TUE/31

BOOKS/LECTURES

SENSORY STORYTIME

Vista Grande Public Library 14 Avenida Torreon, Eldorado (505) 466-7323

Ideal for kids with autism and sensory processing disorders. 3:15 pm, free

THE HISTORIC SANTA FE FOUNDATION: A PRESERVATION FUTURE

Renesan Institute St. John’s United Methodist Church 1200 Old Pecos Trail (505) 982-9274

A discussion about preserving history through architecture. 10 am-12 pm, $20

Events

AFTER SCHOOL ART

Santa Fe Public Library Main Branch 145 Washington Ave. (505) 955-6780

Creative sessions for the kiddos. 3:30-4:30 pm, free

Museums

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM

217 Johnson St. (505) 946-1000

Making a Life. Radical Abstraction. Spotlight on Spring.

JULESWORK FOLLIES: END OF MONTHLY #24 Online bit.ly/3PDWARW

A virtual Vaudeville variety show, celebrating surviving another month. (Hey, we could all use the encouragement, right?) 5 pm, free

SENSORY SENSITIVE DAY Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle (505) 395-6369 Experience the multiverse you already know and (probably) love—but with less sound and lower lights. 12 pm, $20-$35

Music

ALISA WEILERSTEIN, CELLO

St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave. (505) 476-5072

The MacArthur Fellow and passionate interpreter of Bach’s solo cello repertoire makes her Santa Fe debut. 7:30 pm, $45-$95

SILVER SKY BLUES BAND Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St. (505) 982-2565

Blues—in case the name didn’t tip you off. 4-6 pm, free

Workshop

DEVELOPING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF GIRLS AND YOUTH IN OUR WORLD

Renesan Institute

St. John’s United Methodist Church 1200 Old Pecos Trail (505) 982-9274

Kim Brown and Madonna Hernandez of Girls Inc. explore how to support modern girls as they navigate growing up. 1-3 pm, $20

MODERN BUDDHISM: MEDITATION CLASS

Santa Fe Women's Club 1616 Old Pecos Trail

Guided meditations can dissolve stress, anxiety, anger and disappointment while increasing your potential for compassion and wisdom. 6 pm, $10

Accordion Music

Native Wings Coffee House 7 Avenida Vista Grande, B8 Eldorado (505) 577-1693

Covering all the usual accordion-adjacent suspects, from Edith Piaf to Aster Piazolla. 1 pm, free

NORTH VALLEY TUNE

TANGLERS

Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid (505) 473-0743

Old-fashioned country and Americana, with sources ranging from Appalachia to New Mexico. 2 pm, free

SUGAR MOUNTAIN

Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St. (505) 982-2565

Paying tribute to Neil Young. 12-3 pm, free

TAOS CHAMBER MUSIC

GROUP PRESENTS HUB NEW MUSIC

Harwood Museum of Art 238 Ledoux St., Taos (575) 758-9826

The grammy-nominated quartet performs James Diaz, Dai Wei, Efrain Amaya and more. 5:30 pm, $12-$30

WINTER ORCHESTRA

CONCERT

Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St. (505) 988-1234

Manuel de Falla, Mozart and more, plus a new composition by Aaron Jay Kernis. 3 pm, $22-$92

Santa Fe Women's Club 1616 Old Pecos Trail Mike Vigil (formerly the chief of international relations for the DEA) presents on the history of organized drug trafficking in Mexico.

6 pm, $20-$75

Music

BILL HEARNE

Cowgirl

319 S Guadalupe St. (505) 982-2565

A legend of the early Austin music scene, known for his work alongside the likes of Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. 4-6 pm, free

DOUG MONTGOMERY

Rio Chama Steakhouse 414 Old Santa Fe Trail (505) 955-0765

Hear the pianist who performed for everyone from Oscar de la Renta to Bob Hope.

6-9 pm, free

WORKSHOP

ELEMENTS OF SACRED SPACE: ACTING FOR FILM WITH EB LOTTIMER

Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie (505) 310-0871

Bring your vulnerability—and an SD card to record your work on camera. $40 per class or $220 for the six-week block.

