By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — On Sunday, around 11 a.m., Robert Estrada and his family and friends will again gather at the Whole Enchilada Festival to make the world’s largest enchilada.
It will be the 27th time, cooking up the humungous treat for Estrada, whose achievement was officially certified in 2000 by “The Guinness Book of Records.”
His behemoth main course for the masses even inspired a side dish. This year, staffers from the produce department at Mountain View Market announced they would attempt to build the world's largest organic salad, a 500-pound tribute to green and healthy living.
Ah, fiesta food. Nothing expresses the unique creativity of Las Cruces style quite as eloquently as our festival cuisine. And giant enchiladas are just the beginning.
We’re always adding new and exciting multicultural entries to the mix. At this year’s Franciscan Festival of the Arts at Holy Cross Retreat, for instance, the Mesilla Valley Serra Club offered Polish sausage and sauerkraut burritos. Christmas cheeseburgers are pretty standard at many area fiestas. For newcomers, “Christmas” refers to a mixture of our favorite chiles. Our official New Mexico state question is, and I’m not making this up, “Red or green?” The answer, for those of us who like both red and green peppers and/or the sauces and salsa they inspire, is “Christmas.”
Corn also comes in Technicolor food forms in the Land of Enchantment. In addition to the standard sweet yellow stuff, roasted on the cob (great with lime-chile butter), New Mexico corn comes in red, white and blue and in cooked forms that range from tacos, enchiladas and burritos to popcorn. I once encountered an enterprising soul who tried to come up with natural patriotic popcorn, but the best he managed was a muddled mix of white and off-white kernels that were slightly blue-grayish and dingy pinkish-yellow. Maybe there has been progress on this front. If you stumble across any organic patriotic popcorn (no dyes or additives allowed) in your fiesta adventures, keep us posted.
But let’s get back to chiles, the basis for a lot of our distinctive festival cuisine and other cosmopolitan ways to chow down, Las Cruces style.
You still have to go to actual restaurants or shops for many of my all-time chile favorites, like Double Eagle’s green chile wontons, Caliche’s jalapeña sundaes, Teriakyi Chicken House’s green chile tempura and, of course, green chile chicken quiche — I’m particularly fond of the versions at The Shed and The Planet. Real men and strong women really DO eat quiche, especially if it’s packed with chiles.
And I have come upon some imaginative green chile fare at fairs, like chile fudge and green chile chocolate chip cookies one year at the Doña Ana Arts Council Renaissance ArtsFaire, the source of lots of imaginative multiethnic treats. Tortugas serves delicious, chile-infused albondigas every year after the pilgrimage and dancing at Our Lady of Guadalupe Fiesta.
I can’t remember which fiestas served them up, but I do have vivid memories of some other exotic goodies: green chile beer, green chile lemonade, red chile sausage on a stick, habañero ice cream...maybe you’ll rediscover them during this full-tilt fiesta season.
In the meantime, if you’re expecting a crowd for your own fiesta, I thought it would be nice to share the 2007 Whole Enchilada Fiesta recipes.
World’s Largest Organic Salad (the Mountain View Market produce crew hopes): 500 pounds of organic romaine, red and green leaf lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, broccoli and organic salad dressing.
Robert Estrada’s World’s Largest Enchilada: Make masa tortillas with 750 pounds of stone ground corn cooked in 175 gallons of vegetable oil. Make three giant layers of tortillas, each 10 and 1/2 feet in diameter. Assemble 175 pounds of grated cheese, 50 pounds of chopped onions and 75 gallons of savory red chile sauce and divide evenly between layers.
!Mucho gusto!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Las Cruces Auditions for 'THE BURNING PLAIN"!!!
What: Open call for speaking roles in “The Burning Plain”
Needed: White boys ages 14 to 16; Hispanic men, ages 28 to 55 who can speak fluent Spanish; experienced Hispanic male actors ages 18 to 22; Hispanic women ages 38 to 43
When: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 29
Where: 221 N. Downtown Mall (next to Day’s Hamburgers) in Las Cruces
Bring: A headshot and/or photo and resumé if you have them
Note: All participants must be available to shoot in the Las Cruces area Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.
Future auditions
An open casting call for extras will be held in Las Cruces soon, probably in October.
