The Cultural Center de Mesilla, home of the Border Book Festival Foundation, will host a holiday open house with Abuelita hot chocolate, cake, homemade biscochos and a Nacimiento display, composed of traditional clay figures from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at 2231-A Calle de Parian, next to the Mesilla Post Office. Many items, including signed books and collectables, will be for sale. Regular center hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For info: (575) 523-3988.
Mariachi Concert at Court Youth Center
The 7th annual holiday Herencia de Mariachi Holiday Concert begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at Court Youth Center, 402 W. Court Ave. Sponsored by Mariachi Espuelas de Plata, musicians in the after school mariachi program at the Court Youth Center, the concert will feature area youth involved in mariachi music and ballet folklórico. Performers will include Mariachi Espuelas de Cobre, Mariachi Atzcalitlan from La Academia Dolores Huerta, Gadsden Middle School Danza group, 6-year-old vocalist Greg Rocha, Mariachi Real de Chihuahua and Mariachi Espuelas de Plata and Hispanic comedy skits. Tickets, at $12 or $150 for sponsor tables for 8, include refreshments of menudo, nachos, dessert and drinks. For information or reservations, call (575) 524-0458 or e-mail margarett55@msm.com
Nick of Time Craft Workshops
Two mini-craft “Just in the Nick of Time” holiday workshops Saturday at the Branigan Cultural Center on the Downtown Mall will include Ojo de Dios or Eye of God ornaments from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (minimum age 6) and Punched Tin Ornaments from noon to 2 p.m. (minimum age 10). Kids under age 8 must be accompanied by an adult. A $10 fee includes all materials and finished pieces to take home. Preregistration is encouraged but not required. Visit the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St., r call (575) 541-2154 or visit online at www.museums.las-cruces.org
Plan a Holiday Field trip
If you’re in the mood for a holiday family road trip, gather family and friends for a holiday celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the El Camino Real International Heritage Center, between Socorro and Truth or Consequences, exit 115 off I-25. There will be ornament-making, piñata-breaking, music, La Posada procession, and a visit with Santa. Kids under 16 free, $5 for adults.
Poetry reading and booksignings
Joe Somoza will introduce his newest book-length collection of poetry, “Shock of White Hair,” with a reading and booksigning from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Black Gold From the Sun, 1910 Calle de Parian in the old Tortilla Factory in Mesilla.
Music on the Mesilla Plaza
Nine days of consecutive music performances from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the Mesilla Plaza begin Saturday and run through Dec. 23. The El Paso Electric Music on the Plaza event features Salty Dogs: Saturday, Las Cruces High School Choir: Sunday, The Brass Quintet: Monday, Bells of the Valley: Tuesday, Doña Ana Youth Choir: Wednesday, Border Jazz Trio: Thursday, Bob Burns Folk Group: Dec. 21, Doo Wop Oldies but Goodies Group: Dec. 22 and Mariachi Manada de Lobos on Dec. 23.
Chamber Music and Dona Ana Youth Choir
Las Cruces Friends of Chamber Music will present a free concert of vocal selections “Canciones Navideñas/Songs of the Season,” featuring soloists from the community and the Doña Ana Youth Choir at 7 p.m. Saturday at Good Samaritan Auditorium, 3011 Buena Vida Circle. Doors open at 6:40 p.m.
Mesilla Valley Chorale Concert
The Mesilla Valley Chorale presents “Holiday Memories at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Rio Grande Theatre on the Downtown Mall. Tickets, at $10 are available at the door, at White's Music Box or call (575) 523-0807.
Plan ahead: Christmas Eve Luminarias and Music
On Christmas Eve, thousands of luminarias will be displayed around the Mesilla Plaza beginning at dusk, and the “Mesilla Singers” will lead Christmas carols on the plaza from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the Friends of the Mesilla Fire Department will hold a candlelight service for public safety and military personnel beginning at 6 p.m. The service is for on- and off-duty personnel, their families and friends, as well as for those serving in the armed forces. Info: (575) 524-3262 ext. 116.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Christmas adventures with Alex the Great
LAS CRUCES — This time of year, many of us realize that long distance just isn’t as good as being there in person. But hearing the voice of a loved one still beats text messaging and chat rooms, I believe, especially if you have a creative grandson.
I’m grateful that this year I got to spend some quality face time with so many of the far-flung people I love the most on this planet, but work schedules and budgets mean that we’ll have to find other ways to communicate on Christmas Day, 2007.
As I was unpacking my holiday decorations, I came upon the small carved stone nativity that grandson Alexander the Great and I have set up together every year since he moved here when he was three.
We established our own little nativity traditions. We’ve collected interesting critters and characters to place with the little Holy Family around what Alex dubbed “The Jesus Castle,” a white plaster church made in Mexico.
Over the years, he has entertained me with many amazing insights on the nativity story and he’s also contributed some intriguing and creative additions to the tableau, from stuffed sheep and dinosaurs to Lego inventions and assorted action figures, which he perched on the Jesus castle rooftop with the angels, or patiently positioned to abide with the shepherds in the surrounding fields, tending their flocks — and Lego sheep and Zuni bears and plastic roadrunners.
I looked forward to discussing the 2007 Christmas tableau with Alex, now 11 and living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
“We have the country’s biggest Christmas tree here, and I can see it from my house,” Alex reported during a Saturday phone conference.
