By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — If you feel Scroogish about this merry season, it may be because you’ve never experienced the holidays in the Land of Enchantment.
Christmas in New Mexico is like nothing else on the planet. And Hanukah and Kwanzaa have their own special flavor here, too.
It’s time again for our annual milagro fusion of sacred rites that inspire joy with creative and touching Southwestern traditions that conjure up sentiments ranging from awe and wonder to amazed amusement.
Here are a few of my favorite Mesilla Valley holiday things.
La Posta’s tanks of piranhas decked with poinsettias. Rolling fields of fluffy white stuff that turns out to be not snow, but cotton harvest remnants. Hand-crafted snowguys (if we have a rare December snowstorm) with red chile noses. Giant roadrunner sculptures made out of recycled trash, glittering with twinkle lights. Ristras and reindeer sharing porch space. The glow of luminarias and the aroma of piñon fires.
Gathering with amigos on Christmas Eve on the Mesilla Plaza. Watching dancers in feather bonnets and Our Lady of Guadalupe tunics at Tortugas Pueblo. Yucca pod wreaths and tumbleweed Christmas trees.
There are some one-performance-only memories, like watching grandson Alexander the Great sing “The 12 Days of New Mexico Christmas” with his Hillrise Elementary school classmates. It’s a great production number and I hope they’re still doing it. If you get a chance to catch a local holiday school pageant, don’t miss it.
Then there’s the fun of figuring out the many ways red and green can make our season bright. I’m talking chiles here. I learned to make (and appreciate) homemade holiday tamales at Denise Chávez’s workshop with the Grijalva family at La Cochina Restaurant. At Carmen Garza’s house one Christmas, I was introduced to the wonder of turkey and mashed potatoes with red chile gravy. (I contributed my own holiday chile invention: cranberry-green chile sauce.)
I’ve seen new traditions born and old traditions revived, like La Posada on the Downtown Mall. Amigos who grew up here told me it’s like a Christmas version of trick or treat. As kids, they went from house to house asking if there was room at the inn, and were rewarded with tamales and biscochitos and all kinds of goodies.
In recent years, La Posada and gone public on the Downtown Mall, sometimes with a Holy Family, a donkey borrowed from the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, and singing followed by goodies and a piñata.
“Los Pastores” plays, an ancient ritual with deep roots in the Mesilla Valley, were started here half a century ago by a group of Mesilla families who are determined to keep it alive.
For me, Mesilla is the corazon of celebrations both transcendent and sometimes, a bit eccentric. (The aforementioned holiday piranhas at La Posta, for instance, and our favorite outlaw keeping vigil with his trusty gun under a lovely nativity scene perched on the roof of the Billy the Kid Gift Shop.)
The late, great Josefina Gamboa Biel is credited with starting Mesilla’s tradition of luminarias, carols and drinks on the Mesilla Plaza on Christmas Eve. It’s one of the most wonderful ways to spend Dec. 24 to be found anywhere on the planet, in my opinion. Josefina’s daughter, Kathleen Foreman, transformed her late mom’s adobe home into one of the region’s loveliest lunch and tea rooms where the famed Josefina’s Gate remains a favorite gathering sport for holiday photos.
And now we have Christmas SuperFriday and Winterfest, which debuted a few years ago and demonstrated what a delight our downtown area can become.
Catch as much as you can of this enchanted season in our enchanted land. Happy holidays.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'm thankful for...
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — For many of us, this has been a very tough year. There have been mysterious illnesses, continuing wars, disastrous environmental accidents and catastrophes and some difficult unemployment and economic issues.
This year, most everyone seems to know someone who has been personally touched by Borderland violence, or even suffered the death of someone they know, in Juárez, our Borderland neighbor that has been termed the murder capital of the world.
I have many friends and relatives with American Indian roots who have never been too thrilled about celebrating Thanksgiving, when they ponder the consequences of that original generosity to desperate newcomers.
They find more truth than comedy in Jon Stewart’s caustic quip: “I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
When I think of Thanksgiving 2010, the first thing that came to mind was a quote from my spiritual mentor Tenny Hale: “Ah, for an unmixed blessing for once.”
When blessings seem hardest to find is the time we need to work hardest on our attitudes of gratitude.
I started with simple things, in my own neighborhood. For instance, I know many Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market vendors were sad to vacate their old Downtown Mall site, but the market seems to be better than ever, ranking high in polls and growing.
I’m sad that my favorite downtown tree seems destined for destruction, but I was happy to see so many citizens speaking up for our leafy green amigos. I’m glad to see a city commitment to plant and transplant so many trees in the downtown area.
And I was heartened by Flo Hosa Dougherty’s campaign to make something beautiful out of her favorite Chinese pistache, which met the ax during the current phase of downtown renovations. Stop by Blue Gate Gallery and see the tree’s lovely wood, resurrected as everything from jewelry to furniture and a bear sculpture.
Musician, singer-songwriter and wood artisan Eddy Harrison is even crafting a guitar. Maybe we can recruit talented souls to create wooden flutes, drums and other instruments and end up with a whole band or orchestra. Our desert hills could be alive with the sounds of Chinese pistache music for generations to come.
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful I live in a community of inventive souls like Flo and talented artists who help express her creative vision.
Though it’s been a challenging year, I’ve found that every time I started to work up enthusiastic complaints, the universe delivered someone who severely outclassed me in the misery department.
That old line, “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet,” came to mind a lot.
Actually, I have lots of shoes. More than I need, I realized, and felt better after I gave some of them away to worthy causes.
In fact, though times are still tough, they’re improving, and in the worst of times, most of us have rather high-class worries compared to the rest of the world.
This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful that most of my loved ones are still alive and are finding creative ways to heal and help others. I’m thankful I got to know and spend time with some wonderful souls who have since moved on to other realms.
