

TRUE COLORS LewAllen Galleries 1613 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 988-3250 An exhibition of color abstraction, including the works of Connie Connally, Joshua Elias, Sammy Peters and Mark Pomilio. Featuring a variety of rich, multi-layered surfaces of color, the works included in this exhibition offer variations of energetic rhythms, forms and shapes and gestural lines that draw attention to the expressive qualities of each artist’s work.

WILLIAM FREJ: BLURRED BOUNDARIES Peyton Wright Gallery 237 E Palace Ave., (505) 989-9888 A photo exhibition for Photographer William Frej’s new book, Blurred Boundaries: Perspectives on Rock Art of the Greater Southwest.

WINTER SELECTIONS 2024 Nüart Gallery 670 Canyon Road, (505) 988-3888 Nüart Gallery’s annual exhibit, Winter Selections, returns to showcase a diverse collection of abstract and figurative works inspired by the elemental qualities of winter. The featured artworks embrace a hushed palette echoing the quiet allure found in the season.

MUSEUMS BLAIR CLARK

GLASSEN WONDERS LewAllen Galleries 1613 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 988-3250 A diverse collection of worldclass contemporary glass art pieces by more than 23 artists utilizing glass art-making techniques such as blown, cast, fused, cut, carved, borosilicate and slumped glass.

JEREMY DEPEREZ: GLYPHS Best Western 4328 Airport Road, (713) 530-7066 Block printing and mixed-media works allow Deperez to invite viewers to examine the relationship between art and debris.

JOSÉ SIERRA: CHOLLA GALÁCTICA Gerald Peters Contemporary 1011 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 954-5700 An exhibit of colorful twisted vessels resembling dramatic landscapes. From the lush, mind-bending forests of Venezuela to the sprawling cholla of the Albuquerque valley, Sierra seeks to capture the memory, emotion and physicality of the natural world.

THE CALENDAR

NEW MEXICO HISTORY MUSEUM 113 Lincoln Ave., (505) 476-5200 The Santos of New Mexico.

Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. Miguel Trujillo and the Pursuit of Native Voting Rights.

EnchantOrama! New Mexico Magazine Celebrates 100.

10 am-5 pm, Sat-Thurs, 10 am7 pm, Fri; $7-$12, NM residents free 5-7 pm first Fri. of the month MUSEUM OF SPANISH COLONIAL ART 750 Camino Lejo, (505) 982-2226 What Lies Behind the Vision of Chimayo Weavers.

1 -4 pm, Wed-Fri, $10, children free NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5063 Selections from the 20th Century Collection. The Nature of Glass. To Make, Unmake, and Make Again.

Multiple Visions: A Common Bond has been the destination for Ways of Seeing: Four Photography well over a million first-time and repeat visitors to the Museum of Collections.

International Folk Art. “Harbor Scene” is one of many eye-catch10 am-5 pm, Sat-Thurs, 10 aming displays in the exhibit.

7 pm, Fri; $7-$12, NM residents free 5-7 pm every Fri. May-Oct. POEH CULTURAL CENTER GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS 78 Cities of Gold Road, 217 Johnson St., AND CULTURE (505) 455-5041 (505) 946-1000 710 Camino Lejo, Di Wae Powa. Seeing Red: an Making a Life. Radical (505) 476-1269 Indigenous Film Exhibit. Youth Push Abstraction. Selections from the Down Home. Here, Now and Pin Exhibit.

Collection. Rooted in Place.

Always. Horizons: Weaving 10 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri, $7-$10 10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, $20 Between the Lines with Diné (under 18 free) VLADEM CONTEMPORARY Textiles.

IAIA MUSEUM OF 10 am-5 pm, $7-$12, NM residents 404 Montezuma Ave., (505) 476-5602 CONTEMPORARY free first Sunday of the month Shadow and Light NATIVE ARTS MUSEUM OF INTERNATIONAL 10 am-5 pm, Sat-Thurs, 10 am108 Cathedral Place, FOLK ART 7 pm, Fri; $7-$12, NM residents (505) 983-8900 706 Camino Lejo, free 5-7 pm every Fri. May-Oct. The Stories We Carry. The Art of (505) 476-1204 Jean LaMarr. 2023 WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM OF Between the Lines. Yokai: 10 am-4 pm, Wed-Sat, Mon THE AMERICAN INDIAN Ghosts & Demons of Japan.