We had lots to discuss. I updated him on some of his Las Cruces friends, we talked about his performances with the orchestra in his new school and I called on him for some Gen W (for Wonderful) takes on current trends.
I had TiVoed both “High School Musical” shows and finally watched them. They were cornier — and surprisingly, tamer — than the Walt Disney serial epics like “Annette” and “Spin and Marty” that I remembered from my own wild youth. I wanted to see if Alex could tell me what the fuss was about, if he’d even seen them.
“Well, yeah, with six girl cousins, it’s pretty hard to avoid ‘High School Musical,’” he said. “I only made it through part of the second one, though. After school got out, they kept hanging around the school dancing and singing about how much they wanted to be out of school, so why didn’t they just leave?”
Musicals often don’t make sense and must be appreciated on nonlogical levels, I informed him, and decided to move on to other great mysteries of the universe, like the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
“Ghost? Did you watch the ‘Ghost Hunters’ marathon?” Alex asked.
During our last in-depth conversation, we had established that I’m a fan of ‘Ghost Whisperer’ and Alex enjoys the paranormal investigative teams on the Sci-Fi Channel ‘Ghost Hunters’ series, which he assigned me to watch and report back.
There doesn’t seem to be much that’s new since I reported on parapsychology research in the 1970s and 1980s, I decided. We discussed a episode that dealt with an allegedly haunted site where prisoners were once confined in cramped and terrible conditions.
That led to a discussion of good and evil and the role of the only ghost that really interests me in my sage years: the Holy Ghost.
There was a time in my late 20s when I was fighting some profoundly evil forces, when I called for help and felt a golden hand on my shoulder.
“A ghost?” Alex asked.
It was the spirit represented by the tiny baby figure in our little manger, I told him. And I did my best to explain to him how that moment changed my life forever, how a hope was replaced with a certainty that has never wavered, during a life that has been filled with some very challenging adventures.
Alex knows how to project an eloquent silence, even over the phone. I wished I could see his face, but for some reason I thought of Alex’s father, and the day I came home from the wars to find my then-teenage son Ry playing not his usual heavy metal guitar riffs, but his own version of “Symphony No. 6: Pastoral,” his mom’s soul-rejuvenating, all-time fave. His Beethoven genes had kicked in.
I think holiday traditions are like that. Sometimes, we worry that the true meaning of Christmas is lost in the holiday stress and madness. But spiritual stories have a power that transcends time and manic materialism. I believe Alex will remember and call on the Source that has sustained so many generations before him.
And I hope that you and your loved ones will find comfort and joy in traditions of your own this year.
Merry Christmas.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
I’m grateful that this year I got to spend some quality face time with so many of the far-flung people I love the most on this planet, but work schedules and budgets mean that we’ll have to find other ways to communicate on Christmas Day, 2007.
As I was unpacking my holiday decorations, I came upon the small carved stone nativity that grandson Alexander the Great and I have set up together every year since he moved here when he was three.
We established our own little nativity traditions. We’ve collected interesting critters and characters to place with the little Holy Family around what Alex dubbed “The Jesus Castle,” a white plaster church made in Mexico.
Over the years, he has entertained me with many amazing insights on the nativity story and he’s also contributed some intriguing and creative additions to the tableau, from stuffed sheep and dinosaurs to Lego inventions and assorted action figures, which he perched on the Jesus castle rooftop with the angels, or patiently positioned to abide with the shepherds in the surrounding fields, tending their flocks — and Lego sheep and Zuni bears and plastic roadrunners.
I looked forward to discussing the 2007 Christmas tableau with Alex, now 11 and living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
“We have the country’s biggest Christmas tree here, and I can see it from my house,” Alex reported during a Saturday phone conference.
We had lots to discuss. I updated him on some of his Las Cruces friends, we talked about his performances with the orchestra in his new school and I called on him for some Gen W (for Wonderful) takes on current trends.
I had TiVoed both “High School Musical” shows and finally watched them. They were cornier — and surprisingly, tamer — than the Walt Disney serial epics like “Annette” and “Spin and Marty” that I remembered from my own wild youth. I wanted to see if Alex could tell me what the fuss was about, if he’d even seen them.
“Well, yeah, with six girl cousins, it’s pretty hard to avoid ‘High School Musical,’” he said. “I only made it through part of the second one, though. After school got out, they kept hanging around the school dancing and singing about how much they wanted to be out of school, so why didn’t they just leave?”
Musicals often don’t make sense and must be appreciated on nonlogical levels, I informed him, and decided to move on to other great mysteries of the universe, like the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
“Ghost? Did you watch the ‘Ghost Hunters’ marathon?” Alex asked.
During our last in-depth conversation, we had established that I’m a fan of ‘Ghost Whisperer’ and Alex enjoys the paranormal investigative teams on the Sci-Fi Channel ‘Ghost Hunters’ series, which he assigned me to watch and report back.
There doesn’t seem to be much that’s new since I reported on parapsychology research in the 1970s and 1980s, I decided. We discussed a episode that dealt with an allegedly haunted site where prisoners were once confined in cramped and terrible conditions.
That led to a discussion of good and evil and the role of the only ghost that really interests me in my sage years: the Holy Ghost.
There was a time in my late 20s when I was fighting some profoundly evil forces, when I called for help and felt a golden hand on my shoulder.