I’m grateful to live in America in general and milagro-filled Las Cruces in particular.
I’m pleased that the more I count my blessings, the more I find to count.
And when it comes time for eloquent sentiments on turkey day, I’m going to remember Meister Eckhart’s simple but powerful advice: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”
Thank you. And happy Thanksgiving.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — For many of us, this has been a very tough year. There have been mysterious illnesses, continuing wars, disastrous environmental accidents and catastrophes and some difficult unemployment and economic issues.
This year, most everyone seems to know someone who has been personally touched by Borderland violence, or even suffered the death of someone they know, in Juárez, our Borderland neighbor that has been termed the murder capital of the world.
I have many friends and relatives with American Indian roots who have never been too thrilled about celebrating Thanksgiving, when they ponder the consequences of that original generosity to desperate newcomers.
They find more truth than comedy in Jon Stewart’s caustic quip: “I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
When I think of Thanksgiving 2010, the first thing that came to mind was a quote from my spiritual mentor Tenny Hale: “Ah, for an unmixed blessing for once.”
When blessings seem hardest to find is the time we need to work hardest on our attitudes of gratitude.
I started with simple things, in my own neighborhood. For instance, I know many Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market vendors were sad to vacate their old Downtown Mall site, but the market seems to be better than ever, ranking high in polls and growing.
I’m sad that my favorite downtown tree seems destined for destruction, but I was happy to see so many citizens speaking up for our leafy green amigos. I’m glad to see a city commitment to plant and transplant so many trees in the downtown area.
And I was heartened by Flo Hosa Dougherty’s campaign to make something beautiful out of her favorite Chinese pistache, which met the ax during the current phase of downtown renovations. Stop by Blue Gate Gallery and see the tree’s lovely wood, resurrected as everything from jewelry to furniture and a bear sculpture.
Musician, singer-songwriter and wood artisan Eddy Harrison is even crafting a guitar. Maybe we can recruit talented souls to create wooden flutes, drums and other instruments and end up with a whole band or orchestra. Our desert hills could be alive with the sounds of Chinese pistache music for generations to come.
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful I live in a community of inventive souls like Flo and talented artists who help express her creative vision.
Though it’s been a challenging year, I’ve found that every time I started to work up enthusiastic complaints, the universe delivered someone who severely outclassed me in the misery department.
That old line, “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet,” came to mind a lot.
Actually, I have lots of shoes. More than I need, I realized, and felt better after I gave some of them away to worthy causes.
In fact, though times are still tough, they’re improving, and in the worst of times, most of us have rather high-class worries compared to the rest of the world.
This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful that most of my loved ones are still alive and are finding creative ways to heal and help others. I’m thankful I got to know and spend time with some wonderful souls who have since moved on to other realms.
I’m grateful to live in America in general and milagro-filled Las Cruces in particular.
I’m pleased that the more I count my blessings, the more I find to count.
And when it comes time for eloquent sentiments on turkey day, I’m going to remember Meister Eckhart’s simple but powerful advice: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”
Thank you. And happy Thanksgiving.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Las Cruces art scene is hopping
New galleries join art scene
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — If you’re new to Las Cruces, you might think that Full-tilt Fiesta Season is drawing to a close. But stay tuned for a fun-filled December—and a burgeoning year-round art scene.
It’s true we’ve had an action-packed fall, from the traditional favorites like the Deming Duck Races and Labor Day fiestas to The Whole Enchilada Fiesta, Dia de los Muertos, Diez y Seis de Septiembre, Día de los Muertos, the Renaissance ArtsFaire and newcomers like the new Plein Aire Festival and the SalsaFest, now in its second year.
And if we had to call it, I’d say that this is the year artshops really came of age.
When I arrived in 1994, the annual Doña Ana Arts Council ArtsHop was just starting, and it was pretty much the only game in the territory. Now it’s spun off into a festival (DAAC’s Color Las Cruces Plein Aire Competition and Community Arts Festival) and the Downtown Ramble, the first Friday of each month. And now we have this year’s newcomer: Camino del Arte Tour, a second Saturday of each month tour of as many as 10 galleries and studios (many of them brand new in 2010) and 10 restaurants in the historic Mesquite Street District.
In addition, there are annual For the Love of Art Month studio tour weekends, and artists Georjeanna Feltha and Ouida Touchon have coordinated two more annual downtown artists’ studio tours in the spring and fall which attract a growing number of artists, studios and art fans.
Any artist who complains there’s no place to show work here just hasn’t been paying attention.
Despite tough economic times, our roster of galleries continues to grow, especially when it comes to artists’ co-ops.
Mesilla, which once had just one plaza-area artists’ cooperative gallery, Mesilla Valley Fine Arts, now boasts three co-ops, with the addition of Los Artesanos Galeria and Art Galaxy.
The Border Book Festival Foundation and its headquarters, which has always nurtured artists and craftspeople, as well as authors, has branched out to add Galeria Tepin.
There will soon be two new additions to the Mercado de Mesilla complex, home of the Preston Contemporary Art Center, which has attracted national attention and offered a venue for top international, national and regional artists during its brief history.
The late Ben Boldt envisioned the Mercado (itself an artistic achievement, thanks to the design of sculptor Kelley Hestir) as a little art mecca, maybe with some “mom and pop” artists living in or above galleries in the complex.
Reinforcing that vision will be A.me and Mitch Alamag’s ROKOKO Kosmic Soul Kaboom Studio & Gallery, slated to open by spring.
And Carolyn and Henry Bunch will soon open a gallery (their fourth in the Mesilla Valley) at the Mercado.
“We tossed a lot of names around and finally returned the one we used before: The Adobe Patio Gallery and Studio,” said Carolyn.
They hope to open in late November or early December.