11 am-4 pm, Sun, $5-$10 704 Camino Lejo, (505) 982-4636 Ghhúunayúkata / To Keep Free Admission every Friday Always in Relation. California Them Warm: The Alaska Native Stars. From Converse to Native MUSEUM OF ENCAUSTIC ART Parka. La Cartonería Mexicana Canvas. Native Artists Make 18 County Road 55A, / The Mexican Art of Paper and Toys. ‘All Together. Making our (505) 424-6487 Paste. Protection: Adaptation Way. Every Day. Medicine.’ by Permanent collection. Global and Resistance.

Warming is REAL. 10 am-5 pm, $3-$12, NM residents Eliza Naranjo Morse. .

10 am-4 pm, Tues-Sat, $10, free 11 am-5 pm, Fri-Sun, $10 free first Sunday of the month first Sunday of the month (18 and under free)

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COMING SOON Nominations Ballot Live February 1 - March 15

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JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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SFREPORTER.COM

New Attachments Ortiz at Hilton Santa Fe can and should become a local’s haunt

BY ALEX DE VORE a l e x @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

W

hile a plethora of restaurants surrounds the San Francisco Street area that features the Lensic Performing Arts Center—La Fogata, Boxcar, The Burger Stand, the Plaza, Thunderbird Bar & Grill and so forth—no small number of readers ask where they might dine when they plan to take in a show at downtown Santa Fe’s fanciest venue. Thanks to a number of other readers, the answer should include an additional contender: Ortiz, the overlooked eatery at the Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza (that’s its name, honest) deserves local love.

Of course, I write that like I’ve been hanging around inside the door over there asking entrants where they live, but also as someone who has been known to utter the phrase, “Oh, it’s a hotel restaurant? How good can it be?” Of course, in Santa Fe, with restaurants such as the Anasazi Restaurant & Bar at the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, Julia at La Posada and Market Steer at Hotel St. Francis (though that last one will take over the old El Mesón on Washington Avenue at some point here), hotel dining options are pretty on point. And Ortiz stands right alongside them if not, frankly, a little bit above ‘em.

Enter the restaurant the long way through the hotel lobby on Sandoval Street or through the main door on San Francisco Street and find part of the former Ortiz compound named for one-time Santa Fean Nicholas Ortiz who, in 1664, walked from Mexico City to Santa Fe with several other families. We sat in the lounge, though there’s a large dining area as well.

As we sat down at a table with a straight shot view up San Francisco all the way up to the St. Francis Cathedral, my dining companion and I remarked how now that we’ve become teetotalers, it’s always nice to see creative non-alcoholic beverages on a menu. In our case, they were the blood orange mule ($14), a citrusy combo of blood orange, lemon and lime juices that usually comes with ginger beer but, seeing as they were out, came with a lavender syrup substitute that might even have bested ginger flavor. Our server Ryan was also very cool about the changeup by promising to deliver some-

thing good and then totally doing that.

Good thing we had those drinks, too, as the menu requires no small amount of studying: Ortiz has a succinct menu that also fits many palates. If you’d like a fine dining steak sort of dish, they’ve got you covered with options like a 14-ounce New York strip with a marsala demi and clarified butter ($35) or a 14-ounce ribeye served simply with butter and sea salt ($38). Ortiz also offers upscale bar food, like chicken wings ($15) and queso ($10), so one needn’t be a certified foodie to find something familiar.

We settled on the pulled pork flautas appetizer ($13), a divine marriage of Mexican execution and southern perfection that had a slightly fruity bent thanks to its grilled pineapple, cabbage and avocado crema. With the included chipotle salsa, this one would work as a straight-up meal for a lighter appetite.

Our little two-top, though, was ravenous, so we also split the green chile cheese smashburger ($15). Served on a soft brioche bun, Ortiz’s version of the New Mexico classic brings the increasingly popular smashburger to a Santa Fe menu (seriously, I’ve not seen these anyplace else just yet, but don’t yell at me if you know of one, tell me nicely and I’ll go eat it). With two patties cooked to a satisfying medium, it worked well as a split dish, and the melty cheese inside stayed gooey while corralling the spicy yet flavorful green chile.

As I write this the following afternoon, it’s all I can do to not drop everything and return for that burger.

FOOD

ALEX DE VORE

S FR EPO RTER .CO M / FO O D

Pepita-crusted salmon so good we ate the whole thing even after splitting flautas and a burger.

But we weren’t done yet, not by a longshot.

