LAS CRUCES — It’s that time of year again, when all patriotic Las Crucens suit up for Full-Tilt Costume Fiesta Season (FTCFS).
This year, the pressure has been on for both sprints and marathons.
Dia de los Muertos events started with two, count ‘em TWO — Frida Kahlo look-alike contests on the same day and stretched on to include a costume ball, plus this weekend’s Dia de los Muertos festivities on the Mesilla Plaza. One of those days is, of course, Halloween. Then there’s the dusk Day of the Dead procession on Tuesday, for which it is traditional to dress up, perhaps as your favorite difunto (deceased loved one), and bring musical instruments and noisemakers. This year, the procession falls on election day. Don’t forget to vote and we hope you won’t be in mourning for your favorite candidates the next morning.
Then, or course, there’s next weekend’s Renaissance ArtsFaire, which is not the same weekend as Dead Day fiestas this year, as sometimes happens.
That’s probably good news for costume marathoners, but not so hot for sprinters, who enjoy the adrenaline rush of suiting up appropriately for a variety of parties, fiestas, ceremonies and, on double-booked occasions, fly-bys.
Speaking of which, angels and ghosts are appropriate for all our dress-up occasions, and if you’re trying to simplify your costumed life, it’s always good to get back to the basics.
In recent years, I’ve gone the angel route. I have a couple of flowing white robes that I never seem to wear any time else, and they don’t take much space in my overstuffed costume closet.
It’s filled with costumes and accessories from my pre-Minimalist days. The mask section ranges from crow beaks and glow-in-the-dark ET faces to a large Dilbert head and a nice King Tut. (That one came in handy for the Branigan’s Egyptian exhibit a couple of years ago.)
There’s a whole section devoted to wizardry, which I once thought might be the answer to the universally appropriate costume quest. There are star-spangled robes, wands, and assorted wizard hats — great hits for matching gram and grandson Harry Potter soirees, when grandson Alex the Great was in residence.
Wizards were OK for Halloween and RenFaire, where I’ve picked up some spectacular bubble wands over the years. But the hats were hot and blew off at windy outdoor fiestas. And no matter how much magic attitude I tried to conjure, wizards never seemed quite right for Día de los Muertos occasions.
I think the angel is the best bet, though I’m still searching for the perfect wings, which would be soft, bendable, hypoallergenic, non-shedding and super comfy. In an ideal world (which, let’s face it, this isn’t, or what’s a heaven for?) I’d be able to retract and unfurl my wings at will, perhaps with a handy remote control device.
In the meantime, I take them off for car trips and seek out party occasions where I can remain standing or hang out on backless benches or other angel-friendly perches.
I don’t worry about storage for my favorite pair, which has a wingspan of about 6 feet. They hang on my living room wall, where they remain a focal point through FTCFS and on through Christmas, and a topic of conversation during the rest of the year.
I’m still working on display ideas for my halo collection, which includes bendable headband high-rise versions and an ethereal, gauzy, easy-on circlet I picked up last year at a RenFaire booth.
It’s easy to customize my basic angel ensemble for any and all FTCFS needs. Last year, I paper-clipped a “PRESS” card to my halo for an office party, pulled a black-and-white skeleton T-shirt over my robe for Dia de los Muertos, added a garland of small flowers for RenFaire and pondered stacking a halo atop a sombrero for the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference’s Parque Festival. I just picked up a fun flashing-lights-and-sound gun at a costume store, so I plan to be futuristic avenging angel for Halloween.
The possible variations are endless. Maybe next year I'll add a black wig and a unibrow and enter a look-alike contest as the ghost of Frida Kahlo.
I’ve been around the FTCFS block and I’m here to tell you, it’s the perfect, all-season, all-star costume choice.
Angels, after all, are always appropriate.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Vampire wars
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Vampires seem to be in season year-round these days, but this is a particularly good time of year to contemplate the great sisterly vampire wars of 2010.
Forget team Edward vs. Team Jacob.