“A ghost?” Alex asked.
It was the spirit represented by the tiny baby figure in our little manger, I told him. And I did my best to explain to him how that moment changed my life forever, how a hope was replaced with a certainty that has never wavered, during a life that has been filled with some very challenging adventures.
Alex knows how to project an eloquent silence, even over the phone. I wished I could see his face, but for some reason I thought of Alex’s father, and the day I came home from the wars to find my then-teenage son Ry playing not his usual heavy metal guitar riffs, but his own version of “Symphony No. 6: Pastoral,” his mom’s soul-rejuvenating, all-time fave. His Beethoven genes had kicked in.
I think holiday traditions are like that. Sometimes, we worry that the true meaning of Christmas is lost in the holiday stress and madness. But spiritual stories have a power that transcends time and manic materialism. I believe Alex will remember and call on the Source that has sustained so many generations before him.
And I hope that you and your loved ones will find comfort and joy in traditions of your own this year.
Merry Christmas.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Great Conversations in Las Cruces
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Dr. William Sheldon, the late M.D. and author-philosopher, once said that as long as there are at least two seeking consciousnesses somewhere in the universe, there is hope.
We live in a little city that is sizzling hotbed of hope, if the eagerness to share “great conversations” is any indication.
“I hope this is the beginning of a great tradition,” said New Mexico State University President Michael Martin, welcoming participants to “Great Conversations,” a Nov. 28 NMSU Honors College benefit that gave participants a chance to have dinner with an expert on their choice of several intriguing topics.
“Universities are about great conversation on important topics. It’s the place where we debate and discuss and wrestle with the issues of our time,” Martin said.
Not much wrestling went on, but we had a very good time at my table, where NMSU professor of music and recording artist Jim Shearer presided and the official topic was “Can the Music Industry be Saved?”
But we didn’t stop with music; my table seemed concerned with saving the entire world. We discussed everything from smart classrooms, sex, religion, and politics to modern musicals, the speed of high-tech evolution, music education and the impact of video games on toddlers. Dinner mates included teachers, philosophers, artists, musicians and a grad student.
We grandmothers can’t have a truly great conversation without mentioning our own greats and I had a good time comparing notes with Sharon Billington, whose 11-year-old triplet grandkids are the same age as my grand, Alexander the Great. We decided the upcoming generation is populated with some remarkable souls.
We all agreed we learned something new, from new perspectives to fun facts. I didn’t know, until Jim told us, for instance, that there are now devices that can almost instantly correct recordings of a singer’s pitch, which must be, to intonation-challenged pop stars, what spell-check is to beleaguered writers.
I saw lots of familiar faces.
“It was a fun evening. There were some bright students and the conversation went all over the place,” said Stephanie Medoff, whose husband, Tony-Award winning playwright and filmmaker Mark chaired “Are Movies, Musicals and Revivals Ruining Contemporary Theatre?”
Tables were dedicated to dozens of discussion topics that ranged from stem-cell research to “The New Testament as Literature” with moderators that included professors, community leaders, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Delano Lewis and Apollo 17 lunar module pilot and former U.S. Sen. Harrison Schmitt.
The evening, billed as a “chance to bring town and gown together,” according to Honors College assistant dean Jill Grammer, attracted 219 donors and raised over $50,000 for scholarships.
The event may be repeated every two years, or maybe even annually.
I say, the sooner the better.
In the meantime, it would be wonderful if some enterprising restaurant or coffee house could start up a mini-version of “Great Conversations” for lunch or brunch. I have fond memories of an Oregon Mensa group that hosted an informal drop-in luncheon at an interesting old Portland hotel. If I remember right, it was either monthly or weekly and there was a semi-official topic or two that served as a springboard for some amazing notions and great conversation.
There’s something inspiring, in an era of soundbites, text messaging, and interesting but impersonal blogging, about going somewhere with the express purpose of having a profound conversation with one’s fellow beings. Could it be a concept whose time has come — or returned?
¡Viva great conversations!
+ + +
Thanks to those of you who wrote in response to a recent column item with a suggestion from Jerry Harrell that we send cards to recovering soldiers. Unfortunately, the address sent by Jerry and others is not valid because mail will not be delivered to unnamed soldiers, due to security issues.
Several of you sent suggestions for remembering our servicemen and women during the holidays.
Frequently recommended is the USO. Their current mission is to bring cheer to those serving on the front lines, “To make sure all 170,000 of these courageous men and women, who won’t be ‘home for the holidays,’ know they have not been forgotten.”
To make a donation, or learn more, visit www.uso.org/donate
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
MORE IDEAS TO ADD TO HOLIDAY CHEER FOR SERVICEMEN
These ideas come from Barbara Kewley, wgo writes:
Today, I went to the official "Walter Reed Army
Medical Center" website, & under "Cards for Wounded
Warriors", this is what I found:
Support A Recovering American Soldier
Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials want to
remind those individuals who want to show their
appreciation through mail to include packages,
letters, and holiday cards addressed to "Any Wounded
Soldier" or "A Recovering American Soldier" that
Walter Reed cannot accept these packages in support of
the decision by then Deputy Undersecretary of Defense
for Transportation Policy in 2001. This decision was
made to ensure the safety and well being of patients
and staff at medical centers throughout the Department
of Defense.