My companion also ordered the pepita-crusted salmon served with roasted potatoes and crispy kale over butternut squash and with a red chile glaze. Rightly so, she pointed out that when it comes to many a menu, “crusted” often means “with a boatload of pepper.”

At Ortiz, the pepita (that’s squash seeds for the uninitiated) made a definitive crust that brought the texture of the salmon into a new arena. What a home run. I, meanwhile, remain a sucker for a well-cooked piece of pork and thus chose Ortiz’s pork ribeye (a term with which I was admittedly unfamiliar before our meal). The coincidentally yet delightfully-named chef Joshua Ortiz (no relation to the restaurant name, an employee later told me) completely changed how I’ll think about pork chops forever. Pork can sometimes end up rubbery, but not so here.

It was practically melting and contained very

little fat—just enough on one side to keep things interesting. Served atop garlic mashed potatoes with roasted carrots, generously huge caramelized onions and bits of chopped maple bacon, it boasted the sort of combination of flavors that both expands horizons yet feels homey and familiar. Let me put it this way: I’d just eaten flautas and half a burger, and I still devoured the dish like a prisoner facing their last meal.

Feeling wildly full but still curious, we closed the evening with a rather tasty cup of coffee from large-scale importer Royal Cup and the chocolate lava cake ($8), a hot and deeply delicious spongy cake from which molten chocolate goo spilled into the cold accompanying vanilla ice cream and the single sliced strawberry on top. And though we’d eaten far too much for two people, our bill only clocked in at around $115, which seemed more than fair given the gluttonous display to which we treated our stalwart server.

We left just one bite uneaten as we emerged back into the cold evening, not even caring that we’d both parked offsite to avoid the confusing lot at the Hilton. And though Ortiz might get rolled up with the Hilton brand when folks think of or mention it, it should most definitely be regarded as its own project. What a stunning feast of delights, what a hidden gem, what a burger.

ORTIZ

308 W San Francisco St., (505) 988-2811 + BEAUTIFUL SPACE; SEEMINGLY FLAWLESS MENU; MOCKTAILS

- PARKING DOWNTOWN ALWAYS SUCKS, BUT THAT’S HARDLY THE RESTAURANT’S FAULT

The pork flautas appetizer could work as a meal for a lighter appetite.

AFFORDABLE

MEDIUM

PRICEY EXTRAVAGANT

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MOVIES

RATINGS

I.S.S. Review

BEST MOVIE EVER

Space madness

10 9

BY ALEX DE VORE a l e x @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

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No one can hear you scream in space, usually, unless you’re all hanging out in a space station. This is the basic premise of the new sci-fi film I.S.S., a strangely slow thriller sort of thing with tinges of claustrophobia, a snail’s pace and, interestingly, more than a passing resemblance to the Ren & Stimpy episode “Space Madness.” OK, I jest in that last bit (sort of ), but either way—drag.

I.S.S. takes place on the International Space Station, where small teams of Russian and American scientists do…science (we never actually see them do science so much as the film tells us that’s their deal). New to the station are Dr. Kira Foster (2021 West Side Story alum Ariana DeBose) and Air Force vet Christian Campbell (Spring Awakening originator John Gallagher Jr.), who have arrived to join a commanding officer (Chris Messina of The Mindy Project) and a trio of Russians played by folks you might know if you’ve seen Overlord or The Americans (which is probably not a whole lot of you). Not long into the new kids’ stay, however, and the people of Earth go and get themselves into a nuclear war. Both

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 WORST MOVIE EVER

AMERICAN FICTION

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+ FLAWLESS WRITING; TRIUMPHANT PERFORMANCE FROM WRIGHT

- UNDERUSED SUPPORTING PLAYERS

As much as writer/director Cord Jefferson—who has writing credits for nigh-universally-loved television programs like The Good Place and Watchmen—crafts a love letter to writing and books in his debut feature film American Fiction, he also builds a strong case for the ways in which the publishing industry is broken.

Jefferson, in his adaptation of the novel Erasure by Percival Everett, coaxes from Jeffery Wright one of the finest performances of the Westworld alum’s career. The film offers a scathing takedown of pseudo-intellectualism, the politics of creativity and the frustrating way that there’s no good solution to either.

Wright plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a middle-aged overachiever type and novelist with middling successes in the midst of a forced leave of absence from his California teaching position.