The Mott family are also back. Many of us remember their PK studios on Alameda. Now artist Kate, daughter Padma, and Kate’s potter husband Russell have opened MVS Studios near the Branigan Cultural Center.
M. Phillips Gallery and Justus Wright Galeria have moved from their original sites to reopen in bigger and more interesting downtown locations.
Many area shops and restaurants, some inspired by participation in February for the Love of Art Month exhibits, have become art venues themselves, rotating year-round exhibitions.
And brand new galleries seem to be opening all the time. David Jacquez just opened Jardín de las Cruces, 4010 N. Valley Drive, with a group show Nov. 6.
Watch for more soon. Arts are hopping in Las Cruces.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — If you’re new to Las Cruces, you might think that Full-tilt Fiesta Season is drawing to a close. But stay tuned for a fun-filled December—and a burgeoning year-round art scene.
It’s true we’ve had an action-packed fall, from the traditional favorites like the Deming Duck Races and Labor Day fiestas to The Whole Enchilada Fiesta, Dia de los Muertos, Diez y Seis de Septiembre, Día de los Muertos, the Renaissance ArtsFaire and newcomers like the new Plein Aire Festival and the SalsaFest, now in its second year.
And if we had to call it, I’d say that this is the year artshops really came of age.
When I arrived in 1994, the annual Doña Ana Arts Council ArtsHop was just starting, and it was pretty much the only game in the territory. Now it’s spun off into a festival (DAAC’s Color Las Cruces Plein Aire Competition and Community Arts Festival) and the Downtown Ramble, the first Friday of each month. And now we have this year’s newcomer: Camino del Arte Tour, a second Saturday of each month tour of as many as 10 galleries and studios (many of them brand new in 2010) and 10 restaurants in the historic Mesquite Street District.
In addition, there are annual For the Love of Art Month studio tour weekends, and artists Georjeanna Feltha and Ouida Touchon have coordinated two more annual downtown artists’ studio tours in the spring and fall which attract a growing number of artists, studios and art fans.
Any artist who complains there’s no place to show work here just hasn’t been paying attention.
Despite tough economic times, our roster of galleries continues to grow, especially when it comes to artists’ co-ops.
Mesilla, which once had just one plaza-area artists’ cooperative gallery, Mesilla Valley Fine Arts, now boasts three co-ops, with the addition of Los Artesanos Galeria and Art Galaxy.
The Border Book Festival Foundation and its headquarters, which has always nurtured artists and craftspeople, as well as authors, has branched out to add Galeria Tepin.
There will soon be two new additions to the Mercado de Mesilla complex, home of the Preston Contemporary Art Center, which has attracted national attention and offered a venue for top international, national and regional artists during its brief history.
The late Ben Boldt envisioned the Mercado (itself an artistic achievement, thanks to the design of sculptor Kelley Hestir) as a little art mecca, maybe with some “mom and pop” artists living in or above galleries in the complex.
Reinforcing that vision will be A.me and Mitch Alamag’s ROKOKO Kosmic Soul Kaboom Studio & Gallery, slated to open by spring.
And Carolyn and Henry Bunch will soon open a gallery (their fourth in the Mesilla Valley) at the Mercado.
“We tossed a lot of names around and finally returned the one we used before: The Adobe Patio Gallery and Studio,” said Carolyn.
They hope to open in late November or early December.
The Mott family are also back. Many of us remember their PK studios on Alameda. Now artist Kate, daughter Padma, and Kate’s potter husband Russell have opened MVS Studios near the Branigan Cultural Center.
M. Phillips Gallery and Justus Wright Galeria have moved from their original sites to reopen in bigger and more interesting downtown locations.
Many area shops and restaurants, some inspired by participation in February for the Love of Art Month exhibits, have become art venues themselves, rotating year-round exhibitions.
And brand new galleries seem to be opening all the time. David Jacquez just opened Jardín de las Cruces, 4010 N. Valley Drive, with a group show Nov. 6.
Watch for more soon. Arts are hopping in Las Cruces.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Visiting the aspen light shows
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
“This is a REAL light show,” said my soulmate Dr. Roger, as we journeyed through patches of golden aspens in the hills and valleys and mountains of Northern New Mexico.
Autumn could be the best time to visit Northern New Mexico and this is a particularly spectacular fall. In late October, many of my favorite summer flowers — including big, beautiful stands of cosmos — were still in bloom and it was pretty close to prime time for those amazing Aspens.
No photographs I’ve ever seen can really capture their brilliant and ethereal beauty, and I’m not sure words can describe them, but I’ll give it a shot.
You’ll find them glowing In fields of fading green, on gray and rosy mountain tops, in a serene river valley by an isolated monastery, and within familiar Abiquiu vistas etched on the brains of fans of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings.
Mysteriously backlit with powerful luminosity, even when the day is rainy and overcast, the aspens radiate an ebullient, big yellow joy. They’re an annual surprise that never gets old.
There’s gold in them thar hills.
We found them at Pecos Benedictine Monastery near Pecos, an easy afternoon trip about 25 miles east of Santa Fe, within a thousand serene acres in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, anointed with ponds and a winding stretch of the Pecos River.
We explored an autumn wonderland to discover a bridge linked to an island with flowering bushes, and on a quiet riverfront path, we came upon the “Hosanna Madonna,” a deeply moving rustic statue of an exuberant mother lifting her holy child skyward, showing him to the heavens.
We saw them on daily explorations from our home base at Santa Fe’s newly renovated St. Francis Hotel, when we set off on short strolls to the Santa Fe Plaza and longer hikes down Canyon Road and through the trendy railroad district.
We found bursts of them in the thoughtfully designed and lovely eco-friendly landscaping at El Monte Sagrado Resort in Taos.
A few early fliers swirled in golden gusts as we wandered paths by the resort’s streams and waterfalls and walked through the Taos Plaza and visited galleries on Ledoux Street.