6:30-9:30 pm, $40-$220

10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, $20 (under 18 free)

IAIA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY NATIVE ARTS

108 Cathedral Place (505) 983-8900

Matrilineal: Legacies of Our Mothers. The Stories we Carry. 10 am-4 pm, Wed-Sat, Mon 11 am-4 pm, Sun, $5-$10

MUSEUM OF INDIAN ARTS AND CULTURE

706 Camino Lejo (505) 476-1200

Grounded in Clay: the Spirit of Pueblo Pottery. Here, Now and Always. Painted Reflections. 10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $3-$9

MUSEUM OF INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART

706 Camino Lejo (505) 476-1200

Dressing with Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia. Fashioning Identities. La Cartonería Mexicana. Multiple Visions. Yokai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan.

10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $3-$12

NEW MEXICO HISTORY MUSEUM

113 Lincoln Ave. (505) 476-5200

Honoring Tradition and Innovation. The First World War. The Massacre of Don Pedro Villasur. The Palace Seen and Unseen. Setting the Standard. 10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $7-$12, NM residents free 5-7 pm first Fri of the month

MUSEUM OF SPANISH COLONIAL ART

750 Camino Lejo (505) 982-2226

Pueblo-Spanish Revival Style: the Director’s Residence. Trails, Rails, and Highways.

1-4 pm, Wed-Fri, $5-$12

NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART

107 W Palace Ave. (505) 476-5063

Selections from the 20th Century Collection. Western Eyes: 20th Century Art Here and Now.

10 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $7-12

POEH CULTURAL CENTER

78 Cities of Gold Road (505) 455-5041

Di Wae Powa. Nah Poeh Meng: The Continuous Path. 9 am-5 pm, Tues-Sun, $7-$10

WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIA3N

704 Camino Lejo (505) 982-4636

Medicinal Healer, an Artist to Remember. The Mary Morez Style. Peoples, Places, and Perspectives. Rooted: Samples of Southwest Baskets. 10 am-4 pm, Tues-Sat, $8

BY ALEX DE VORE alex@sfreporter.com

Having vowed to dine on the Southside more often, I put the plan into action post-film screening alongside a reluctant buddy who almost had me convinced that, given the cold and snow, the drive was just a little too far. Once I’d vanquished his nay-saying nonsense, though, we found a new favorite restaurant well worth any drive, not to mention a worthy addition in Santa Fe’s weirdly myriad options for seafood.

I speak of Puerto Peñasco, that Airport Road mecca for fish and such founded 15 years ago by one Ruben Rodriguez and named for an unforgettable family vacation. In the before times, when we’d all gather freely to sit right next to other humans, SFR even hosted a Secret Supper event at Rodriguez’s spot; in the now times, it remains an affordable destination with a staggering menu of delights. We took our time in scanning the options and wished we’d invited more diners to tag along—this one has so many choices and chances to share, it’s a real pity we couldn’t order more. No matter, though, because I know I’ll return again. After all, who doesn’t love a restaurant that includes fries with pretty much everything?

Right off the bat, Puerto Peñasco’s decor is so much nicer than its exterior implies. No, I don’t believe restaurants must inhab it standalone buildings built ages ago, nor do I believe every place I ever eat requires minimalist white walls and the staid air of a mausoleum. Even in the midst of last weekend’s frigid temps, we found a warm and bright space enlivened by numerous tables full of other patrons also braving the stubborn ice and snow that just won’t melt. The walls are a pleasing blue with various art pieces hung at intervals; the staff greeted us quickly and kindly—no wait, it turned out, and a comfortable booth to boot.

Scanning the menu proved the most difficult task of the experience, as Rodriguez’s nearly countless Mexican dishes pretty much all sound enticing. An array of soups, for example ($10.45-$14.95), promised to warm our cores, and the massive list of appetizers looked to be meals unto themselves, from a tostada with shrimp, fish or octopus ($5.25) to the shareable plate of fish chicharrones ($11.95). Puerto Peñasco offers up free chips with salsa and a delicious avocado/sour cream sauce, though, and filling up on food before the main course seemed unwise. As I say, next time we’ll go in smarter with more mouths and more wallets; next time, we dine like kings!

We did make the tough decision, though, in selecting our entrees: tilapia fish tacos ($12.95) for me, the filete crema chipotle for my companion ($13.95). My own dish was an explosion of colors served across four tacos (most places only give you three!), fluffy rice with corn and the aforementioned fries. Before I ever took a bite, I was already in love. Digging in, however, proved that some things are even better than you imagine. The fish in each taco was crisp on the outside while tender yet firm on the inside, and the included lettuce, tomato and avocado slice came to- gether to produce the most enjoyable combination of textures. Tossing a couple fries into the mix happily added more salt and fat between bites, plus a little bit of crunch.