The unplanned vacation happens after Ellison comes to verbal blows with a young white student over the usage of the N-word in Southern literature. “If I got over it, you can, too,” he tells the student. Cue trip to Boston for a writing conference—the same city from which Monk hails; cue unplanned family reunion.

Jefferson’s astute voice finds the most unsettling yet relatable ground as Monk nav28

6 + SOME COOL

SHOTS; FUN PREMISE - JUST PRETTY BORING AND LACKING MEANINGFUL… ANYTHING

the Americans and Russians receive directives from their governments: Take over the International Space Station by any means necessary.

I.S.S. stops being interesting there and instead devolves into some pretty tired notions of cabin fever, panic and deplorable actions under extreme duress. DeBose can’t quite carry the film herself, nor are Gallagher Jr. or Messina well-known enough to lend gravitas. Russian actor Costa Ronin of The Americans gets in some good creepy moments that seem to criticize or at least briefly analyze the concept of duty-versus-humanity, but the overall message is more about how fragile alliances might be when mistrust enters the picture.

igates his rapidly changing family dynamics.

His father is long dead; his mother (the legend Leslie Uggams) is succumbing to the early stages of Alzheimer’s; his sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) is divorced and broke; his brother (Sterling K. Brown) is, too, while coming out of the closet. And still Monk’s books don’t sell—or even appear in the right section at the bookstore (they’re lit, dammit, not African American Studies).

Monk jokingly pens the first chapter of a book, My Pafology, wherein a combination of vernacular absurdity and a deliberately myopic view of the Black experience come together to delight the majority white publishing house execs who’ve long left Monk’s previous works on read. So it’s under a pseudonym that he finally starts to make the money he desperately needs to take care of his mother. Hilarity and the sadsies ensue.

Wright’s performance as the acerbic writer will surely be remembered (Oscar buzz!), as will the rotating cast of supporting players who ebb and flow throughout the film with almost startling familial authenticity—who else could drive us so crazy but make us love them so deeply?

Jefferson’s writing and directing, however, are the crowning achievements of American Fiction.

He’s got a knack for showing rather than telling, from the subtlety of Monk’s drinking problem and arrogance issues to the sad notion that aging sometimes means doing what we have to do when we know a lot better. And losing people.

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Kudos to director Gabriela Cowperthwaite (whose other directing credit is a movie I’ve never heard about called Our Friend) for getting some very cool shots in simulated zero-G—seriously, some look almost like Renaissance-era paintings.

Otherwise, I.S.S. is doomed to sit on the ash heap of forgotten movies, mark my words.

American Fiction, then, is at turns hysterically funny and gut-wrenchingly sad in moments that feel universal, sure, but particularly in moments that hold a mirror up to its audience. Some will call it woke while others will decry its anti-wokeness. Some will see it for what it is, though—a movie about how family is hard, how writing might be harder and how sometimes things just feel empty no matter how much we try. But we do it anyway. (ADV)

Violet Crown, Center for Contemporary Arts, R, 117 min.

NIGHT SWIM

4

+ CONDON AND RUSSELL - YOU’VE SEEN IT SO, SO MANY TIMES BEFORE

Horror buff and writer/director Bryce McGuire gets in the full-length feature game with Night Swim, another in a long line of movies where families move to some unassuming house only to find out it’s on the corner of Ghost Street and Creepy Lane. You know the type—like 2012’s Sinister with Ethan Hawke—the ones where the mom or the dad or the kids start to experience evil shit, only they hang around for too long because: have you looked at the real estate market lately?

Wyatt Russell, from most excellent projects like Overlord and Lodge 49, plays the dad Ray Waller here, only he’s kind of too good for the role because Night Swim is so stupid. Waller, a former

I.S.S. Directed by Cowperthwaite With DeBose, Gallagher Jr., Messina and Ronin Violet Crown, Regal, R, 95 min.

pro baseballer diagnosed with MS, buys a house with his family for its pool on doctor’s orders. The water therapy starts to work, too. As in, it starts to work a little too well, and even his kids (played by a couple of no-name goobers) and his wife (Kerry Condon of the also most excellent Banshees of Inisherin) are like, “It’s cool we bought this house!”

Then they start seeing ghosts all up in that pool. Then dear old dad starts acting weird and doing embarrassing things like trying to drown some kid at a pool party or thinking he can get back into baseball at some point despite his illness. What’s behind this weird pool-based behavior change? No spoilers, but it’s actually kind of inventive, or at least a semi-fun twist on an old kid’s story. Even so, Russell and Condon feel wasted here—what with all of Night Swim’s shallow dialogue (pun intended) and not-soscary trappings. As always, jump scares might offer fleeting cheap thrills, but there’s being startled and there’s being scared. Night Swim doesn’t do either particularly well.