I’ll be writing more about adventures in Northern New Mexico in coming weeks.
Santa Fe’s special 400th anniversary celebrations are coming to a close, but it’s hard to imagine a better time to celebrate the City Different’s unique beauties.
The tourist jams have abated a bit. The skies are that crisp autumn-winter New Mexico lapis lazuli. Bargains abound in everything from arts and crafts to clothing, home accessories and meals and lodging.
You can plan your own quadracentennial homage to Santa Fe: 1610-2010 with a self-guided tour of the New Mexico History Museum and historic sites and buildings on and around the Santa Fe Plaza.
It’s always fun to put together your own fall picnic. Visit the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays in the Santa Fe Railyard. It’s not as big or well-stocked as ours (they were voted No. 2 in the state in the same poll that ranks the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts market No. 1 in New Mexico), but it’s a market with style and tasty treats.
Stop by Kaune’s Market, on Old Santa Fe Trail for some gourmet goodies. Or fill your picnic basket at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, located close enough to one another to make buffet comparison shopping easy.
And if you hurry, you might still be able to catch the last of the aspens, the best autumn light show in the state.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
“This is a REAL light show,” said my soulmate Dr. Roger, as we journeyed through patches of golden aspens in the hills and valleys and mountains of Northern New Mexico.
Autumn could be the best time to visit Northern New Mexico and this is a particularly spectacular fall. In late October, many of my favorite summer flowers — including big, beautiful stands of cosmos — were still in bloom and it was pretty close to prime time for those amazing Aspens.
No photographs I’ve ever seen can really capture their brilliant and ethereal beauty, and I’m not sure words can describe them, but I’ll give it a shot.
You’ll find them glowing In fields of fading green, on gray and rosy mountain tops, in a serene river valley by an isolated monastery, and within familiar Abiquiu vistas etched on the brains of fans of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings.
Mysteriously backlit with powerful luminosity, even when the day is rainy and overcast, the aspens radiate an ebullient, big yellow joy. They’re an annual surprise that never gets old.
There’s gold in them thar hills.
We found them at Pecos Benedictine Monastery near Pecos, an easy afternoon trip about 25 miles east of Santa Fe, within a thousand serene acres in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, anointed with ponds and a winding stretch of the Pecos River.
We explored an autumn wonderland to discover a bridge linked to an island with flowering bushes, and on a quiet riverfront path, we came upon the “Hosanna Madonna,” a deeply moving rustic statue of an exuberant mother lifting her holy child skyward, showing him to the heavens.
We saw them on daily explorations from our home base at Santa Fe’s newly renovated St. Francis Hotel, when we set off on short strolls to the Santa Fe Plaza and longer hikes down Canyon Road and through the trendy railroad district.
We found bursts of them in the thoughtfully designed and lovely eco-friendly landscaping at El Monte Sagrado Resort in Taos.
A few early fliers swirled in golden gusts as we wandered paths by the resort’s streams and waterfalls and walked through the Taos Plaza and visited galleries on Ledoux Street.
I’ll be writing more about adventures in Northern New Mexico in coming weeks.
Santa Fe’s special 400th anniversary celebrations are coming to a close, but it’s hard to imagine a better time to celebrate the City Different’s unique beauties.
The tourist jams have abated a bit. The skies are that crisp autumn-winter New Mexico lapis lazuli. Bargains abound in everything from arts and crafts to clothing, home accessories and meals and lodging.
You can plan your own quadracentennial homage to Santa Fe: 1610-2010 with a self-guided tour of the New Mexico History Museum and historic sites and buildings on and around the Santa Fe Plaza.
It’s always fun to put together your own fall picnic. Visit the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays in the Santa Fe Railyard. It’s not as big or well-stocked as ours (they were voted No. 2 in the state in the same poll that ranks the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts market No. 1 in New Mexico), but it’s a market with style and tasty treats.
Stop by Kaune’s Market, on Old Santa Fe Trail for some gourmet goodies. Or fill your picnic basket at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, located close enough to one another to make buffet comparison shopping easy.
And if you hurry, you might still be able to catch the last of the aspens, the best autumn light show in the state.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Friday, October 29, 2010
Quest for the perfect costume
LAS CRUCES — It’s that time of year again, when all patriotic Las Crucens suit up for Full-Tilt Costume Fiesta Season (FTCFS).
This year, the pressure has been on for both sprints and marathons.
Dia de los Muertos events started with two, count ‘em TWO — Frida Kahlo look-alike contests on the same day and stretched on to include a costume ball, plus this weekend’s Dia de los Muertos festivities on the Mesilla Plaza. One of those days is, of course, Halloween. Then there’s the dusk Day of the Dead procession on Tuesday, for which it is traditional to dress up, perhaps as your favorite difunto (deceased loved one), and bring musical instruments and noisemakers. This year, the procession falls on election day. Don’t forget to vote and we hope you won’t be in mourning for your favorite candidates the next morning.
Then, or course, there’s next weekend’s Renaissance ArtsFaire, which is not the same weekend as Dead Day fiestas this year, as sometimes happens.
That’s probably good news for costume marathoners, but not so hot for sprinters, who enjoy the adrenaline rush of suiting up appropriately for a variety of parties, fiestas, ceremonies and, on double-booked occasions, fly-bys.
Speaking of which, angels and ghosts are appropriate for all our dress-up occasions, and if you’re trying to simplify your costumed life, it’s always good to get back to the basics.
In recent years, I’ve gone the angel route. I have a couple of flowing white robes that I never seem to wear any time else, and they don’t take much space in my overstuffed costume closet.
It’s filled with costumes and accessories from my pre-Minimalist days. The mask section ranges from crow beaks and glow-in-the-dark ET faces to a large Dilbert head and a nice King Tut. (That one came in handy for the Branigan’s Egyptian exhibit a couple of years ago.)