I chose to share a taco, but I secretly resented my companion for it. Still, the sacrifice was worth the trade-off to sample his entree—whitefish smothered in a chipotle salsa cream sauce with similar side accoutrements to my own plate. Again, Puerto Peñasco’s kitchen clearly understands how best to cook fish, an especially challenging task given the potentially overpowering flavor of its chipotle sauce. The plate hit the mark, though, and the flavor and spice of the sauce never interfered with the flavor or mouthfeel of the fish. If anything, the richness of flavor recalled a more edgy Alfredo sauce, though with obvious Mexican cooking influence. I’m not sure I’ve seen this dish on another menu in Santa Fe, or anywhere, and one wonders if Rodriguez would share the recipe.

Puerto Peñasco serves up drinks, too, of course, and my companion’s michelada was reportedly the stuff of legend. Negro Modelo beer can taste just right at times; ditto the massive chilled goblet in which it came replete with a salted rim and just the right amount of hot sauce. I’ve always been vexed by micheladas, if I’m being real, but had I not been driving, I’d likely have had one or two myself. As it stands, we were so full by the time we completed our entrees that we couldn’t sample dessert. I’m coming back for you, though, flan (said in Carly Rae Jepsen voice)! Honestly, if I’d just listened to the people I know who swear by Puerto Peñasco, this whole dining more often on the Southside thing would’ve been a breeze. It’ll be hard to top, but I’ll just have to suck it up and try.

Natachee Momaday Gray’s poetry chapbook debuts in February

BY ANNABELLA FARMER @boeinbrief

Natachee Momaday Gray’s upcoming book of poetry, Silver Box (Finishing Line Press, 2023), is a kaleidoscopic tour through time and place.

The Kiowa Apache poet and artist has seen her work published piecemeal before in publications like the Taos Journal of International Poetry and Art, (RE) An Ideas Journal; she has appeared at local venues including Teatro Paraguas and Collected Works Bookstore; she has read on the Richard Eeds radio show and participated as a SOMOS reader through Taos’ Harwood Museum of Art—a literary program that offers salons for like-minded word fans. Silver Box, however, is her first officially published collection.

And it’s a doozy. Momaday Gray’s poems bring reverent, sensual specificity to the mundane moments of life, melding mythic patterns with everyday rituals like cooking, eating and tending the home. They also serve as mementos of significant events in the writer’s life, and are held in the vessel that is Silver Box

The title, she says, comes from an actual, tiny sterling box a friend brought her from Afghanistan.

“It became such an important relic to me,” Momaday Gray tells SFR. “I would put little remnants in there, like a rose petal, or holy dirt. The significance of Silver Box is that all of these poems, all of this experience, all of my life, fits into this little relic box that is so important to me.”

The chapbook thus becomes an impressionistic collection and gathering of Momaday Gray’s experiences—the culmination of a manuscript that had been in the works for over 10 years before it was finally accepted by Kentucky’s Finishing Line Press.

“I’ve always written for myself, primarily,” she says, “so it came out sort of like journaling—writing little entries just to get it on paper. After a while it became a part of my life that I always carried around and added to.”

Silver Box was thus an evolving work, and its current form ended someplace very different from the initial manuscript. Still, it stays true to Momaday Gray’s vision, and Finishing Line Press accepted it as-is.

“I think they really understood and aligned with my work and how I envisioned it,” she explains.

Even so, the book had been rejected many times before its ultimate publication. Momaday Gray sees those delays as necessary for the book to reach its best possible completion. The final poem, for example, dubbed “Muerte,” honors her hus band’s younger brother who died in 2019.

“That was such a sig nificant happening,” she says, “and I knew that that needed to be in the book and I needed to honor him.”

Much of her work is influenced by her fam ily and its deep roots in New Mexico. Her grandfather is Pulitzer Prize-winning author

N. Scott Momaday, and her parents are abstract expressionist artist and musician Darren Vigil Gray and actress, writer and filmmaker Jill Momaday.