In addition, the U.S. Postal Service is no longer
accepting "Any Service Member" or "A Recovering
American Soldier" letters or packages. Mail to "Any
Service Member" that is deposited into a collection
box will not be delivered.
Instead of sending an “Any Wounded Soldier” letter or
package to Walter Reed, please consider making a
donation to one of the more than 300 nonprofit
organizations dedicated to helping our troops and
their families listed on the "America Supports You"
website, www.americasupportsyou.mil
Other organizations that offer means of showing your
support for our troops or assist wounded
servicemembers and their families include:
http://www.usocares.org/
http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/tooursoldiers/
http://www.redcross.org For individuals without
computer access, your local military installation, the
local National Guard or military reserve unit in your
area may offer the best alternative to show your
support to our returning troops and their families.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center will continue to
receive process and deliver all mail that is addressed
to a specific individual. As Walter Reed continues to
enhance the medical care and processes for our
returning service members, it must also must keep our
patients and staff members safe while following
Department of Defense policy. The outpouring of
encouragement from the general public, corporate
America and civic groups throughout the past year has
been incredible. Our Warriors in Transition are amazed
at the thanks and support they receive from their
countrymen.
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Dr. William Sheldon, the late M.D. and author-philosopher, once said that as long as there are at least two seeking consciousnesses somewhere in the universe, there is hope.
We live in a little city that is sizzling hotbed of hope, if the eagerness to share “great conversations” is any indication.
“I hope this is the beginning of a great tradition,” said New Mexico State University President Michael Martin, welcoming participants to “Great Conversations,” a Nov. 28 NMSU Honors College benefit that gave participants a chance to have dinner with an expert on their choice of several intriguing topics.
“Universities are about great conversation on important topics. It’s the place where we debate and discuss and wrestle with the issues of our time,” Martin said.
Not much wrestling went on, but we had a very good time at my table, where NMSU professor of music and recording artist Jim Shearer presided and the official topic was “Can the Music Industry be Saved?”
But we didn’t stop with music; my table seemed concerned with saving the entire world. We discussed everything from smart classrooms, sex, religion, and politics to modern musicals, the speed of high-tech evolution, music education and the impact of video games on toddlers. Dinner mates included teachers, philosophers, artists, musicians and a grad student.
We grandmothers can’t have a truly great conversation without mentioning our own greats and I had a good time comparing notes with Sharon Billington, whose 11-year-old triplet grandkids are the same age as my grand, Alexander the Great. We decided the upcoming generation is populated with some remarkable souls.
We all agreed we learned something new, from new perspectives to fun facts. I didn’t know, until Jim told us, for instance, that there are now devices that can almost instantly correct recordings of a singer’s pitch, which must be, to intonation-challenged pop stars, what spell-check is to beleaguered writers.
I saw lots of familiar faces.
“It was a fun evening. There were some bright students and the conversation went all over the place,” said Stephanie Medoff, whose husband, Tony-Award winning playwright and filmmaker Mark chaired “Are Movies, Musicals and Revivals Ruining Contemporary Theatre?”
Tables were dedicated to dozens of discussion topics that ranged from stem-cell research to “The New Testament as Literature” with moderators that included professors, community leaders, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Delano Lewis and Apollo 17 lunar module pilot and former U.S. Sen. Harrison Schmitt.
The evening, billed as a “chance to bring town and gown together,” according to Honors College assistant dean Jill Grammer, attracted 219 donors and raised over $50,000 for scholarships.
The event may be repeated every two years, or maybe even annually.
I say, the sooner the better.
In the meantime, it would be wonderful if some enterprising restaurant or coffee house could start up a mini-version of “Great Conversations” for lunch or brunch. I have fond memories of an Oregon Mensa group that hosted an informal drop-in luncheon at an interesting old Portland hotel. If I remember right, it was either monthly or weekly and there was a semi-official topic or two that served as a springboard for some amazing notions and great conversation.
There’s something inspiring, in an era of soundbites, text messaging, and interesting but impersonal blogging, about going somewhere with the express purpose of having a profound conversation with one’s fellow beings. Could it be a concept whose time has come — or returned?
¡Viva great conversations!
+ + +
Thanks to those of you who wrote in response to a recent column item with a suggestion from Jerry Harrell that we send cards to recovering soldiers. Unfortunately, the address sent by Jerry and others is not valid because mail will not be delivered to unnamed soldiers, due to security issues.
Several of you sent suggestions for remembering our servicemen and women during the holidays.
Frequently recommended is the USO. Their current mission is to bring cheer to those serving on the front lines, “To make sure all 170,000 of these courageous men and women, who won’t be ‘home for the holidays,’ know they have not been forgotten.”
To make a donation, or learn more, visit www.uso.org/donate
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
MORE IDEAS TO ADD TO HOLIDAY CHEER FOR SERVICEMEN
These ideas come from Barbara Kewley, wgo writes:
Today, I went to the official "Walter Reed Army
Medical Center" website, & under "Cards for Wounded
Warriors", this is what I found:
Support A Recovering American Soldier
Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials want to
remind those individuals who want to show their
appreciation through mail to include packages,
letters, and holiday cards addressed to "Any Wounded
Soldier" or "A Recovering American Soldier" that
Walter Reed cannot accept these packages in support of
the decision by then Deputy Undersecretary of Defense
for Transportation Policy in 2001. This decision was
made to ensure the safety and well being of patients
and staff at medical centers throughout the Department
of Defense.