For my sister Sally and me, it comes down to Team Sookie vs. Team Bella. If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past decade, or more likely, out in the bright sunshine away from any news of vampire literature, you may have no idea what I'm talking about. Bella is the heroine of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, basis for a hot movie franchise. Sookie is the mainstay of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, which inspired an HBO series.
Our differing vampire preferences may seem strange in sisters with nearly identical voices and tastes so similar that, even living and shopping in locales thousands of miles apart, we've often managed to give each other identical Christmas presents as esoteric as Guatemalan hand-woven patchwork tote bags.
But then again, there are some differences. Sally likes smokin' bad boys, big bowls of peel 'n eat shrimp and the smell of the ocean at low tide. I'm more partial to health-conscious, spiritually inclined guys with doctoral degrees and cowboy boots, green chile and cilantro, and the fresh aroma of ozone during a lightning storm.
So maybe it isn't so surprising that Floridian Sally likes Deep South Sookie and I'm fonder of Bella, whose primary homes are in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest, where I've spent most of my adult life.
We could have endless debates about which heroine and which vampires are most admirable.
Bella, though she isn’t adverse to a close friendship with a werewolf/shapeshifter and doesn't appear to care if her daughter marries one, is a one-vampire woman. And whatta vampire!
Edward is a “vegetarian” vampire (which means he dines on free-range wildlife rather than humans) and lives with a close-knit family of humanitarians who use their superpowers for good and healing and fret over the state of their souls (and whether they have any). Bella wants to become a vampire mainly because it can mean a very long run with her soulmate and the love of her life. Bella’s unique superpower, pre- and post-vampirism, is to shield her thoughts and her loved ones.
I wouldn't call Sookie a supernatural slut, but she is a rather bewildered soul who has had long-term relationships with a couple of vampires and seriously dated a few werewolves and shapeshifters and is especially fond of the human/collie who owns the bar where she works.
Sookie has had trouble coming to terms with her superpower, the ability to read the minds of humans, but not vampires, in whose company she therefore finds some degree of peace, except, of course, for all the vampire violence and shenanigans. Eventually, Sookie discovers she is descended from a fairy (as in Tinkerbell) ancestor, a heritage that apparently heightens her appeal for vampires.
I love both the Twilight books and movies and concede that the Sookie books are page-turners, too, but the extreme and icky violence has dissuaded me from watching the TV series, "True Blood" (named for the synthetic blood developed by the Japanese that enabled the vampires in Sookie’s world to go public and hang out in blood bars).
Sally and I can agree that both series are well-written, and I'm grateful that Sally's Sookie partisanship has introduced me to the other series by prolific author Harris. I'm enjoying working my way through her books, including her three other mystery series starring Harper Connelly, who is able to communicate with the dead after being struck by lightning, smart Southern Belle librarian Aurora Teagarden, and crime-victim-turned-karate-aficionado Lily Bard, who leaves her upscale professional life to clean houses (and become an inadvertent crime-fighter) in a small Arkansas town.
Hmm. It takes all kinds — of humans, pixies, werewolves, vampires, crime-fighting heroes and other assorted critters — to make our big, wild, imaginative world. This is a great season to treat yourself to a good, perspective-stretching, original read.
Happy Halloween — and viva la difference!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Vampires seem to be in season year-round these days, but this is a particularly good time of year to contemplate the great sisterly vampire wars of 2010.
Forget team Edward vs. Team Jacob.
For my sister Sally and me, it comes down to Team Sookie vs. Team Bella. If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past decade, or more likely, out in the bright sunshine away from any news of vampire literature, you may have no idea what I'm talking about. Bella is the heroine of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, basis for a hot movie franchise. Sookie is the mainstay of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, which inspired an HBO series.
Our differing vampire preferences may seem strange in sisters with nearly identical voices and tastes so similar that, even living and shopping in locales thousands of miles apart, we've often managed to give each other identical Christmas presents as esoteric as Guatemalan hand-woven patchwork tote bags.
But then again, there are some differences. Sally likes smokin' bad boys, big bowls of peel 'n eat shrimp and the smell of the ocean at low tide. I'm more partial to health-conscious, spiritually inclined guys with doctoral degrees and cowboy boots, green chile and cilantro, and the fresh aroma of ozone during a lightning storm.