Closer look
• About “The Burning Plain”
• Plot: “The Burning Plain” explores the mysterious connection between several characters separated by time and space: Mariana, a 16-year-old girl trying to put together the shattered lives of her parents in a Mexican border town; Sylvia, a woman in Portland who must undertake an emotional odyssey to make up for a sin from her past; Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine love; and Maria, a young girl who helps her parents find redemption, forgiveness and love.
• Director: Guillermo Arriaga
• Star: Academy Award winner Charlize Theron
• Producers: Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald
• Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Charlize Theron, Alisa Tager, Ray Angelic and Marc Butan
Source: Producers of “The Burning Plain.”
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — It could be your chance to be a star...or at least land a speaking role in a major motion picture. The first round of Las Cruces auditions will be Sept. 29 for speaking roles in “The Burning Plain,” starring Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron and written and directed by “Babel” screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. The film will be shot in and around Las Cruces from Nov. 5 through Dec. 21.
“I’ll only be doing a very limited open call and then inviting a few people back, then doing an appointment-only call for actors I have chosen,” said the film’s New Mexico casting director Kathryn Brink.
The production’s first Las Cruces auditions will be from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 29 at 221 N. Downtown Mall, next to Day’s Hamburgers, for the following speaking roles:
• White boys ages 14 to 16
• Hispanic men, ages 28 to 55 who can speak fluent Spanish
• Experienced Hispanic male actors age 18 to 22
• Hispanic women, ages 38 to 43
“Bring a headshot or other photo and resumé, if you have them,” Brink advised.
About 75 New Mexico crew members and 800 local principal actors and background talent will be hired for the film, according to the New Mexico Film Office.
“We want to let the public know that there will be a later casting call for all the background extras and many more people will be invited to participate. That will be the major casting call and that will be what most people will be qualified for. It will probably be in October, but no dates have been set yet. There is no e-mail or phone where people can ask questions or respond; unfortunately it just backs up our ability to cast,” said Brink, who stressed that all casting call announcements will be made through the media.
“Casting is underway in both Los Angeles and New Mexico,” Brink said.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Needed: White boys ages 14 to 16; Hispanic men, ages 28 to 55 who can speak fluent Spanish; experienced Hispanic male actors ages 18 to 22; Hispanic women ages 38 to 43
When: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 29
Where: 221 N. Downtown Mall (next to Day’s Hamburgers) in Las Cruces
Bring: A headshot and/or photo and resumé if you have them
Note: All participants must be available to shoot in the Las Cruces area Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.
Future auditions
An open casting call for extras will be held in Las Cruces soon, probably in October.
Closer look
• About “The Burning Plain”
• Plot: “The Burning Plain” explores the mysterious connection between several characters separated by time and space: Mariana, a 16-year-old girl trying to put together the shattered lives of her parents in a Mexican border town; Sylvia, a woman in Portland who must undertake an emotional odyssey to make up for a sin from her past; Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine love; and Maria, a young girl who helps her parents find redemption, forgiveness and love.
• Director: Guillermo Arriaga
• Star: Academy Award winner Charlize Theron
• Producers: Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald
• Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Charlize Theron, Alisa Tager, Ray Angelic and Marc Butan
Source: Producers of “The Burning Plain.”
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — It could be your chance to be a star...or at least land a speaking role in a major motion picture. The first round of Las Cruces auditions will be Sept. 29 for speaking roles in “The Burning Plain,” starring Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron and written and directed by “Babel” screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. The film will be shot in and around Las Cruces from Nov. 5 through Dec. 21.
“I’ll only be doing a very limited open call and then inviting a few people back, then doing an appointment-only call for actors I have chosen,” said the film’s New Mexico casting director Kathryn Brink.
The production’s first Las Cruces auditions will be from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 29 at 221 N. Downtown Mall, next to Day’s Hamburgers, for the following speaking roles:
• White boys ages 14 to 16
• Hispanic men, ages 28 to 55 who can speak fluent Spanish
• Experienced Hispanic male actors age 18 to 22
• Hispanic women, ages 38 to 43
“Bring a headshot or other photo and resumé, if you have them,” Brink advised.
About 75 New Mexico crew members and 800 local principal actors and background talent will be hired for the film, according to the New Mexico Film Office.
“We want to let the public know that there will be a later casting call for all the background extras and many more people will be invited to participate. That will be the major casting call and that will be what most people will be qualified for. It will probably be in October, but no dates have been set yet. There is no e-mail or phone where people can ask questions or respond; unfortunately it just backs up our ability to cast,” said Brink, who stressed that all casting call announcements will be made through the media.