In addition, the U.S. Postal Service is no longer
accepting "Any Service Member" or "A Recovering
American Soldier" letters or packages. Mail to "Any
Service Member" that is deposited into a collection
box will not be delivered.
Instead of sending an “Any Wounded Soldier” letter or
package to Walter Reed, please consider making a
donation to one of the more than 300 nonprofit
organizations dedicated to helping our troops and
their families listed on the "America Supports You"
website, www.americasupportsyou.mil
Other organizations that offer means of showing your
support for our troops or assist wounded
servicemembers and their families include:
http://www.usocares.org/
http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/tooursoldiers/
http://www.redcross.org For individuals without
computer access, your local military installation, the
local National Guard or military reserve unit in your
area may offer the best alternative to show your
support to our returning troops and their families.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center will continue to
receive process and deliver all mail that is addressed
to a specific individual. As Walter Reed continues to
enhance the medical care and processes for our
returning service members, it must also must keep our
patients and staff members safe while following
Department of Defense policy. The outpouring of
encouragement from the general public, corporate
America and civic groups throughout the past year has
been incredible. Our Warriors in Transition are amazed
at the thanks and support they receive from their
countrymen.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Attitudes of Gratitude
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — If you’re feeling challenged on the gratitude front, sometimes it helps to put things in perspective.
When it comes to participants in the first Thanksgiving, English settlers seem to have a lot more to be thankful for than their indigenous benefactors who attended the 1621 Plymouth harvest fiesta.
American Indians in general would have good reason to spend Thanksgiving singing the blues. Even their ethnic group name is derived from European invaders. I can’t refer to them as Native Americans because I’m supposed to follow Associated Press style, which specifies “American Indian.” The name America, of course, is derived from Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian who wandered around new-to-European worlds during the same period Chris Columbus was mistakenly concluding he had reached India.
I was thinking about all that during a tour of Acoma Sky City, as our guide Gary Keene described the horrors Spanish invaders imposed on his ancestors.
After chonicling foot amputations and other atrocities, Keene gracefully segued to the ultimate glass-half-full attitude.
“The Spanish did one good thing, though,” he opined, through their ignorance of nonterritorial traditions: They specified that separate territories belonged to specific groups of Pueblo peoples, thus establishing a basis for sovereign land rights and claims.
So now, down the hill from what is reportedly the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America, is a beautiful $14 million cultural center, financed by proceeds from a hotel and casino complex a respectable distance away.
Personally, gambling is one of the few vices that has never interested me, but I love the poetic justice of it all, a chance to get a little something back for that Manhattan-for-cheap-beads scam and other rotten deals through the centuries.
Keene’s cheerful attitude has made me think about all the things I have to be thankful for during a period when I’ve been mourning the loss of some of my favorite people.
Again, though, it’s all relative. Many of my friends have buried their loved ones, and most of my recently departed dear ones just relocated to other parts of the planet. I’m grateful for phones and e-mail and digital cameras that allow us to keep in touch. I’m grateful that grandson Alexander the Great escaped from San Diego before the recent devastating fires and what I fear will be a perilous decade for the once-great state of California. I’m happy that he and his mom and dad are all in the clean, green Pacific Northwest now.
I’m even grateful for commercial airlines, I decided, though I wavered a bit after lengthy delays that shortened reunions in 2007.
Still, I’m grateful that we all love — and like — each other so much that we wish we had more time together. And wherever we are this holiday season, we’ll be praying the rest of the world could have a year as wonderful as ours has been, for our troops and people struggling in war-torn nations.
Jerry Harrell of Mesilla suggests we make time to send holiday cards this year to: A Recovering American soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20307-500.
May attitudes of gratitude grace your holidays. Happy Thanksgiving.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com. Access my blog by going to www.lcsun-news.com, click on the Blogzone and then on the Las Cruces Style icon or go directly to lascrucesstyle.blogspot.com
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — If you’re feeling challenged on the gratitude front, sometimes it helps to put things in perspective.
When it comes to participants in the first Thanksgiving, English settlers seem to have a lot more to be thankful for than their indigenous benefactors who attended the 1621 Plymouth harvest fiesta.
American Indians in general would have good reason to spend Thanksgiving singing the blues. Even their ethnic group name is derived from European invaders. I can’t refer to them as Native Americans because I’m supposed to follow Associated Press style, which specifies “American Indian.” The name America, of course, is derived from Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian who wandered around new-to-European worlds during the same period Chris Columbus was mistakenly concluding he had reached India.
I was thinking about all that during a tour of Acoma Sky City, as our guide Gary Keene described the horrors Spanish invaders imposed on his ancestors.
After chonicling foot amputations and other atrocities, Keene gracefully segued to the ultimate glass-half-full attitude.
“The Spanish did one good thing, though,” he opined, through their ignorance of nonterritorial traditions: They specified that separate territories belonged to specific groups of Pueblo peoples, thus establishing a basis for sovereign land rights and claims.
So now, down the hill from what is reportedly the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America, is a beautiful $14 million cultural center, financed by proceeds from a hotel and casino complex a respectable distance away.
Personally, gambling is one of the few vices that has never interested me, but I love the poetic justice of it all, a chance to get a little something back for that Manhattan-for-cheap-beads scam and other rotten deals through the centuries.