There’s a whole section devoted to wizardry, which I once thought might be the answer to the universally appropriate costume quest. There are star-spangled robes, wands, and assorted wizard hats — great hits for matching gram and grandson Harry Potter soirees, when grandson Alex the Great was in residence.
Wizards were OK for Halloween and RenFaire, where I’ve picked up some spectacular bubble wands over the years. But the hats were hot and blew off at windy outdoor fiestas. And no matter how much magic attitude I tried to conjure, wizards never seemed quite right for Día de los Muertos occasions.
I think the angel is the best bet, though I’m still searching for the perfect wings, which would be soft, bendable, hypoallergenic, non-shedding and super comfy. In an ideal world (which, let’s face it, this isn’t, or what’s a heaven for?) I’d be able to retract and unfurl my wings at will, perhaps with a handy remote control device.
In the meantime, I take them off for car trips and seek out party occasions where I can remain standing or hang out on backless benches or other angel-friendly perches.
I don’t worry about storage for my favorite pair, which has a wingspan of about 6 feet. They hang on my living room wall, where they remain a focal point through FTCFS and on through Christmas, and a topic of conversation during the rest of the year.
I’m still working on display ideas for my halo collection, which includes bendable headband high-rise versions and an ethereal, gauzy, easy-on circlet I picked up last year at a RenFaire booth.
It’s easy to customize my basic angel ensemble for any and all FTCFS needs. Last year, I paper-clipped a “PRESS” card to my halo for an office party, pulled a black-and-white skeleton T-shirt over my robe for Dia de los Muertos, added a garland of small flowers for RenFaire and pondered stacking a halo atop a sombrero for the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference’s Parque Festival. I just picked up a fun flashing-lights-and-sound gun at a costume store, so I plan to be futuristic avenging angel for Halloween.
The possible variations are endless. Maybe next year I'll add a black wig and a unibrow and enter a look-alike contest as the ghost of Frida Kahlo.
I’ve been around the FTCFS block and I’m here to tell you, it’s the perfect, all-season, all-star costume choice.
Angels, after all, are always appropriate.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
This year, the pressure has been on for both sprints and marathons.
Dia de los Muertos events started with two, count ‘em TWO — Frida Kahlo look-alike contests on the same day and stretched on to include a costume ball, plus this weekend’s Dia de los Muertos festivities on the Mesilla Plaza. One of those days is, of course, Halloween. Then there’s the dusk Day of the Dead procession on Tuesday, for which it is traditional to dress up, perhaps as your favorite difunto (deceased loved one), and bring musical instruments and noisemakers. This year, the procession falls on election day. Don’t forget to vote and we hope you won’t be in mourning for your favorite candidates the next morning.
Then, or course, there’s next weekend’s Renaissance ArtsFaire, which is not the same weekend as Dead Day fiestas this year, as sometimes happens.
That’s probably good news for costume marathoners, but not so hot for sprinters, who enjoy the adrenaline rush of suiting up appropriately for a variety of parties, fiestas, ceremonies and, on double-booked occasions, fly-bys.
Speaking of which, angels and ghosts are appropriate for all our dress-up occasions, and if you’re trying to simplify your costumed life, it’s always good to get back to the basics.
In recent years, I’ve gone the angel route. I have a couple of flowing white robes that I never seem to wear any time else, and they don’t take much space in my overstuffed costume closet.
It’s filled with costumes and accessories from my pre-Minimalist days. The mask section ranges from crow beaks and glow-in-the-dark ET faces to a large Dilbert head and a nice King Tut. (That one came in handy for the Branigan’s Egyptian exhibit a couple of years ago.)
There’s a whole section devoted to wizardry, which I once thought might be the answer to the universally appropriate costume quest. There are star-spangled robes, wands, and assorted wizard hats — great hits for matching gram and grandson Harry Potter soirees, when grandson Alex the Great was in residence.
Wizards were OK for Halloween and RenFaire, where I’ve picked up some spectacular bubble wands over the years. But the hats were hot and blew off at windy outdoor fiestas. And no matter how much magic attitude I tried to conjure, wizards never seemed quite right for Día de los Muertos occasions.
I think the angel is the best bet, though I’m still searching for the perfect wings, which would be soft, bendable, hypoallergenic, non-shedding and super comfy. In an ideal world (which, let’s face it, this isn’t, or what’s a heaven for?) I’d be able to retract and unfurl my wings at will, perhaps with a handy remote control device.
In the meantime, I take them off for car trips and seek out party occasions where I can remain standing or hang out on backless benches or other angel-friendly perches.
I don’t worry about storage for my favorite pair, which has a wingspan of about 6 feet. They hang on my living room wall, where they remain a focal point through FTCFS and on through Christmas, and a topic of conversation during the rest of the year.
I’m still working on display ideas for my halo collection, which includes bendable headband high-rise versions and an ethereal, gauzy, easy-on circlet I picked up last year at a RenFaire booth.
It’s easy to customize my basic angel ensemble for any and all FTCFS needs. Last year, I paper-clipped a “PRESS” card to my halo for an office party, pulled a black-and-white skeleton T-shirt over my robe for Dia de los Muertos, added a garland of small flowers for RenFaire and pondered stacking a halo atop a sombrero for the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference’s Parque Festival. I just picked up a fun flashing-lights-and-sound gun at a costume store, so I plan to be futuristic avenging angel for Halloween.
The possible variations are endless. Maybe next year I'll add a black wig and a unibrow and enter a look-alike contest as the ghost of Frida Kahlo.
I’ve been around the FTCFS block and I’m here to tell you, it’s the perfect, all-season, all-star costume choice.