“Casting is underway in both Los Angeles and New Mexico,” Brink said.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Film Auditions
Still no word on place and specific times for Las Cruces auditions for "The Burning Plain," but casting people indicate it may be the weekend of Sept. 28-30. As soon as we get any information, I'll post it.
Magic Days in Las Cruces
LAS CRUCES — There’s a lot to see and do this time of year. Fiestas. Fairs. Art openings. Plays. Concerts. Games. Back to school.
And a lot to ponder. What will the new spaceport really look like, when it’s finished and embedded in the desert? And what about the new city hall and the new federal building?
How are things coming along on the Downtown Mall?
It’s the best time of year to check things out. Instead of stopping to smell the roses, it strikes me as a good time to do some low-key multitasking. Combine your workout — or at least part of it — with your own personal state-of-the-community assessment.
Take your daily walk around your own neighborhood and then head for someplace new, even if it’s just a neighborhood a mile or two away.
I realized it was time for a new regimen during a recent Sunday hike. I found myself counting steps, something I haven’t done since I was trying to figure out if I was anywhere close to what seems to be the new gold standard of 10,000 steps per day. This time, what inspired me was a documentary on the Titanic, which reported that the ill-fated ship was 880 feet long.
I started counting steps as I headed down a street with a clear sight line, trying not to lose count as I greeted neighborhood dogs along the way. At step 880, I looked back up the hill to the big yellow bulldozer parked where I’d started. That was one humungous ship, all right.
Then I counted patches where water line repair crews had torn up my relatively new street. There were at least 23 patches in just one block. I plan to compare that with other blocks in the region.
I’ve been trying to go a little earlier to the Saturday Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market. Going early improves your chances to get the best fruit and veggies and you can fit in a little hike before things get too crowded. It’s a nice opportunity to admire the Rio Grande Theatre showplace block and ponder the potential for the rest of the Downtown Mall, or Main Street Downtown, as it’s now officially known.
Expand your walk from the Branigan Library, past the construction sites for the new city hall and federal building and imagine what Las Cruces will look like in a few more years.
You might even uncover some interesting migration tales, like the wandering saguaro.
The formidable cactus that once dwelled on the grounds of Las Cruces City Hall has now moved to a corner of the Branigan Cultural Center. Last time I checked, it was still in rehab, supported by some cables and scaffolding, but it appears to be doing well. Apparently it’s a time when even ancient saguaros are happy about taking a walk around the block.
Mesilla is another fun place to check out. Start at the Mesilla Plaza and circle in any direction and you’re likely to be surprised at all the changes. Rigorous design guidelines have ensured that the new homes and galleries usually fit in nicely with the historic structures in the area, but those of us who have been ambling through the area for a couple of decades may miss some of the funky old vacant lots and crumbling old adobes.
Lalo Natividad has also taught me to hike with an artistic, historic or architectural theme in mind. He once took me on a tour to point out tile murals with religious themes in Mesilla.
Sometimes I look for things like colorful doors and picturesque gates.
While all this purposeful trekking keeps things interesting, there are times when it’s most rewarding to leave the iPod with the review CDs and the self-improvement or teach-yourself-Chinese lessons at home, along with any mission at all.
That time is magic day, a concept shared by my sister when I lived in sweltering South Florida. Magic day is the first time there’s a break in the heat and humidity, when the ocean breezes and cooling temperatures make ambling a delight instead of cruel and unusual punishment.
Here’s it’s more like magic season. It’s that time of year in spring or fall when it’s not too hot or too cool or too dry or too humid or too windy or too anything. When there’s the perfect ratio of lapis blue sky to fluffy clouds, when there’s a gentle breeze but no threat of sandblasting. When your routine layer of SPF lotion feels like it’s just right for you to feel good about absorbing a nourishing hit of Vitamin D.
It the time when ambling through high desert country is a reward in itself, just about the most perfect way to spend a beautiful fall day.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
And a lot to ponder. What will the new spaceport really look like, when it’s finished and embedded in the desert? And what about the new city hall and the new federal building?
How are things coming along on the Downtown Mall?
It’s the best time of year to check things out. Instead of stopping to smell the roses, it strikes me as a good time to do some low-key multitasking. Combine your workout — or at least part of it — with your own personal state-of-the-community assessment.