Keene’s cheerful attitude has made me think about all the things I have to be thankful for during a period when I’ve been mourning the loss of some of my favorite people.
Again, though, it’s all relative. Many of my friends have buried their loved ones, and most of my recently departed dear ones just relocated to other parts of the planet. I’m grateful for phones and e-mail and digital cameras that allow us to keep in touch. I’m grateful that grandson Alexander the Great escaped from San Diego before the recent devastating fires and what I fear will be a perilous decade for the once-great state of California. I’m happy that he and his mom and dad are all in the clean, green Pacific Northwest now.
I’m even grateful for commercial airlines, I decided, though I wavered a bit after lengthy delays that shortened reunions in 2007.
Still, I’m grateful that we all love — and like — each other so much that we wish we had more time together. And wherever we are this holiday season, we’ll be praying the rest of the world could have a year as wonderful as ours has been, for our troops and people struggling in war-torn nations.
Jerry Harrell of Mesilla suggests we make time to send holiday cards this year to: A Recovering American soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20307-500.
May attitudes of gratitude grace your holidays. Happy Thanksgiving.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com. Access my blog by going to www.lcsun-news.com, click on the Blogzone and then on the Las Cruces Style icon or go directly to lascrucesstyle.blogspot.com
Friday, November 9, 2007
Mariachi Memories and Festival at Young Park
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Mariachi transcends time, place and ethnic origins.
Can a Midwestern Scandinavian-American Baby Boomer really grow up loving mariachi, you may ask?
Si, and I’m living proof.
I may have had a lot to learn, but I was hardly a mariachi virgin when I moved to New Mexico.
I came from a family of singers in Michigan. Dad, who was trying to teach us Spanish, made sure our road trip repertoire featured some fun Español numbers.
In my Midwestern WASP familia, the canciones de mi padre included pop standards from his salad days in the 1930s and 40s: “Si Lito Lindo,” “Vaya Con Dios,” “Juanita,” “La Cucharacha,” and assorted other ditties.
There were also lots of fun Spanglish hybrids like “The Donkey Serenade.”
I can’t remember where I put my car keys, but my brain can instantly access: “Amigo mio, does she not have a dainty bray? She listens carefully to each little tune you play. La bella señorita? Si, si mi muchachita...”
Well, you get the idea.
We not only had the music, we were learning the moves. By the time I got to high school, many of us in the Orchard View High School Spanish Club could manage a rudimentary version of what we called the Mexican hat dance.
As a teenager, I heard mariachi groups singing and playing versions of those family favorite songs during trips to California and Tijuana. I may not have understood much about mariachi musical traditions then, but I know what I like, and I loved the soulful vocals, the romantic guitars and shimmering violins, the clear passionate trumpets, the beautiful costumes and dramatic movements of flamenco and folklorico dancers.
In the West and even the Midwest, mariachi became a part of my life. I discovered how much I missed it when I moved back East. The turning point came when I was planning a party in uber-Anglo Palm Beach and found myself trying to turn a chamber music group into a mariachi band.
As I worked to coax a French horn, cello and viola into playing a little cocktail hour ranchera to liven things up, I knew that it was time to return to the Southwest. Now, of course, I know I was not asking the impossible, I was merely ahead of my time. These days, the likes of Mariachi Cobre, Linda Ronstandt and a sombrero-clad Doc Severinsen routinely and brilliantly lead symphony orchestras to mariachi magnificence.
With exposure to the real deal, even the culturally deprived can learn. I was born preferring salsa to ketchup...and the rest of the United States, given a choice, finally caught up with me.
So it is with mariachi and all its glorious trappings.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Jose Tena’s Ballet Folklorico de la Tierra del Encanto. The flashing mariposa skirts, the sight of dancers in their crisp white Veracruz outfits accented with colorful embroidery, moving with lighted candles down the aisles of Oñate High School’s auditorium...it’s all etched indelibly in the mucho gusto balconies of my brain.
Show me a soul who is not moved by the rush of mariachi dancers and musicians opening a Spectacular concert at Pan Am and I will show you a difunto.
I’m not sure when I realized mariachi was a lot more than music and dance and pageantry.
It’s also poetry, passion, pleasure and pain. It’s faith, an expression of—and cure for—the blues, a great way to cheer up when you’re down and celebrate when you’re happy. It’s chiles and Christmas and luminarias and maracas and piñatas and a hot summer fiesta with cool margaritas.
Mariachi is a culture, a way of life.
I remember a meeting in 1994 with some of the founders of what would become the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference. Jose Tena was there, along with Phyllis Franzoy, Erlinda Portilla, Judy Luna and several others, including native Las Crucens with Anglo roots who stressed that the heritage they wanted to preserve and nurture was sin fronteras, transcending borders and boundaries of heritage and ethnicity.
It’s a dream we’ve seen fulfilled, a rare thing, our own little milagro, and all who have contributed should be proud.
¡Viva mariachi!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com. Access my blog by going to www.lcsun-news.com, click on the Blogzone and then on the Las Cruces Style icon or go directly to lascrucesstyle.blogspot.com
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Mariachi transcends time, place and ethnic origins.
Can a Midwestern Scandinavian-American Baby Boomer really grow up loving mariachi, you may ask?
Si, and I’m living proof.
I may have had a lot to learn, but I was hardly a mariachi virgin when I moved to New Mexico.