“There’s so much spirit here, and since my family has been here for so long, I just feel like this is where I belong,” she says. “So it does influence my writing, maybe more than anything. There’s a lot of that sentiment in my book, too—the call home, and this reverence for a place you have such a deep connection to.” Silver even came to be is a minor miracle. Momaday Gray says she never set out to become a poet, but her family’s history in the arts led her down the path. Her book even begins with an epigraph from her grandfather, whom, she says, has been a wellspring of inspiration when it comes to her own creative practice.

“He’s known primarily for his fiction and for his memoir, but he’s a beautiful, brilliant poet as well,” she notes. “[In the epigraph], he speaks about the Earth in a way that really brings tears to my eyes. That quote in particular just really shook me—we’re at such a pinnacle point right now in so much uncertainty and so much fear, and I think that my grandpa really makes sense of what we’re all feeling in the collective unconscious—weeping for our earth and needing to heal.”

Momaday Gray’s own poetic practice is as much a performance art as it is a static text. The way she arranges and presents words on the page are informed, she says, by how she imagines herself reading them aloud—and she loves giving readings that incorporate multimedia elements like accompanying songs, videos and other visuals.

“To me, that’s part of the poetry itself,” she says.

To that end, Momaday Gray’s husband, musician Kyle Thomas Perkins, now accompanies her at select readings, including at the official launch at Collected Works on April 7.

“We’ve created this dual experience,” the writer says. “He puts music to my words, and he’s totally able to put more dimension to my words.”

SFREPORTER.COM • JANUARY 25-31, 2023 27 SFREPORTER.COM • JANUARY 25-31, 2023 27

BY ALEX DE VORE alex@sfreporter.com

Celebrated fast-talking actor Jesse Eisenberg enters a new career era with When You Finish Saving the World, an adaptation of his 2020 audio drama for Audible wherein disparate generational perspectives inform challenges across a wide spectrum of life’s hurdles.

Eisenberg penned and directed the film version of his story, trading out his own vocal performance from the Audible release—and that of Booksmart actress Kaitlyn Dever—for a more grounded take on the mother/son quagmire. Julianne Moore plays the humorless mother Evelyn; Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard tackles son Ziggy, a powder keg of growing pains, online validation and run-ofthe-mill teen bullshit.

In World, Wolfhard’s Ziggy finds support and acknowledgement when livestreaming folk-rock songs to a listener base of 20,000—a number he casually drops into conversation far too often. Aurally, the songs sound like old Beck—super-early, One Foot in the Grave Beck. Lyrically, they’re a painfully spot-on glimpse at teenage emotions that strike a believable balance between silly little nothings and moments of genuine insight and talent.

Ziggy’s parents just don’t understand, though, and while his explosive reactions to his mother and father (Jay O. Sanders) seem over the top, Eisenberg’s script shows deft understanding of just how hard we feel when we’re young.

Moore’s Evelyn is the founder of an abused women’s shelter, and though she freely shows support for her patients, she struggles to connect with her own son. Here, World is at its best with a character steeped in relatable flaws who thinks she’s helping but kind of just goes on hurting. Moore expertly phases from work mom to home mom, and we might hate her for the glib manner in which she questions Ziggy’s motivations if we didn’t remember how tired we can be at the end of the day—or just how tough teens can be. Wolfhard mostly keeps up with her, too, and proves to be a capable performer. It is doubtful, however, this will be remembered as his best work.

When Evelyn forms a bond with a new patient’s son, things get tricky. Seeing in him the things she most wants in a son, her misguided jabs at a motherhood redo become ever more frantic. Ziggy, meanwhile, tries to infiltrate a friend group of woke-lite kids at his school, all the while misunderstanding why his passions don’t carry weight similar to his classmate’s pseudo-politicking. Ultimately, though, his earnestness saves him. Moore’s Evelyn comes to understand this, just as Ziggy comes to understand how his mother’s efforts, though not flashy, are wildly impressive. Gee, it’s almost like everyone has their own story or something.

When You Finish Saving The World

+ KILLER WRITING

- PACKED WITH NEEDLESS SCENES THAT DO VERY LITTLE FOR PLOT

Korean writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda comes out swinging with Broker, a sort of examination of economics, given vs. chosen family and the choices we make while backed into a corner. And though Koreeda’s tale lacks the sharp sting of films like Parasite, it does wend its way through the beauty of South Korea, landing upon a moral that’s something like: You can’t always get what you want, but you might find you get what you need; if you’re open to it.