Take your daily walk around your own neighborhood and then head for someplace new, even if it’s just a neighborhood a mile or two away.
I realized it was time for a new regimen during a recent Sunday hike. I found myself counting steps, something I haven’t done since I was trying to figure out if I was anywhere close to what seems to be the new gold standard of 10,000 steps per day. This time, what inspired me was a documentary on the Titanic, which reported that the ill-fated ship was 880 feet long.
I started counting steps as I headed down a street with a clear sight line, trying not to lose count as I greeted neighborhood dogs along the way. At step 880, I looked back up the hill to the big yellow bulldozer parked where I’d started. That was one humungous ship, all right.
Then I counted patches where water line repair crews had torn up my relatively new street. There were at least 23 patches in just one block. I plan to compare that with other blocks in the region.
I’ve been trying to go a little earlier to the Saturday Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market. Going early improves your chances to get the best fruit and veggies and you can fit in a little hike before things get too crowded. It’s a nice opportunity to admire the Rio Grande Theatre showplace block and ponder the potential for the rest of the Downtown Mall, or Main Street Downtown, as it’s now officially known.
Expand your walk from the Branigan Library, past the construction sites for the new city hall and federal building and imagine what Las Cruces will look like in a few more years.
You might even uncover some interesting migration tales, like the wandering saguaro.
The formidable cactus that once dwelled on the grounds of Las Cruces City Hall has now moved to a corner of the Branigan Cultural Center. Last time I checked, it was still in rehab, supported by some cables and scaffolding, but it appears to be doing well. Apparently it’s a time when even ancient saguaros are happy about taking a walk around the block.
Mesilla is another fun place to check out. Start at the Mesilla Plaza and circle in any direction and you’re likely to be surprised at all the changes. Rigorous design guidelines have ensured that the new homes and galleries usually fit in nicely with the historic structures in the area, but those of us who have been ambling through the area for a couple of decades may miss some of the funky old vacant lots and crumbling old adobes.
Lalo Natividad has also taught me to hike with an artistic, historic or architectural theme in mind. He once took me on a tour to point out tile murals with religious themes in Mesilla.
Sometimes I look for things like colorful doors and picturesque gates.
While all this purposeful trekking keeps things interesting, there are times when it’s most rewarding to leave the iPod with the review CDs and the self-improvement or teach-yourself-Chinese lessons at home, along with any mission at all.
That time is magic day, a concept shared by my sister when I lived in sweltering South Florida. Magic day is the first time there’s a break in the heat and humidity, when the ocean breezes and cooling temperatures make ambling a delight instead of cruel and unusual punishment.
Here’s it’s more like magic season. It’s that time of year in spring or fall when it’s not too hot or too cool or too dry or too humid or too windy or too anything. When there’s the perfect ratio of lapis blue sky to fluffy clouds, when there’s a gentle breeze but no threat of sandblasting. When your routine layer of SPF lotion feels like it’s just right for you to feel good about absorbing a nourishing hit of Vitamin D.
It the time when ambling through high desert country is a reward in itself, just about the most perfect way to spend a beautiful fall day.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Auditions for "The Burning Plain"
Auditions
What: Open call for supporting roles in “The Burning Plain”
Needed: Hispanic men, ages 18 to 22; Hispanic girls, ages 11-13 (must speak fluent Spanish and English); white girls and boys, ages 8 to 15
When: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: 304 Washington St. S.E,, Nob Hill Center in Albuquerque, between Zuni Road and Central Avenue.
Note: All participants must be available to read on Saturday afternoon and must be available to shoot in the Las Cruces area Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.
Las Cruces casting calls
Open casting calls for both adult and children will be scheduled in Las Cruces soon, probably in late September. Casting directors will announce dates and places when arrangements are finalized.
Closer look
• About “The Burning Plain”
• Plot: “The Burning Plain” explores the mysterious connection between several characters separated by time and space: Mariana, a 16-year-old girl trying to put together the shattered lives of her parents in a Mexican border town; Sylvia, a woman in Portland who must undertake an emotional odyssey to make up for a sin from her past; Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine love; and Maria, a young girl who helps her parents find redemption, forgiveness and love.
• Director: Guillermo Arriaga
• Star: Academy Award winner Charlize Theron
• Producers: Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald
• Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Charlize Theron, Alisa Tager, Ray Angelic and Marc Butan
Source: Producers of “The Burning Plain.”