I came from a family of singers in Michigan. Dad, who was trying to teach us Spanish, made sure our road trip repertoire featured some fun Español numbers.
In my Midwestern WASP familia, the canciones de mi padre included pop standards from his salad days in the 1930s and 40s: “Si Lito Lindo,” “Vaya Con Dios,” “Juanita,” “La Cucharacha,” and assorted other ditties.
There were also lots of fun Spanglish hybrids like “The Donkey Serenade.”
I can’t remember where I put my car keys, but my brain can instantly access: “Amigo mio, does she not have a dainty bray? She listens carefully to each little tune you play. La bella señorita? Si, si mi muchachita...”
Well, you get the idea.
We not only had the music, we were learning the moves. By the time I got to high school, many of us in the Orchard View High School Spanish Club could manage a rudimentary version of what we called the Mexican hat dance.
As a teenager, I heard mariachi groups singing and playing versions of those family favorite songs during trips to California and Tijuana. I may not have understood much about mariachi musical traditions then, but I know what I like, and I loved the soulful vocals, the romantic guitars and shimmering violins, the clear passionate trumpets, the beautiful costumes and dramatic movements of flamenco and folklorico dancers.
In the West and even the Midwest, mariachi became a part of my life. I discovered how much I missed it when I moved back East. The turning point came when I was planning a party in uber-Anglo Palm Beach and found myself trying to turn a chamber music group into a mariachi band.
As I worked to coax a French horn, cello and viola into playing a little cocktail hour ranchera to liven things up, I knew that it was time to return to the Southwest. Now, of course, I know I was not asking the impossible, I was merely ahead of my time. These days, the likes of Mariachi Cobre, Linda Ronstandt and a sombrero-clad Doc Severinsen routinely and brilliantly lead symphony orchestras to mariachi magnificence.
With exposure to the real deal, even the culturally deprived can learn. I was born preferring salsa to ketchup...and the rest of the United States, given a choice, finally caught up with me.
So it is with mariachi and all its glorious trappings.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Jose Tena’s Ballet Folklorico de la Tierra del Encanto. The flashing mariposa skirts, the sight of dancers in their crisp white Veracruz outfits accented with colorful embroidery, moving with lighted candles down the aisles of Oñate High School’s auditorium...it’s all etched indelibly in the mucho gusto balconies of my brain.
Show me a soul who is not moved by the rush of mariachi dancers and musicians opening a Spectacular concert at Pan Am and I will show you a difunto.
I’m not sure when I realized mariachi was a lot more than music and dance and pageantry.
It’s also poetry, passion, pleasure and pain. It’s faith, an expression of—and cure for—the blues, a great way to cheer up when you’re down and celebrate when you’re happy. It’s chiles and Christmas and luminarias and maracas and piñatas and a hot summer fiesta with cool margaritas.
Mariachi is a culture, a way of life.
I remember a meeting in 1994 with some of the founders of what would become the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference. Jose Tena was there, along with Phyllis Franzoy, Erlinda Portilla, Judy Luna and several others, including native Las Crucens with Anglo roots who stressed that the heritage they wanted to preserve and nurture was sin fronteras, transcending borders and boundaries of heritage and ethnicity.
It’s a dream we’ve seen fulfilled, a rare thing, our own little milagro, and all who have contributed should be proud.
¡Viva mariachi!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com. Access my blog by going to www.lcsun-news.com, click on the Blogzone and then on the Las Cruces Style icon or go directly to lascrucesstyle.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 1, 2007
More Burning Plan gigs
As promised, I'm passing on info from "The Burning Plain" casting people at Stew Casting . Don't call me. If you're interested in any of this E-MAIL THEM! (Again, not me, please, I have nothing to do with the movie) at:
BURNINGPLAINEXTRAS@GMAIL.COM
"The Burning Plain" by Guillermo Arriaga is looking for the following
Stand-Ins & Doubles.
POSTED NOV. 1
We will be filming through Dec. 18 in and around Las Cruces, New Mexico.
In some cases,lodging will be provided. This mostly applies to those we have personally worked with and are familiar with(you know who you are).
It is preferable that we do not have to provide lodging, therefore those who live in the area will be given priority after those we have worked with.
IF YOU MATCH THE INFO BELOW CONTACT US...
FEMALE (Mariana) - 17 - 22 years 5' 9" Size 6 Bra 34c Blonde Hair
FEMALE (Gina)- 30 - 40 years 5' 7" Size 6-8 Bra 34c 125lbs Hair
Undetermined at this point
MALE (Robert)- 6' 2" Size 46L Pant 36/34 Shirt 17-17 1/2 210lbs
Dirty Blonde Hair
MALE (Young Santiago) 5' 11" Size 39/40R Pant 30/32 Shirt 15 1/2
34 150lbs Dark Brown/Black Hair
FEMALE (Maria)- Young Teen 5' 1" 31" Hips 77lbs Size 13 Jacket /
Size 12-13 Pant Medium Brown Hair
Please make sure you are these sizes/weights/colors as WE WILL BE MEASURING.
At least make sure you are VERY close to them before contacting us.
Respond to = BURNINGPLAINEXTRAS@GMAIL.COM
THESE ARE ONLY 5 OF THE NEARLY 30 WE WILL BE HIRING. MORE E-MAILS
WILL FOLLOW OVER THE NEXT WEEK. FEEL FREE TO POST THIS IN APPROPRIATE
PLACES IF YOU WISH.