Pity that, as horror has so regularly proven an inventive and accessible genre. Cheese works, too, if it’s intended or if a filmmaker winds up in an Evil Dead 1 situation wherein they earnestly tried and still ended up with camp. Some films, though, like Night Swim, don’t feel scary enough or silly enough to have much of an identity at all. If we remember this one even a month or two from now, that will be the truly shocking outcome. (ADV)

Violet Crown, Regal, PG-13, 98 min.

SFR CLASSIFIEDS

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD “How to Succeed”—you know what they say.

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62 Amounts typically shown in red 65 Got away fast 66 Conclusion leading to perseverance, or a hint to the last words of the starred answers?

68 Enmity 69 Tribute 70 Lower range 71 Like much of PinkNews’s demographic 72 See 33-Down 73 Decelerate

1 Card pack 5 Jazz legend Davis 10 Galaxy addition?

13 Supporter 14 Kind of army or band 16 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champ Michelle 17 *Showroom sale item 19 Tax preparer’s charge 20 There’s no accounting for it 21 *”You’ll do great!”

23 Indefinitely long period 24 Actress Taylor-Joy of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” 25 Bar offerings 26 “Yes, ___” (improv principle) 28 Small child 30 Lay down the lawn 32 “Help wanted” listings 34 Capricious urge 37 Overinflate 41 *”All we need,” per a 1988 Guns N’ Roses ballad 44 “8 Seconds” venue 45 Make agitated 46 One of four on the New Zealand flag 47 Geese formation shape 49 ___ Soundsystem (“I Can Change” band) 51 He/___ pronouns 52 Not fully 55 Certain internet junk

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1 Nuts 2 Swingin’ Fitzgerald 3 Secretive kind of auction without knowing the price 4 City near Osaka 5 Rapper/actor ___ Def, a.k.a.Yasiin Bey 6 Worked up 7 “30 Rock” character Liz 8 Bad thing to see on your gas gauge 9 Mexican restaurant condiments

10 Horrible 11 Jigsaw unit 12 Looks up the answer, maybe

73 15 Org. for teachers or artists 18 “It’s living ___-free in my head” 22 Crockpot scoopers, maybe 26 Partway open 27 ___ contendere (no contest plea) 29 Nighttime hunter 31 Kimono sash 33 With 72-Across, portrayer of Brian Hackett on “Wings” 35 Corp. debut 36 Word processing function for automating letters 38 Attentive 39 “Superfood” berry 40 Political period 42 Shoe end 43 “Waterfalls” group 48 Conditional deposit 50 Marcel Duchamp’s movement 52 Parsley bit 53 Scarlett of “Gone With the Wind” 54 It doesn’t grow on trees 56 “Fork it over!”

57 Take ___ at (guess) 59 The Venetian’s site 61 Numerical suffix 63 One of the Jackson 5 64 Winter weather prediction 67 “Get ___ Ya-Ya’s Out!” (Rolling Stones album)

© COPYRIGHT 2024 JONESIN’ CROSSWORDS (EDITOR@JONESINCROSSWORDS.COM)

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SFR CLASSIFIEDS

MIND BODY SPIRIT INTUITIVE COACHING

PSYCHICS Rob Brezsny

Week of January 24th

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Dani Shapiro has published six novels, three bestselling memoirs, and a host of articles in major magazines. She co-founded a writer’s conference, teaches at top universities, and does a regular podcast. We can conclude she is successful. Here’s her secret: She feels that summoning courage is more important than being confident. Taking bold action to accomplish what you want is more crucial than cultivating self-assurance. I propose that in the coming weeks, you apply her principles to your own ambitions.

which is also my prediction for you—is that you will have extra power to empty your mind of unnecessary things. More than ever, you will be acutely content to focus on the few essentials that appeal to your wild heart and tender soul.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Throughout history, there has never been a culture without religious, mythical, and supernatural beliefs. The vast majority of the world’s people have believed in magic and divinity. Does that mean it’s all true and real? Of course not. But nor does it mean that none of it is true and real. Ultra-rationalists who dismiss the spiritual life are possessed by hubris.