Angels, after all, are always appropriate.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Vampire wars
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Vampires seem to be in season year-round these days, but this is a particularly good time of year to contemplate the great sisterly vampire wars of 2010.
Forget team Edward vs. Team Jacob.
For my sister Sally and me, it comes down to Team Sookie vs. Team Bella. If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past decade, or more likely, out in the bright sunshine away from any news of vampire literature, you may have no idea what I'm talking about. Bella is the heroine of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, basis for a hot movie franchise. Sookie is the mainstay of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, which inspired an HBO series.
Our differing vampire preferences may seem strange in sisters with nearly identical voices and tastes so similar that, even living and shopping in locales thousands of miles apart, we've often managed to give each other identical Christmas presents as esoteric as Guatemalan hand-woven patchwork tote bags.
But then again, there are some differences. Sally likes smokin' bad boys, big bowls of peel 'n eat shrimp and the smell of the ocean at low tide. I'm more partial to health-conscious, spiritually inclined guys with doctoral degrees and cowboy boots, green chile and cilantro, and the fresh aroma of ozone during a lightning storm.
So maybe it isn't so surprising that Floridian Sally likes Deep South Sookie and I'm fonder of Bella, whose primary homes are in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest, where I've spent most of my adult life.
We could have endless debates about which heroine and which vampires are most admirable.
Bella, though she isn’t adverse to a close friendship with a werewolf/shapeshifter and doesn't appear to care if her daughter marries one, is a one-vampire woman. And whatta vampire!
Edward is a “vegetarian” vampire (which means he dines on free-range wildlife rather than humans) and lives with a close-knit family of humanitarians who use their superpowers for good and healing and fret over the state of their souls (and whether they have any). Bella wants to become a vampire mainly because it can mean a very long run with her soulmate and the love of her life. Bella’s unique superpower, pre- and post-vampirism, is to shield her thoughts and her loved ones.
I wouldn't call Sookie a supernatural slut, but she is a rather bewildered soul who has had long-term relationships with a couple of vampires and seriously dated a few werewolves and shapeshifters and is especially fond of the human/collie who owns the bar where she works.
Sookie has had trouble coming to terms with her superpower, the ability to read the minds of humans, but not vampires, in whose company she therefore finds some degree of peace, except, of course, for all the vampire violence and shenanigans. Eventually, Sookie discovers she is descended from a fairy (as in Tinkerbell) ancestor, a heritage that apparently heightens her appeal for vampires.
I love both the Twilight books and movies and concede that the Sookie books are page-turners, too, but the extreme and icky violence has dissuaded me from watching the TV series, "True Blood" (named for the synthetic blood developed by the Japanese that enabled the vampires in Sookie’s world to go public and hang out in blood bars).
Sally and I can agree that both series are well-written, and I'm grateful that Sally's Sookie partisanship has introduced me to the other series by prolific author Harris. I'm enjoying working my way through her books, including her three other mystery series starring Harper Connelly, who is able to communicate with the dead after being struck by lightning, smart Southern Belle librarian Aurora Teagarden, and crime-victim-turned-karate-aficionado Lily Bard, who leaves her upscale professional life to clean houses (and become an inadvertent crime-fighter) in a small Arkansas town.
Hmm. It takes all kinds — of humans, pixies, werewolves, vampires, crime-fighting heroes and other assorted critters — to make our big, wild, imaginative world. This is a great season to treat yourself to a good, perspective-stretching, original read.
Happy Halloween — and viva la difference!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Vampires seem to be in season year-round these days, but this is a particularly good time of year to contemplate the great sisterly vampire wars of 2010.
Forget team Edward vs. Team Jacob.
For my sister Sally and me, it comes down to Team Sookie vs. Team Bella. If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past decade, or more likely, out in the bright sunshine away from any news of vampire literature, you may have no idea what I'm talking about. Bella is the heroine of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, basis for a hot movie franchise. Sookie is the mainstay of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, which inspired an HBO series.
Our differing vampire preferences may seem strange in sisters with nearly identical voices and tastes so similar that, even living and shopping in locales thousands of miles apart, we've often managed to give each other identical Christmas presents as esoteric as Guatemalan hand-woven patchwork tote bags.
But then again, there are some differences. Sally likes smokin' bad boys, big bowls of peel 'n eat shrimp and the smell of the ocean at low tide. I'm more partial to health-conscious, spiritually inclined guys with doctoral degrees and cowboy boots, green chile and cilantro, and the fresh aroma of ozone during a lightning storm.
So maybe it isn't so surprising that Floridian Sally likes Deep South Sookie and I'm fonder of Bella, whose primary homes are in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest, where I've spent most of my adult life.
We could have endless debates about which heroine and which vampires are most admirable.
Bella, though she isn’t adverse to a close friendship with a werewolf/shapeshifter and doesn't appear to care if her daughter marries one, is a one-vampire woman. And whatta vampire!
Edward is a “vegetarian” vampire (which means he dines on free-range wildlife rather than humans) and lives with a close-knit family of humanitarians who use their superpowers for good and healing and fret over the state of their souls (and whether they have any). Bella wants to become a vampire mainly because it can mean a very long run with her soulmate and the love of her life. Bella’s unique superpower, pre- and post-vampirism, is to shield her thoughts and her loved ones.
I wouldn't call Sookie a supernatural slut, but she is a rather bewildered soul who has had long-term relationships with a couple of vampires and seriously dated a few werewolves and shapeshifters and is especially fond of the human/collie who owns the bar where she works.
Sookie has had trouble coming to terms with her superpower, the ability to read the minds of humans, but not vampires, in whose company she therefore finds some degree of peace, except, of course, for all the vampire violence and shenanigans. Eventually, Sookie discovers she is descended from a fairy (as in Tinkerbell) ancestor, a heritage that apparently heightens her appeal for vampires.