So maybe it isn't so surprising that Floridian Sally likes Deep South Sookie and I'm fonder of Bella, whose primary homes are in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest, where I've spent most of my adult life.
We could have endless debates about which heroine and which vampires are most admirable.
Bella, though she isn’t adverse to a close friendship with a werewolf/shapeshifter and doesn't appear to care if her daughter marries one, is a one-vampire woman. And whatta vampire!
Edward is a “vegetarian” vampire (which means he dines on free-range wildlife rather than humans) and lives with a close-knit family of humanitarians who use their superpowers for good and healing and fret over the state of their souls (and whether they have any). Bella wants to become a vampire mainly because it can mean a very long run with her soulmate and the love of her life. Bella’s unique superpower, pre- and post-vampirism, is to shield her thoughts and her loved ones.
I wouldn't call Sookie a supernatural slut, but she is a rather bewildered soul who has had long-term relationships with a couple of vampires and seriously dated a few werewolves and shapeshifters and is especially fond of the human/collie who owns the bar where she works.
Sookie has had trouble coming to terms with her superpower, the ability to read the minds of humans, but not vampires, in whose company she therefore finds some degree of peace, except, of course, for all the vampire violence and shenanigans. Eventually, Sookie discovers she is descended from a fairy (as in Tinkerbell) ancestor, a heritage that apparently heightens her appeal for vampires.
I love both the Twilight books and movies and concede that the Sookie books are page-turners, too, but the extreme and icky violence has dissuaded me from watching the TV series, "True Blood" (named for the synthetic blood developed by the Japanese that enabled the vampires in Sookie’s world to go public and hang out in blood bars).
Sally and I can agree that both series are well-written, and I'm grateful that Sally's Sookie partisanship has introduced me to the other series by prolific author Harris. I'm enjoying working my way through her books, including her three other mystery series starring Harper Connelly, who is able to communicate with the dead after being struck by lightning, smart Southern Belle librarian Aurora Teagarden, and crime-victim-turned-karate-aficionado Lily Bard, who leaves her upscale professional life to clean houses (and become an inadvertent crime-fighter) in a small Arkansas town.
Hmm. It takes all kinds — of humans, pixies, werewolves, vampires, crime-fighting heroes and other assorted critters — to make our big, wild, imaginative world. This is a great season to treat yourself to a good, perspective-stretching, original read.
Happy Halloween — and viva la difference!
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Día de los Muertos 101: A guide to Day of the Dead customs, terms and traditions
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Día de los Muertos has been called “a day when heaven and earth meet” and “a celebration of lives well lived.”
In Las Cruces, Mesilla and throughout the region, it has become a beloved tradition, a time when Borderland cultures blend, showcasing and sometimes creatively combining Spanish, Mexican, American Indian and Anglo customs and beliefs.
Día De Los Muertos “is not a morbid holiday but a festive remembrance of Los Angelitos (children) and all souls (Los Difuntos),” according to a statement from the Calavera Coalition of Mesilla. “This celebration originated with the indigenous people of the American continent, the Aztec, Mayan, Toltec and the Inca. Now, many of the festivities have been transformed from their original pre-Hispanic origins. It is still celebrated throughout North America among Native American tribes. The Spanish arrived and they altered the celebration to coincide with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2).”
Continuing an annual Las Cruces Style tradition, here is a guide to some important terms and concepts relating to Day of the Dead celebrations, collected during 17 years of commemorations.
alfeñique: Molded sugar figures used in altars for the dead.
ancianos: Grandparents or elderly friends or relatives who have died; ancestors honored during the first (north) part of processions for Day of the Dead.
angelitos: Literally “little angels,” refers to departed children and babies, traditionally honored during the first day of celebrations, Nov. 1, and the third (south) part of processions honoring the dead.
anima sola: A lonely soul or spirit who died far from home or who is without amigos or relatives to take responsibility for its care.
calascas: Handmade skeleton figurines which display an active and joyful afterlife, such as musicians or skeleton brides and grooms in wedding finery.
calaveras: Skeletons, used in many ways for celebrations: bread and candies in the shape of skeletons are traditional, along with everything from small and large figures and decorations, skeleton head rattles, candles, masks, jewelry and T-shirts. It’s also the term for skull masks, often painted with bright colors and flowers and used in displays and worn in Day of the Dead processions.
literary calaveras: Poetic tributes written for departed loved ones or things mourned and/or as mock epitaphs.