.
POSTED NOV 1:
We need the following Stand In's & Doubles for filming on the Burning Plain.
We are filming in and around Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Please contact us if you are exact or VERY close to any of the
following charecters :
PAT 14 y.o. male 5' 5" 105 lbs 28 waist 10 1/2 Shoe light brown hair
*RANCHER #1 40 - 50's male 5' 4" (stocky) 34 Pant Brown Hair
***NEEDED VERY SOON / NON RECURRING !
OPERATOR 25-33 female 5' 5" 125 lbs Medium jacket/dress 5 Pant
34B bra Dark Brn Hair Light to pale skin
BOBBY 10 y.o. male 5' 1" 115 lbs 14/16 Jacket 30 Pant Light Brn
Hair Pale Skin (blue eyes a plus.)
*MONNIE 8 y.o. female 4' 0" 55-65 lbs Size 8 Jacket&Dress Pant 8
Size 1 Shoe Lt Brn Hair Pale skin (blue eyes a plus)
*** NON RECURRING
CRISTOBAL - 22-30 male 6' 1" 170 lbs 16 1/2 - 34 Shirt Pant
31/32 11 Shoe Dark Brn/Blk Hair Med Brn/Olive Skin
SANTIAGO (grown) 25-33 male 6' 0" 165-175 lbs 40r Jacket 33/33 Pant
15-15 1/2 Shirt Size 11 shoe
MANY MORE E-MAILS TO FOLLOW WITH STAND IN AND DOUBLE POSITIONS.
PLEASE REPLY IF YOU ARE EXACT OR VERY CLOSE TO EXACT ( 3 inches or 25
lbs off is not close to exact btw)
Reply to = BURNINGPLAINEXTRAS@GMAIL.COM
BURNINGPLAINEXTRAS@GMAIL.COM
"The Burning Plain" by Guillermo Arriaga is looking for the following
Stand-Ins & Doubles.
POSTED NOV. 1
We will be filming through Dec. 18 in and around Las Cruces, New Mexico.
In some cases,lodging will be provided. This mostly applies to those we have personally worked with and are familiar with(you know who you are).
It is preferable that we do not have to provide lodging, therefore those who live in the area will be given priority after those we have worked with.
IF YOU MATCH THE INFO BELOW CONTACT US...
FEMALE (Mariana) - 17 - 22 years 5' 9" Size 6 Bra 34c Blonde Hair
FEMALE (Gina)- 30 - 40 years 5' 7" Size 6-8 Bra 34c 125lbs Hair
Undetermined at this point
MALE (Robert)- 6' 2" Size 46L Pant 36/34 Shirt 17-17 1/2 210lbs
Dirty Blonde Hair
MALE (Young Santiago) 5' 11" Size 39/40R Pant 30/32 Shirt 15 1/2
34 150lbs Dark Brown/Black Hair
FEMALE (Maria)- Young Teen 5' 1" 31" Hips 77lbs Size 13 Jacket /
Size 12-13 Pant Medium Brown Hair
Please make sure you are these sizes/weights/colors as WE WILL BE MEASURING.
At least make sure you are VERY close to them before contacting us.
Respond to = BURNINGPLAINEXTRAS@GMAIL.COM
THESE ARE ONLY 5 OF THE NEARLY 30 WE WILL BE HIRING. MORE E-MAILS
WILL FOLLOW OVER THE NEXT WEEK. FEEL FREE TO POST THIS IN APPROPRIATE
PLACES IF YOU WISH.
.
POSTED NOV 1:
We need the following Stand In's & Doubles for filming on the Burning Plain.
We are filming in and around Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Please contact us if you are exact or VERY close to any of the
following charecters :
PAT 14 y.o. male 5' 5" 105 lbs 28 waist 10 1/2 Shoe light brown hair
*RANCHER #1 40 - 50's male 5' 4" (stocky) 34 Pant Brown Hair
***NEEDED VERY SOON / NON RECURRING !
OPERATOR 25-33 female 5' 5" 125 lbs Medium jacket/dress 5 Pant
34B bra Dark Brn Hair Light to pale skin
BOBBY 10 y.o. male 5' 1" 115 lbs 14/16 Jacket 30 Pant Light Brn
Hair Pale Skin (blue eyes a plus.)
*MONNIE 8 y.o. female 4' 0" 55-65 lbs Size 8 Jacket&Dress Pant 8
Size 1 Shoe Lt Brn Hair Pale skin (blue eyes a plus)
*** NON RECURRING
CRISTOBAL - 22-30 male 6' 1" 170 lbs 16 1/2 - 34 Shirt Pant
31/32 11 Shoe Dark Brn/Blk Hair Med Brn/Olive Skin
SANTIAGO (grown) 25-33 male 6' 0" 165-175 lbs 40r Jacket 33/33 Pant
15-15 1/2 Shirt Size 11 shoe
MANY MORE E-MAILS TO FOLLOW WITH STAND IN AND DOUBLE POSITIONS.
PLEASE REPLY IF YOU ARE EXACT OR VERY CLOSE TO EXACT ( 3 inches or 25
lbs off is not close to exact btw)
Reply to = BURNINGPLAINEXTRAS@GMAIL.COM
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