Here's what's happeing for Day of the Dead in the Borderlands. If you're a newcomer, see the downlow posting for the basics on customs and traditions.
If you go ...
• Mesilla Dia de los Muertos celebration
What: Altar building, music, dance, parade, food treats, activities for kids and arts vendors
Where: Mesilla Plaza
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Oct. 27 and 28. Begin building altars (free) at 8 a.m. Saturday Oct. 27
Closing procession: at 6 p.m. Nov. 2 on Mesilla Plaza. Costumes, instruments and noisemakers welcome
How much: Free, but donations of canned food for the needy are appreciated.
Info: Preciliana Sandoval, 647-2639 or Peggy King, 647-3347
Vendor applications: La Morena, Preciliana’s Gallery and La Paz Imports, 2488 Calle Principal in Mesilla
• Frida Kahlo Look-alike Contest
Where: Old Tortilla Factory, 1910 Calle de Mesilla
When: 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday Oct. 27
Prizes: Gift basket from Old Tortilla Factory shops and galleries
Info: 541-9693 or 642-4312
• Jose Tena’s Dia de los Muertos altar
Where: Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St., Downtown Mall
Honoring: Mexican cowboy star Antonio Aguilar, and Tena’s father Jose Antonio Tena
When: Oct. 29 to Nov. 6. Center hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday
How much: Free
Info: 541-2155
• Dia de los Muertos Altar Honoring Extinct Animals
Where: Las Cruces Museum of Natural History at the Mesilla Valley Mall
When: Altar goes up Oct. 26. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday
How much: Free
Info: 522-3120
• El Paso Dia de los Muertos Celebration
When & Where: 6 to 11 p.m. Nov. 2, Union Plaza, El Paso, other events Nov. 1, 2 and 3 at various venues
Who: City of El Paso Museums and Cultural affairs Department, Cuidad Juarez
Highlights: Live entertainment, lectures, children’s theater, mock funeral procession, arts and crafts, altars, traditional food treats, “Culture Cruise to Die For” gallery tours, new Mercada de los Huesos (Bones Market) showcasing artists from both sides of the Border
How much? Most events are free
Info:www.elpasotexas.gov/mcad/dia
• Dia de los Muertos Art and Music Street Fest
When: 6 p.m. doors open, music starts at 7 p.m. Nov. 1
Where: Zeppelin’s Pub and The Black Market, 111 E. Robinson St. in El Paso
Highlights: Poetry and art, music by Elijah Emmanuel, Radio La Chusma, Royal Mudd, Fixed Idea, Liquid Cheese, local DJs
How much? $7 at the door
How to build an altar
(Source: Preciliana Sandoval, Calavera Coalition)
Suggested items to place on your altar:
• A structure with three levels (symbolizes the Holy Trinity and Azteca tradition honoring “above, below and within” )
• There should be four sides, honoring the four directions
• Plus: Salt to spice the afterlife, an inviting glass of water, to quench the thirst of an entire year, their favorite meal, drink, smoke, snacks, the symbols of their occupations and hobbies.
• Other traditional items include photos of departed loved ones, marigolds, incense, pan de muertos (dead bread) and candies in the shape of skulls.
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
MESILLA — ¡Viva Dia de los Muertos!
Get ready for two weeks of Dia de los Muertos celebrations in the Borderland with fiestas and special events that start Saturday in Mesilla and continue through early November in Southern New Mexico, El Paso and Cuidad Juarez. Dead Day highlights range from a Frida Kahlo look-alike parade in Mesilla to a “Bone Market” in El Paso.
This year, local Day of the Dead activities begin with a fiesta and altar building, Saturday and Oct. 28 on Mesilla’s Plaza.
“I can’t believe it’s been 13 years since our first celebration here,” said Preciliana Sandoval, who founded the Mesilla celebration in 1995 with volunteer members of a nonprofit group called the Calavera Coalition.
Sandoval said she has been amazed by the public’s response to the event.
“It’s so much fun and you get to meet so many people. It’s been a wonderful and very emotional experience for many people, including me. Every year, people who build altars and join the processions and celebrations, come to us volunteers crying and hugging and say, ‘Thank you for doing this. You have helped me grieve.’ You never realize how much grief affects you and how much grief you carry through life. Celebrating Dia de los Muertos has helped me deal with it,” Sandoval said.