We mainly follow Sang-hyeon (now-legendary Parasite star Song Kang-Ho) and Dong-soo (Dongwon Gang), a pair of lower-class worker types who, through Dong-soo’s job at a church orphanage, sometimes sell the babies surrendered at the doorstep. When one such baby’s mother returns to claim her child, however, their plan seems doomed—right up until it turns out she’s on board with selling the kid so long as she gets a cut. That mother (a magnetic Ji-eun Lee) seemingly cares very little for the child, but once the trio picks up a stowaway orphan (Seung-soo Im), lessons on relationships abound, leading each of the ragtag family members to examine their choices, their agency and their place in society. With a pair of cops hot on their tail and no shortage of would-be parents clamoring for the infant, our heroes travel the breadth of their country deprogramming from their traumas both shared and not. Bonds form and tensions ease. You’d almost root for them if it weren’t for the whole selling babies thing.

Kang-ho has certainly proven a powerful performer in recent years, and one with an endless reservoir of charm. Here he gets the opportunity to stretch out across a stirring variety of motivations and emotional storytelling moments. We go so quickly from distrust to devout respect that it hardly seems possible. He particularly shines in scenes with the young Im. Gang’s performance is life-affirming, too, and sometimes a harsh reminder that ambivalence doesn’t look good on anyone. Lee might be the true standout, though, particularly in her ability to convey so much while saying so little. The baby is just plain cute.

Cut to no shortage of environmental storytelling, gorgeous coastal backgrounds and cities swelling with too many people; find a different kind of love story. The most shocking surprises, though, hit slowly and unfold across the film, be it the cop who secretly loves very deeply or the young son of a neighborhood merchant who went down the dark path. Broker is like a masterclass in character development, and though slow, feels more than worth it once its bittersweet conclusion rolls around.(ADV)

Center for Contemporary Arts, R, 129 min.

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

5

+ GORGEOUS VISUALS; 3D ACTUALLY COOL - REPETITIVE AND PAINFULLY LONG; RECYCLED EVERYTHING

Director James Cameron has been plenty clear about his newest Avatar film being incredibly expensive, but he kind of failed to mention it’s basically a narrative clone of his 2009 original. Oh, sure, it’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous and a technical marvel and all that, but he recycles plot, characters and story beats in a way that feels more exhausting than satisfying—and viewers can easily predict what’s up next because it’s painfully obvious. This is tech over story all the way. And you know what? That’s fine.

In The Way of Water, we catch up with Jake (Sam Worthington, who we forgot was a person until just now) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), a pair of Na’vi— people native to the planet Pandora. Last time out, the pair Fern Gully’d their way to victory over an evil mining corporation that was sucking the planet dry, and our heroes now live peacefully amongst the trees with kids the’ve sired and some sort of teenage Na’vi replica of Sigourney Weaver’s character from the first movie, whom they adopt. Life’s good in the forest until the bad guy military jerks from the first movie all get cloned as Na’vi (complete with their memories, the movie explains in a two-second science dump) and set out at the behest of Earth general Ardmore (Edie Falco) to do...whatever. Thing is, though, the squad’s leader, Colonel Quatrich, (the big bad from the first movie; Stephen Lang) turns it more into a personal vendetta. Violence ensues.

So Jake and the fam flee to the coast, where a neighboring tribe who have evolved flipper-like extremities and the ability to hold their breath for a super-long time take them in and teach them the way of water. At best, The Way of Water is a reductive take on Indigenous ideologies; at worst, it’s pretty racist. Either way, Jake and Neytiri’s kids are all about it, especially the younger brother, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), who befriends a space whale and really embraces the sea and stuff. Wouldn’t you know it, though, Quatrich and his goons take up with some space poachers, and they do evil poacher stuff to flush Jake and the family out. Worthington, weirdly, does pretty OK as a father struggling with his family’s safety and his own desire for doing what’s right. Saldaña, though, is underused. The kids are the focus here, even if Weaver’s take on teenager is mostly about talking like a goofball and magically controlling sea beasts with no real explanation. The rest goes down just like you think. Still, the water effects are stunning and even those who don’t like 3D might wanna check it out. Just don’t expect a good movie so much as a pretty one. Know there’s no ultimate resolution, though, and given the 13 years it took to get a second film, who knows when the third will arrive? The blockbuster film is dying, friends, and that’s OK. (ADV)

Regal, Violet Crown, PG-13, 192 min.