Everything I’ve said here is prelude to my oracle for you: Some of the events in the next three weeks will be the result of magic and divinity. Your homework is to discern which are and which aren’t.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Several wise people have assured me that the pursuit of wealth, power, popularity, and happiness isn’t as important as the quest for meaningfulness. If you feel your life story is interesting, rich, and full of purpose, you are successful. This will be a featured theme for you in the coming months, Gemini.

If you have ever fantasized about your destiny resembling an ancient myth, a revered fairy tale, a thousand-page novel, or an epic film, you will get your wish.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Psychologist Carl Jung wrote, “Motherlove is one of the most moving and unforgettable memories of our lives, the mysterious root of all growth and change; the love that means homecoming, shelter, and the long silence from which everything begins and in which everything ends.” To place yourself in rapt alignment with current cosmic rhythms, Scorpio, you will do whatever’s necessary to get a strong dose of the blessing Jung described. If your own mother isn’t available or is insufficient for this profound immersion, find other maternal sources.

Borrow a wise woman elder or immerse yourself in Goddess worship. Be intensely intent on basking in a nurturing glow that welcomes you and loves you exactly as you are—and makes you feel deeply at home in the world.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In a set of famous experiments, physiologist Ivan Pavlov taught dogs to have an automatic response to a particular stimulus.

He rang a bell while providing the dogs with food they loved. After a while, the dogs began salivating with hunger simply when they heard the bell, even though no food was offered. Ever since, “Pavlov’s dogs” has been a phrase that refers to the ease with which animals’ instinctual natures can be conditioned. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Pavlov had used cats instead of dogs for his research. Would felines have submitted to such scientific shenanigans?

I doubt it. These ruminations are my way of urging you to be more like a cat than a dog in the coming weeks.

Resist efforts to train you, tame you, or manipulate you into compliance.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Life as we live it is unaccompanied by signposts,” wrote author Holly Hickler. I disagree with her assessment, especially in regard to your upcoming future. Although you may not encounter literal markers bearing information to guide you, you will encounter metaphorical signals that are clear and strong. Be alert for them, Cancerian. They CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Before poet Louise might not match your expectations about what Glück published her first book, *Firstborn*, it was signposts should be, though. So expand your concepts rejected by 28 publishers. When it finally emerged, she of how they might appear. suffered from writer’s block. Her next book didn’t LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I wrote a book called *Pronoia appear until eight years after the first one. Her third Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is book arrived five years later, and her fourth required Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings*. Among its another five years. Slow going! But here’s the happy main messages: There’s high value in cultivating an ending: By the time she died at age 80, she had attitude that actively looks for the best in life and published 21 books and won the Pulitzer Prize and the regards problems as potential opportunities. When I Nobel Prize for Literature. By my astrological reckoning, was working on the book, no one needed to hear this you are now at a phase, in your own development, advice more than me! Even now, I still have a long way comparable to the time after Glück’s fourth book: wellto go before mastering the outlook I call “crafty primed, fully geared up, and ready to make robust optimism.” I am still subject to dark thoughts and progress. worried feelings—even though I know the majority of them are irrational or not based on the truth of what’s AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “All good writing is happening. In other words, I am earnestly trying to swimming under water and holding your breath,” learn the very themes I have been called to teach. wrote author F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’d like to expand that What’s the equivalent in your life, Leo? Now is an metaphor and apply it to you, Aquarius. I propose that excellent time to upgrade your skill at expressing your best thinking and decision-making in the coming weeks will be like swimming under water while holding abilities and understandings you wish everyone had. your breath. What I mean is that you’ll get the best VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1951, filmmaker Akira results by doing what feels unnatural. You will get Kurosawa made a movie adapted from *The Idiot*, a yourself in the right mood if you bravely go down novel by his favorite author Fyodor Dostoevsky. below the surface and into the depths and feel your Kurosawa was not yet as famous and influential as we way around. would later become. That’s why he agreed to his studio’s demand to cut 99 minutes from his original 265-minute PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In honor of this pivotal time version. But this turned out to be a bad idea. Viewers of in your life story, I offer four pronouncements. 1. You can the film had a hard time understanding the chopped-up now be released from a history that has repeated itself story. Most of the critics’ reviews were negative. I bring too often. To expedite this happy shift, indulge in a big this to your attention, Virgo, with two intentions: 1. I cry and laugh about how boring that repeated history encourage you to do minor editing on your labor of love. has become. 2. You can finish paying off your karmic 2 But don’t agree to anything like the extensive revisions debt to someone you hurt. How? Change yourself to ensure you won’t ever act that way again. 3. You can that Kurosawa did. better forgive those who wounded you if you forgive LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I have selected a poem for yourself for being vulnerable to them. 4. Every time you you to tape on your refrigerator door for the next eight divest yourself of an illusion, you will clearly see how weeks. It’s by 13th-century Zen poet Wu–Men. He others’ illusions have been affecting you. wrote: “Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, / a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. / If Homework: Release yourself from the pressure to live your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is up to expectations you don’t like. Newsletter. the best season of your life.” My wish for you, Libra— FreeWillAstrology.com