Some aspects of the celebration, with its merry skeletons and dark humor, can be a shock for newcomers.
Mike Walczak, manager of the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History, said one of the first things he saw when he arrived at his new post was the museum’s annual Dia de los Muertos altar honoring extinct animals.
“It was rather strange for me, coming from the East Coast. I’d never seen anything like that in Baltimore. But I learned about the Day of the Dead and I love it,” said Walczak, who reports the animal altar will be up by Friday Oct. 26 at the museum in the Mesilla Valley Mall.
Sandoval, an artist and storyteller who is a native of Mesilla, said she has spent years studying the roots and customs of Borderland Day of the Dead celebrations.
“According to ancient Aztec tradition of honoring our deceased loved ones, it is believed that each soul has the divine right to visit us one day each year, symbolically: the children on the first day of November and the adults on Nov. 2. In Mesilla, on Oct. 27 and 28, we will transform the entire plaza into a makeshift cemetery where anyone can erect an ofrenda, or altar, to honor his or her loved ones,” Sandoval said.
Traditionally, altars can include almost anything related to the life of the departed friend, relative or even a pet. Altars often include photos, letters and a sampling of the difunto’s (dead person’s) favorite things, from a cigar or a favorite food or drinks to books, CDs, toys or articles of clothing.
Altar building will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday on the Mesilla Plaza. Oct. 27.
“There is no charge to build an altar, but we do request three cans of non-perishable food for donation to the Casa de Peregrinos Food Bank. And we request that you leave the altars overnight and we’ll provide security,” Sandoval said.
The festival, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 on the Mesilla Plaza, will also include music, dance, food treats, activities for kids and arts vendors.
Mesilla’s 2007 poster features art by internationally known papel picado (cut paper) artist Catalina Delgado-Trunk, a former Las Cruces resident who now lives in Albuquerque. Also featured will be original works by regional artists and students from Las Cruces High School and Alma d’arte High School for the Arts.
A newer Dead Day tradition is a local tribute to famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who is credited with popularizing Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico and elsewhere.
“We’ve had Frida Kahlo Look-Alike Contests for the past two years. This year, we’re going to attempt to create a new category in the Guinness Book of World Records, for the world’s largest parade of Frida look-alikes. For this event, ALL participants will dress up like Frida Kahlo and march in a short parade along a route that will be announced the day of the event, from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 27,” said Georjeanna Feltha, owner of Black Gold From the Sun at the Old Tortilla Factory, 1910 Calle de Parian in Mesilla, where Frida wannabes are asked to gather.
“Prizes will be given for the most convincing interpretation of our beloved Frida,” Feltha said.
Mesilla’s Dias de los Muertos celebrations end with a candlelight procession from San Albino Cemetery to the Mesilla Plaza beginning at 6 p.m. Nov. 2. Participants are invited to come in costume and bring musical instruments or noisemakers.
“This year we’ll also have a float with Johnny Flores,” Sandoval said.
Jose Tena, founder of Ballet Folklorico de la Tierra del Encanta, will create his 14th Dia de Los Muertos altar this year, using his collection of art and artifacts.
“This year, I’ll be honoring Antonio Aguilar, known as El Charro Mexicana. He was Mexico’s cowboy star and a singer and actor. And I’ll also honor my dad, Jose Antonio Tena, who died in December. He was 93,” Tena said.
The altar will be on display Oct. 29 through Nov. 6 at Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday. For information, call 541-21555 or visit online at www.las-cruces.org/public services/museums
El Paso and Cuidad Juarez will join for a three-day binational celebration of Día de los Muertos from Nov. 1 through 3 at various locations in both border cities. Events for adults and children will include live entertainment, lectures, children’s theater, an arts and crafts market featuring artists and artisans from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, a mock funeral procession with professional actors, altars and more.
A free Dia de los Muertos celebration, from 6 to 11 p.m. Nov. 2 at Union Plaza located in Downtown El Paso between City Hall and the Historic Union Depot, will include a concert, lectures, kids’ arts and crafts displays, altars, homemade pan de muerto and the new Mercada de los Hueso (Bones Market), showcasing artists from both sides of the Border. A “Culture Cruise to Die For” will offer a free arts hop through galleries, museums and other venues showcasing Dia de los Muertos themes from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 1 in Downtown El Paso. Nov. 3 events will include special activities for kids, dance, theater, multimedia presentations and more at sites throughout El Paso. For information and a complete schedule of events, visit online at www.elpasotexas.gov/mcad/dia
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Are you into gore decor?