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — The first New Mexico casting call will be held Saturday in Albuquerque for “The Burning Plain,” a new feature film written and directed by “Babel” screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and starring Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron.
But Las Cruces hopefuls won’t have to travel north.
“We plan to have a bigger casting call in Las Cruces since it’s our principal location. It will probably be the weekend of Sept. 28 and 29, and we’ll be announcing times and places soon. We’ll be casting at least a dozen other roles and will be concentrating more on Spanish speakers in the Southern part of the state. Tell people they can wait until we come down there,” Kathyn Brink, the production’s New Mexico casting director, said Wednesday.
Brink said casting will also take place in Los Angeles for the film, which will be shot in and around Las Cruces from Nov. 5 through Dec. 21.
The production’s first New Mexico open audition call will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at 304 Washington St. S.E. in Nob Hill Center in Albuquerque for the following:
• Hispanic men, ages 18 to 22
• Hispanic girls, ages 11 to 13, who must speak fluent Spanish and English
• White boys and girls, ages 8 to 15
Participants must be available to read on Saturday afternoon and must be available to shoot in the Las Cruces area Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.
About 75 New Mexico crew members and 800 local principal actors and background talent will be hired for the film, according to the New Mexico Film Office.
Producers plan to spend about $7 million in Las Cruces, the primary location for the film, said Jonathan Benson, director of the Creative Media Institute (CMI) at New Mexico State University.
Mark Medoff, artistic director of CMI, said the institute is looking forward to working with the film’s production company.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
What: Open call for supporting roles in “The Burning Plain”
Needed: Hispanic men, ages 18 to 22; Hispanic girls, ages 11-13 (must speak fluent Spanish and English); white girls and boys, ages 8 to 15
When: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: 304 Washington St. S.E,, Nob Hill Center in Albuquerque, between Zuni Road and Central Avenue.
Note: All participants must be available to read on Saturday afternoon and must be available to shoot in the Las Cruces area Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.
Las Cruces casting calls
Open casting calls for both adult and children will be scheduled in Las Cruces soon, probably in late September. Casting directors will announce dates and places when arrangements are finalized.
Closer look
• About “The Burning Plain”
• Plot: “The Burning Plain” explores the mysterious connection between several characters separated by time and space: Mariana, a 16-year-old girl trying to put together the shattered lives of her parents in a Mexican border town; Sylvia, a woman in Portland who must undertake an emotional odyssey to make up for a sin from her past; Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine love; and Maria, a young girl who helps her parents find redemption, forgiveness and love.
• Director: Guillermo Arriaga
• Star: Academy Award winner Charlize Theron
• Producers: Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald
• Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Charlize Theron, Alisa Tager, Ray Angelic and Marc Butan
Source: Producers of “The Burning Plain.”
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — The first New Mexico casting call will be held Saturday in Albuquerque for “The Burning Plain,” a new feature film written and directed by “Babel” screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and starring Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron.
But Las Cruces hopefuls won’t have to travel north.
“We plan to have a bigger casting call in Las Cruces since it’s our principal location. It will probably be the weekend of Sept. 28 and 29, and we’ll be announcing times and places soon. We’ll be casting at least a dozen other roles and will be concentrating more on Spanish speakers in the Southern part of the state. Tell people they can wait until we come down there,” Kathyn Brink, the production’s New Mexico casting director, said Wednesday.
Brink said casting will also take place in Los Angeles for the film, which will be shot in and around Las Cruces from Nov. 5 through Dec. 21.
The production’s first New Mexico open audition call will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at 304 Washington St. S.E. in Nob Hill Center in Albuquerque for the following:
• Hispanic men, ages 18 to 22
• Hispanic girls, ages 11 to 13, who must speak fluent Spanish and English
• White boys and girls, ages 8 to 15
Participants must be available to read on Saturday afternoon and must be available to shoot in the Las Cruces area Nov. 4 through Dec. 18.
About 75 New Mexico crew members and 800 local principal actors and background talent will be hired for the film, according to the New Mexico Film Office.
Producers plan to spend about $7 million in Las Cruces, the primary location for the film, said Jonathan Benson, director of the Creative Media Institute (CMI) at New Mexico State University.
Mark Medoff, artistic director of CMI, said the institute is looking forward to working with the film’s production company.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
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