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700. © CO P Y R I G H T 2 0 24 R O B B R E Z S N Y 30

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LUNA PSYCHIC/TAROT READINGS & SPIRITUAL COUNSELING ALEX OF AVALON “Hi Alex, you were right about everything ” Client, Santa Fe, NM For more information call 505-982-8327 or visit www.alexofavalon.com.

I’m a certified herbalist, shamanic healer, psychic medium and ordained a, offering workshops, herbal classes, spiritual counseling, energy healing and psychic readings. Over 30 years’ experience helping others on their path towards healing and wholeness. Please visit lunahealer.com for more info or to make an appointment.

ARE YOU A THERAPIST OR HEALER? YOU BELONG IN

Envision Your 2024 When you’re not clear, it’s hard to do or feel well. In 2024, you can decide to resource yourself from the inside out. Finding the light of your path and the confidence to walk somewhere truly new.

Abstract Therapie is Intuitive Coaching for Creatives, Empaths and Entrepreneurs.

Book a Discovery Call with Coach Ryan; text 505-231-8036 or access the code below. abstracttherapie.com

MIND BODY SPIRIT! CALL: 505.395.2904 OR EMAIL: CLASSYSFREPORTER.COM

WANTED: Budding Writer!

Are you a cannabis connoisseur who also likes to keep up with the industry news?

SFR is seeking a paid writer for its monthly Leaf Brief newsletter. Use your creative skills to help readers see, smell and feel the excitement of cannabis culture in Santa Fe. Dig in to the regulatory structure and the market forces. Send a writing sample and your ideas for the newsletter to editor@sfreporter.com.

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CHIMNEY SWEEPING HOME CARE WORK TRADE

CASEY’S TOP HAT CHIMNEY SWEEP Thank you Santa Fe for voting us BEST of Santa Fe 2023 and trusting us for 44 years and counting. We are like a fire department that puts out fires before they happen! Thank you for trusting us to protect what’s most important to you.

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PHILIP CRUMP Mediator I can help you work together toward positive goals that create the best future for all • Divorce, Parenting plan, Family • Business, Partnership, Construction FREE CONSULTATION philip@pcmediate.com 505-989-8558

Seeking organized female to provide minimal help, elder care, and companionship for a mostly independent eighty-year-old woman in exchange for rent.

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EMPLOYMENT

Cottam’s Ski Shop, Santa Fe Location is looking for a Rentals Manager. Reporting to the Store Manager, this position is responsible for the management of the Ski/Snowboard Rental Department including staff supervision, training and inventory control to achieve the maximum profitability while providing the best-in-class guest service. Starts at: $21/hour + Commission. Actual pay will be adjusted based on experience.

For full job description and to apply: christysports.com/careers Cottam’s Ski Shop, Santa Fe Location is looking for Full and Part Time Rental Techs.

This position is responsible for assisting our customers with the proper fitting of ski and / or snowboard equipment while continuing to provide the bestin-class guest service for which Christy Sports is known. Starts at: $18/hour + Commission.

Actual pay will be adjusted based on experience. For full job description and to apply: christysports.com/careers

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS BY BECOMING AN ESL or LITERACY TUTOR. Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe’s 10-hour trainings prepare volunteers to tutor adults in either English as a Second Language (ESL) or Basic Literacy (BL). The ESL new tutor orientation will be held online on Thursday, February 8th from 4 to 6 p.m., and the in-person training will be on Friday & Saturday, February 9th and 10th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at SFCC. The BL orientation will be held in person on Thursday, February 29th from 4 to 6 p.m., and the in-person training will be on Saturday, March 2nd from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SFCC. A registration meeting and 2-hour follow-up workshop are also included.

For more information, please call 505-428-1353 or visit www.lvsf.org to complete an application. No experience or second language necessary!