LAS CRUCES — Las Crucens are crazy about costumes and gore decor.
And they aren’t alone. Americans will spend more than $5 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted in September, with the average person spending almost $65. Most of that will go, not for candy, but for decorating our homes and ourselves, including costumes for our kids, adults and even our pets.
Almost three-fourths of us will hand out treats, spending an average of about $20 for goodies, according to the survey, compared to almost $18 on decorations and more than $23 on costumes. Guess who will spend the most on costumes? The big bucks aren’t going to festoon those adorable little princesses, pirates and superheroes who show up on our doorstops. The big spenders are 18- to 24-year-olds who plan to spring for $35 for fantasy garb.
In the 1950s and ’60s, my prime trick or treating years, I don’t remember anyone much over 12 or 13 dressing up for Halloween. There were a few good sports — the odd teacher or scout leader and maybe the one or two people in the neighborhood who made a big deal of Halloween — who would dress up and maybe add some kind of door decoration in addition to the obligatory jack-’o-lantern. But you always felt they were doing it all in the line of duty, because they wanted kids to have a good time. I don’t remember adults or even older kids having their own parties and celebrations on Oct. 31.
All that has changed … a lot. Trust me, I know. I’ve been in the Halloween front lines for more than a decade now. With chronic costume aficionados (mostly adults) preparing for Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and RenFaire every year, dressing up is a big deal here. When I started in the mid-1990s, researching the annual costume outlook story was mostly a matter of going to La Vieja and The Gen and visiting a few superstores for a look around the toy department’s pretty standard offerings.
It took a couple of hours. Now, I could easily spend several days making the rounds. One major costume outlet, Toys R Us, has closed, but many more emporiums have arisen and those that have been here for awhile have expanded. ABC Party World is an almost all-Halloween store this year. Mesilla Valley Mall now has what amounts to its own three-store Halloween subdivison, in a cluster that features the Halloween Bootique, Spirit Halloween Superstore and Hot Topic (I must admit that I am now so old that it’s tough for me to distinguish some of their regular Goth gear from the official Halloween costumes). All the big superstores and several dollar, variety, discount and rug stores have huge Halloween sections.
Maybe it’s been creeping up for some time and it’s just hitting me now, but this year, the biggest costume stores seem to have more costumes and accessories for adults than for kids 12 and under.
When did Halloween become such a big deal and why? And when did adults start to take it all so personally and embrace it as a fiesta of their own?
Like most trends since World War II, I expect people to lay the blame at the feet (maybe clad, this month, in sequined ruby-red slippers or giant clown shoes) of my generation: the Baby Boomers.
But it’s the young adults — our kids — who are really going into full-tilt Halloween fiesta mode. Is it part of the whole trend of taking longer to grow up than previous generations? Is there something about life now that makes adults more eager to escape into alter egos and secret identities?
Or is it a healthy urge to celebrate life and explore alternative realities?
And speaking of alternative realities, the gore decor market seems to be blowing up. Literally. What’s with all the inflatables? People are snapping up animated and inflated items priced from $100 to $200 and more.
Maybe it’s the result of growing up with very impressive movie special effects. Every year things seem to get bigger, more animated, more elaborate, more realistic and more disgusting.
If I had any doubts that things have gone too far, 2007 is the year I’m officially calling it. There’s so much truly horrible stuff out there, I’m not sure exactly which gory masterpiece finally put it over the line for me. But my nomination is a fountain that features an anguished, screaming figure gushing blood from a torso severed at the waist. Ugh.
Have we become so desensitized by graphic violence in movies and the daily news that we need this kind of thing to get a reaction? Has real life become so scary that we need an ever-gorier annual fiesta as a kind of vaccination to prepare us for fresh horrors on the horizon?
Haven’t we been scared enough?