I love both the Twilight books and movies and concede that the Sookie books are page-turners, too, but the extreme and icky violence has dissuaded me from watching the TV series, "True Blood" (named for the synthetic blood developed by the Japanese that enabled the vampires in Sookie’s world to go public and hang out in blood bars).
Sally and I can agree that both series are well-written, and I'm grateful that Sally's Sookie partisanship has introduced me to the other series by prolific author Harris. I'm enjoying working my way through her books, including her three other mystery series starring Harper Connelly, who is able to communicate with the dead after being struck by lightning, smart Southern Belle librarian Aurora Teagarden, and crime-victim-turned-karate-aficionado Lily Bard, who leaves her upscale professional life to clean houses (and become an inadvertent crime-fighter) in a small Arkansas town.
Hmm. It takes all kinds — of humans, pixies, werewolves, vampires, crime-fighting heroes and other assorted critters — to make our big, wild, imaginative world. This is a great season to treat yourself to a good, perspective-stretching, original read.
Happy Halloween — and viva la difference!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Día de los Muertos 101: A guide to Day of the Dead customs, terms and traditions
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Día de los Muertos has been called “a day when heaven and earth meet” and “a celebration of lives well lived.”
In Las Cruces, Mesilla and throughout the region, it has become a beloved tradition, a time when Borderland cultures blend, showcasing and sometimes creatively combining Spanish, Mexican, American Indian and Anglo customs and beliefs.
Día De Los Muertos “is not a morbid holiday but a festive remembrance of Los Angelitos (children) and all souls (Los Difuntos),” according to a statement from the Calavera Coalition of Mesilla. “This celebration originated with the indigenous people of the American continent, the Aztec, Mayan, Toltec and the Inca. Now, many of the festivities have been transformed from their original pre-Hispanic origins. It is still celebrated throughout North America among Native American tribes. The Spanish arrived and they altered the celebration to coincide with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2).”
Continuing an annual Las Cruces Style tradition, here is a guide to some important terms and concepts relating to Day of the Dead celebrations, collected during 17 years of commemorations.
alfeñique: Molded sugar figures used in altars for the dead.
ancianos: Grandparents or elderly friends or relatives who have died; ancestors honored during the first (north) part of processions for Day of the Dead.
angelitos: Literally “little angels,” refers to departed children and babies, traditionally honored during the first day of celebrations, Nov. 1, and the third (south) part of processions honoring the dead.
anima sola: A lonely soul or spirit who died far from home or who is without amigos or relatives to take responsibility for its care.
calascas: Handmade skeleton figurines which display an active and joyful afterlife, such as musicians or skeleton brides and grooms in wedding finery.
calaveras: Skeletons, used in many ways for celebrations: bread and candies in the shape of skeletons are traditional, along with everything from small and large figures and decorations, skeleton head rattles, candles, masks, jewelry and T-shirts. It’s also the term for skull masks, often painted with bright colors and flowers and used in displays and worn in Day of the Dead processions.
literary calaveras: Poetic tributes written for departed loved ones or things mourned and/or as mock epitaphs.
Catrin and Catrina: Formally dressed couple, or bride and groom skeletons popularized by renowned graphic artist and political cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada.
copal: A fragrant resin from a Mexican tree used as incense, burned alone or mixed with sage in processions in honor of the dead.
Días de los Muertos: Days of the dead, usually celebrated on Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 (the official date for Day of the Dead) in conjunction with All Souls Days or Todos Santos, the Catholic Feast of All Saints. Various Borderland communities, including Las Cruces, have their own celebration schedules in October and November.
Difunto: Deceased soul, corpse, cadaver.
La Flaca: Nickname for the female death figure, also known as La Muerte.
Frida Kahlo: Mexican artist who collected objects related to the Day of the Dead. Her photo often appears in Día de los Muertos shrines or retablos.
Los Guerreros: Literally, “the warriors,” are dead fathers, husbands, brothers and sons honored in the final (east) stop in Dia De Los Muertos processions.
marigolds: In Mexico, marigolds, or “cempasuchil,” are officially known as the “flower of the dead.” The flowers are added to processional wreaths at each stop, with one blossom representing each departed soul being honored. Sometimes, marigold pedals are strewn from the cemetery to a house. Their pungent fragrance is said to help the spirits find their way back home. Mums and paper flowers are also used.
mariposas: Butterflies, and sometimes hummingbirds, appear with skeletons to symbolize the flight of the soul from the body to heaven.
masks: Carried or worn during processions and other activities, masks can range from white face paint to simple molded plaster or papier-maché creations or elaborate painted or carved versions that become family heirlooms.
Las Mujeres: The women who have died are honored during the second (west) stop of Day of the Dead processions. After names of dead mothers, daughters, sisters and friends are called and honored, it is traditional for the crowd to sing a song for the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Náhuatl poetry: Traditional odes dedicated to the subject of death, dating back to the pre-Columbian era.
ofrenda: Traditional altar where offerings such as flowers, clothing, food, photographs and objects loved by the departed are placed. The ofrenda may be constructed in the home — usually in the dining room — at a cemetery, or may be carried in a procession. The ofrenda base is usually an arch made of bent reeds. It is ornamented with special decorations, sometimes with heirlooms collected by families much like Christmas ornaments. Decorations may include skeleton figures, toys and musical instruments in addition to offerings for a specific loved one.
pan de muertos: Literally, “bread of the dead.” It is traditionally baked in the shape of a skull — calavera — and dusted with pink sugar. Here, local bakeries sometimes include red and green chile decorations.
papel picado: Decorations made of colored paper cut in intricate patterns.