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NOTICE TO CREDITORS STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT No. D-101-PB-2023-00244 IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER BRIAN ROCHA, Deceased NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS GIVEN that KAYCEE MALAYA ROCHA has been appointed Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER BRIAN ROCHA. All persons having claims against this Estate are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice or sixty (60) days after the date of mailing or other delivery of this Notice, whichever is later, or the claims will be forever barred. Claims must be presented either to the Personal Representative, KayCee Malaya Rocha, 1218 Tesuque Drive, Espanola, New Mexico 87532, or filed with the First Judicial District Court, Steve Herrera Judicial Complex, 225 Montezuma Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, with a copy mailed to the Personal Representative.

DATED: Submitted: JANUARY 3, 2024 By: /s/ KAYCEE MALAYA ROCHA, Applicant 1218 Tesuque Drive Espanola, NM 87532 (505) 920-6241 STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT Case No. D-101-PB-2023-00314 Judge Wilson, Matthew J. IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF SUZANNE WHEATLEY, DECEASED NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that DONALD JAMES TEIS has been appointed Personal Representative of the estate of SUZANNE WHEATLEY. All persons having claims against this estate are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice, or the claims will be forever barred. Claims must be presented either to the Personal Representative, c/o J. David Beasley, Esq., P.O. Box 1620, Las Cruces, NM 88004, or filed with the First Judicial District Court located at 225 Montezuma Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 455-8250.

Dated: December 26, 2023.

Submitted by: By: /s/ J. DAVID BEASLEY, ESQ. Attorney for the Estate of SUZANNE WHEATLEY P.O. Box 1620 Las Cruces, NM 88004 (575) 528-6782

SFR CLASSIFIEDS of Personal Representative in the above-styled and numbered FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT matter on December 21, COUNTY OF SANTA FE 2023, and a hearing on the STATE OF NEW MEXICO above-referenced Petition In the Matter of the Estate of has been set for February 1, Robert Sanchez, Decedent.

2024 at 3:00 p.m. at the No. D-101-PB-2023-00334 Judge Steve Herrera Judicial NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Complex, First Judicial District the undersigned has been Court (3rd Floor), 225 appointed Personal Montezuma Avenue, Santa Representative of this Estate.

Fe, NM 87501, before The All persons having claims Honorable J. Francis Mathew. against this Estate are 3. Pursuant to Section required to present their claims within four (4) months 45-1-401 (A) (3), N.M.S.A., after the date of the first 1978, notice of the time and publication of this Notice, or place of hearing on the the claims will be forever above-referenced Petition is barred. Claims must be hereby given to you by presented either to the undersigned Personal publication, once each week, Representative, Phillip for three consecutive weeks.

Sanchez, c/o Barry Green, DATED this 3rd day of January, Law Office of Barry Green, PO 2024.

Box 1840, Santa Fe, New /s/ Kristi A. Wareham, Esq. Mexico 87504-1840, or filed with the First Judicial District KRISTI A. WAREHAM, P.C. Court Clerk, PO Box 2268, Attorney for Petitioner Santa Fe, New Mexico 300 Paseo de Peralta, Ste. 103 87504-2268.

Santa Fe, NM 87501 Dated Jan 5, 2024 Telephone: (505) 820-0698 /s/ Philip Sanchez, Personal Fax: (505) 629-1298 Representative Email: Submitted by, kristiwareham@icloud.com LAW OFFICE OF BARRY GREEN By: /s/ Barry Green Barry Green Attorneys for Estate PO Box 1840 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504-1840 505-989-1834 LawOfficeOfBarryGreen@ms n.com

NOTICE OF HEARING STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT Case No. D-101-PB-2023-00339 IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID A. CREMERS, deceased.

NOTICE OF HEARING BY PUBLICATION TO: UNKNOWN HEIRS OF DAVID A. CREMERS, DECEASED, AND ALL UNKNOWN PERSONS WHO HAVE OR CLAIM ANY INTEREST IN THE ESTATE OF DAVID A. CREMERS, DECEASED, OR IN THE MATTER BEING LITIGATED IN THE HEREINAFTER MENTIONED HEARING. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of the following: 1. DAVID A. CREMERS, Deceased, died on June 29, 2023; 2. TERESA CREMERS filed a Petition for Adjudication of Intestacy, Determination of Heirship, and Formal Appointment SFREPORTER.COM

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SFR BACK PAGE GRADUATE GEMOLOGIST THINGS FINER Inside La Fonda Hotel 983-5552

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