What do you think? Drop me a line, access my blog by going to www.lcsun-news.com, click on the Blogzone and then click on the Las Cruces Style icon or send me an e-mai at the address below.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
READ MORE ABOUT HALLOWEEN DECOR IN SATURDAY'S MI CASA SECTION
FOR INFO ON COSTUMES IN LAS CRUCES, SEE SUNDAY'S SUNLIFE COVER
And they aren’t alone. Americans will spend more than $5 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted in September, with the average person spending almost $65. Most of that will go, not for candy, but for decorating our homes and ourselves, including costumes for our kids, adults and even our pets.
Almost three-fourths of us will hand out treats, spending an average of about $20 for goodies, according to the survey, compared to almost $18 on decorations and more than $23 on costumes. Guess who will spend the most on costumes? The big bucks aren’t going to festoon those adorable little princesses, pirates and superheroes who show up on our doorstops. The big spenders are 18- to 24-year-olds who plan to spring for $35 for fantasy garb.
In the 1950s and ’60s, my prime trick or treating years, I don’t remember anyone much over 12 or 13 dressing up for Halloween. There were a few good sports — the odd teacher or scout leader and maybe the one or two people in the neighborhood who made a big deal of Halloween — who would dress up and maybe add some kind of door decoration in addition to the obligatory jack-’o-lantern. But you always felt they were doing it all in the line of duty, because they wanted kids to have a good time. I don’t remember adults or even older kids having their own parties and celebrations on Oct. 31.
All that has changed … a lot. Trust me, I know. I’ve been in the Halloween front lines for more than a decade now. With chronic costume aficionados (mostly adults) preparing for Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and RenFaire every year, dressing up is a big deal here. When I started in the mid-1990s, researching the annual costume outlook story was mostly a matter of going to La Vieja and The Gen and visiting a few superstores for a look around the toy department’s pretty standard offerings.
It took a couple of hours. Now, I could easily spend several days making the rounds. One major costume outlet, Toys R Us, has closed, but many more emporiums have arisen and those that have been here for awhile have expanded. ABC Party World is an almost all-Halloween store this year. Mesilla Valley Mall now has what amounts to its own three-store Halloween subdivison, in a cluster that features the Halloween Bootique, Spirit Halloween Superstore and Hot Topic (I must admit that I am now so old that it’s tough for me to distinguish some of their regular Goth gear from the official Halloween costumes). All the big superstores and several dollar, variety, discount and rug stores have huge Halloween sections.
Maybe it’s been creeping up for some time and it’s just hitting me now, but this year, the biggest costume stores seem to have more costumes and accessories for adults than for kids 12 and under.
When did Halloween become such a big deal and why? And when did adults start to take it all so personally and embrace it as a fiesta of their own?
Like most trends since World War II, I expect people to lay the blame at the feet (maybe clad, this month, in sequined ruby-red slippers or giant clown shoes) of my generation: the Baby Boomers.
But it’s the young adults — our kids — who are really going into full-tilt Halloween fiesta mode. Is it part of the whole trend of taking longer to grow up than previous generations? Is there something about life now that makes adults more eager to escape into alter egos and secret identities?
Or is it a healthy urge to celebrate life and explore alternative realities?
And speaking of alternative realities, the gore decor market seems to be blowing up. Literally. What’s with all the inflatables? People are snapping up animated and inflated items priced from $100 to $200 and more.
Maybe it’s the result of growing up with very impressive movie special effects. Every year things seem to get bigger, more animated, more elaborate, more realistic and more disgusting.
If I had any doubts that things have gone too far, 2007 is the year I’m officially calling it. There’s so much truly horrible stuff out there, I’m not sure exactly which gory masterpiece finally put it over the line for me. But my nomination is a fountain that features an anguished, screaming figure gushing blood from a torso severed at the waist. Ugh.
Have we become so desensitized by graphic violence in movies and the daily news that we need this kind of thing to get a reaction? Has real life become so scary that we need an ever-gorier annual fiesta as a kind of vaccination to prepare us for fresh horrors on the horizon?
Haven’t we been scared enough?
What do you think? Drop me a line, access my blog by going to www.lcsun-news.com, click on the Blogzone and then click on the Las Cruces Style icon or send me an e-mai at the address below.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
READ MORE ABOUT HALLOWEEN DECOR IN SATURDAY'S MI CASA SECTION
FOR INFO ON COSTUMES IN LAS CRUCES, SEE SUNDAY'S SUNLIFE COVER
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Big Enchilada, Polish Sausage & Sauerkraut Burritos and other Fiesta Food Treats
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
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
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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