Posada: José Guadalupe Posada, (1852-1913), the self-taught “printmaker to the people” and caricaturist was known for his whimsical calaveras, or skeletons, depicted wearing dapper clothes, playing instruments and otherwise nonchalantly conducting their everyday activities, sometimes riding on horse skeletons.
veladores: Professional mourners who help in the grief process in several ways, including candlelight vigils, prayers and with dramatic weeping and wailing.
Xolotlitzcuintle: Monster dog, sometimes depicted as a canine skeleton, sometimes as a Mexican hairless breed. Since pre-Columbian times, this Día de los Muertos doggy has, according to legend, been the departed’s friend, helping with the tests of the perilous crossing of the River Chiconauapan to Mictlan, the land of the dead.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Día de los Muertos has been called “a day when heaven and earth meet” and “a celebration of lives well lived.”
In Las Cruces, Mesilla and throughout the region, it has become a beloved tradition, a time when Borderland cultures blend, showcasing and sometimes creatively combining Spanish, Mexican, American Indian and Anglo customs and beliefs.
Día De Los Muertos “is not a morbid holiday but a festive remembrance of Los Angelitos (children) and all souls (Los Difuntos),” according to a statement from the Calavera Coalition of Mesilla. “This celebration originated with the indigenous people of the American continent, the Aztec, Mayan, Toltec and the Inca. Now, many of the festivities have been transformed from their original pre-Hispanic origins. It is still celebrated throughout North America among Native American tribes. The Spanish arrived and they altered the celebration to coincide with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2).”
Continuing an annual Las Cruces Style tradition, here is a guide to some important terms and concepts relating to Day of the Dead celebrations, collected during 17 years of commemorations.
alfeñique: Molded sugar figures used in altars for the dead.
ancianos: Grandparents or elderly friends or relatives who have died; ancestors honored during the first (north) part of processions for Day of the Dead.
angelitos: Literally “little angels,” refers to departed children and babies, traditionally honored during the first day of celebrations, Nov. 1, and the third (south) part of processions honoring the dead.
anima sola: A lonely soul or spirit who died far from home or who is without amigos or relatives to take responsibility for its care.
calascas: Handmade skeleton figurines which display an active and joyful afterlife, such as musicians or skeleton brides and grooms in wedding finery.
calaveras: Skeletons, used in many ways for celebrations: bread and candies in the shape of skeletons are traditional, along with everything from small and large figures and decorations, skeleton head rattles, candles, masks, jewelry and T-shirts. It’s also the term for skull masks, often painted with bright colors and flowers and used in displays and worn in Day of the Dead processions.
literary calaveras: Poetic tributes written for departed loved ones or things mourned and/or as mock epitaphs.
Catrin and Catrina: Formally dressed couple, or bride and groom skeletons popularized by renowned graphic artist and political cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada.
copal: A fragrant resin from a Mexican tree used as incense, burned alone or mixed with sage in processions in honor of the dead.
Días de los Muertos: Days of the dead, usually celebrated on Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 (the official date for Day of the Dead) in conjunction with All Souls Days or Todos Santos, the Catholic Feast of All Saints. Various Borderland communities, including Las Cruces, have their own celebration schedules in October and November.
Difunto: Deceased soul, corpse, cadaver.
La Flaca: Nickname for the female death figure, also known as La Muerte.
Frida Kahlo: Mexican artist who collected objects related to the Day of the Dead. Her photo often appears in Día de los Muertos shrines or retablos.
Los Guerreros: Literally, “the warriors,” are dead fathers, husbands, brothers and sons honored in the final (east) stop in Dia De Los Muertos processions.
marigolds: In Mexico, marigolds, or “cempasuchil,” are officially known as the “flower of the dead.” The flowers are added to processional wreaths at each stop, with one blossom representing each departed soul being honored. Sometimes, marigold pedals are strewn from the cemetery to a house. Their pungent fragrance is said to help the spirits find their way back home. Mums and paper flowers are also used.
mariposas: Butterflies, and sometimes hummingbirds, appear with skeletons to symbolize the flight of the soul from the body to heaven.
masks: Carried or worn during processions and other activities, masks can range from white face paint to simple molded plaster or papier-maché creations or elaborate painted or carved versions that become family heirlooms.
Las Mujeres: The women who have died are honored during the second (west) stop of Day of the Dead processions. After names of dead mothers, daughters, sisters and friends are called and honored, it is traditional for the crowd to sing a song for the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Náhuatl poetry: Traditional odes dedicated to the subject of death, dating back to the pre-Columbian era.
ofrenda: Traditional altar where offerings such as flowers, clothing, food, photographs and objects loved by the departed are placed. The ofrenda may be constructed in the home — usually in the dining room — at a cemetery, or may be carried in a procession. The ofrenda base is usually an arch made of bent reeds. It is ornamented with special decorations, sometimes with heirlooms collected by families much like Christmas ornaments. Decorations may include skeleton figures, toys and musical instruments in addition to offerings for a specific loved one.
pan de muertos: Literally, “bread of the dead.” It is traditionally baked in the shape of a skull — calavera — and dusted with pink sugar. Here, local bakeries sometimes include red and green chile decorations.
papel picado: Decorations made of colored paper cut in intricate patterns.
Posada: José Guadalupe Posada, (1852-1913), the self-taught “printmaker to the people” and caricaturist was known for his whimsical calaveras, or skeletons, depicted wearing dapper clothes, playing instruments and otherwise nonchalantly conducting their everyday activities, sometimes riding on horse skeletons.
veladores: Professional mourners who help in the grief process in several ways, including candlelight vigils, prayers and with dramatic weeping and wailing.
Xolotlitzcuintle: Monster dog, sometimes depicted as a canine skeleton, sometimes as a Mexican hairless breed. Since pre-Columbian times, this Día de los Muertos doggy has, according to legend, been the departed’s friend, helping with the tests of the perilous crossing of the River Chiconauapan to Mictlan, the land of the dead.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
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