The Golden Age.
It’s a phrase I’ve been
hearing as far back as I can remember, at very different points all over the
globe. Often, according to those on the scene, I just missed it.
My hometown of Muskegon, Mich.,
was Lumber Queen of the World, the century before I was born. Hamburg,
Germany, claimed to have as
much to do with the Beatles phenomenon as rockin’ Liverpool
... a few years before I lived there.
I knew I was getting
close. The Pacific Northwest was finally recognized as the epicenter of
eco-consciousness, Grunge and coffee consumption shortly after I moved to Northern New Mexico. There, I was told, I was enjoying
the last days of Santa Fe’s
Golden Age. I did some seminal stories on Santa Fe Style, just as the trend was
beginning to peak, and one of the last interviews with Georgia O’Keeffe, who
died while I was living in the City Different.
This year, it hit me,
as I was doing in-depth interviews with artists like Bob Diven, Irene
Oliver-Lewis, Mark Medoff and others I’ve discussed Golden Age concepts with
over the last two decades.
We’ve arrived. We’re
smack dab in the middle of a Golden Age. Right here, Right now. In Las Cruces.
It’s been building for
awhile. From what native and longtime Las Crucens have told me, I think it
started, at least the arts and entertainment portion of the surge, sometime in
the 1970s, with the founding and growth of theater groups, fiestas, performing
arts, new venues, formation of professional and community arts organizations, a
symphony and a ballet company that
attracted world-class artists.
Another surge started
in the mid-1990s, about the time I was fortunate enough to arrive. Our little
city was retaining, attracting and inspiring a world-class assortment of poets,
fiction and non-fiction writers, playwrights, musicians, actors, filmmakers and
visual artists.
We saw ourselves in
artistic mirrors, in the words and music and visions of those who live here,
and recognized the truth and beauty and heritage of our multicultural
Borderlands. New fiestas to celebrate all this were born and the festivals we
already had got bigger.
We paid more attention
to our appearance. We’ve lovingly restored historical buildings. We made some
bold new architectural statements, from the East Mesa
to NMSU and Downtown Main Street.
We finally tore down those ugly arches, created new theaters, federal and city
buildings, plazas, museums, shops, schools and galleries downtown, and even got
a start on establishing what could become a thriving Mesquite Street district of unique
galleries, our answer to Santa Fe’s
Canyon Road.
I’m not talking a Roman Empire, rise, decline and fall story here. We’ve
been building up to this for awhile and we’re still at it. The “best places to
live” lists have long-since discovered us and gotten the word out and we’ve
attracted some remarkable people and enterprises without — so far, at least —
losing our magical mix of arts, academic and agricultural resources, of
wilderness, mountains, roadrunners, green chile, space pioneers and innovative
artists.
I think we’ve reached a
critical mass, a pinnacle, but I wouldn’t say we’ve peaked.
Here in high desert
country, marathons are a better strategy than sprints, and I think we’re
beautifully equipped for a long run, and getting better all the time.
That’s it. I’m calling
it. Here we are: It’s the Golden Age of Las Cruces.
We should give more
thought, very soon, to the big questions. Where did we come from? How did we
get here? Where are we going? How can we preserve and nurture and develop our
remarkable traits? How can we sustain and share and celebrate what makes us
unique without losing our downhome querencia spirit and charm?
But just for a moment,
let’s pause. Look around. Appreciate. Be grateful. And bask in our Golden Age.
S.
Derrickson Moore may be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com, @DerricksonMoore on
Twitter or Tout or call575-541-5450.
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