Catrin and Catrina: Formally dressed couple, or bride and groom skeletons popularized by renowned graphic artist and political cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada.
copal: A fragrant resin from a Mexican tree used as incense, burned alone or mixed with sage in processions in honor of the dead.
Días de los Muertos: Days of the dead, usually celebrated on Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 (the official date for Day of the Dead) in conjunction with All Souls Days or Todos Santos, the Catholic Feast of All Saints. Various Borderland communities, including Las Cruces, have their own celebration schedules in October and November.
Difunto: Deceased soul, corpse, cadaver.
La Flaca: Nickname for the female death figure, also known as La Muerte.
Frida Kahlo: Mexican artist who collected objects related to the Day of the Dead. Her photo often appears in Día de los Muertos shrines or retablos.
Los Guerreros: Literally, “the warriors,” are dead fathers, husbands, brothers and sons honored in the final (east) stop in Dia De Los Muertos processions.
marigolds: In Mexico, marigolds, or “cempasuchil,” are officially known as the “flower of the dead.” The flowers are added to processional wreaths at each stop, with one blossom representing each departed soul being honored. Sometimes, marigold pedals are strewn from the cemetery to a house. Their pungent fragrance is said to help the spirits find their way back home. Mums and paper flowers are also used.
mariposas: Butterflies, and sometimes hummingbirds, appear with skeletons to symbolize the flight of the soul from the body to heaven.
masks: Carried or worn during processions and other activities, masks can range from white face paint to simple molded plaster or papier-maché creations or elaborate painted or carved versions that become family heirlooms.
Las Mujeres: The women who have died are honored during the second (west) stop of Day of the Dead processions. After names of dead mothers, daughters, sisters and friends are called and honored, it is traditional for the crowd to sing a song for the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Náhuatl poetry: Traditional odes dedicated to the subject of death, dating back to the pre-Columbian era.
ofrenda: Traditional altar where offerings such as flowers, clothing, food, photographs and objects loved by the departed are placed. The ofrenda may be constructed in the home — usually in the dining room — at a cemetery, or may be carried in a procession. The ofrenda base is usually an arch made of bent reeds. It is ornamented with special decorations, sometimes with heirlooms collected by families much like Christmas ornaments. Decorations may include skeleton figures, toys and musical instruments in addition to offerings for a specific loved one.
pan de muertos: Literally, “bread of the dead.” It is traditionally baked in the shape of a skull — calavera — and dusted with pink sugar. Here, local bakeries sometimes include red and green chile decorations.
papel picado: Decorations made of colored paper cut in intricate patterns.
Posada: José Guadalupe Posada, (1852-1913), the self-taught “printmaker to the people” and caricaturist was known for his whimsical calaveras, or skeletons, depicted wearing dapper clothes, playing instruments and otherwise nonchalantly conducting their everyday activities, sometimes riding on horse skeletons.
veladores: Professional mourners who help in the grief process in several ways, including candlelight vigils, prayers and with dramatic weeping and wailing.
Xolotlitzcuintle: Monster dog, sometimes depicted as a canine skeleton, sometimes as a Mexican hairless breed. Since pre-Columbian times, this Día de los Muertos doggy has, according to legend, been the departed’s friend, helping with the tests of the perilous crossing of the River Chiconauapan to Mictlan, the land of the dead.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Día de los Muertos has been called “a day when heaven and earth meet” and “a celebration of lives well lived.”
In Las Cruces, Mesilla and throughout the region, it has become a beloved tradition, a time when Borderland cultures blend, showcasing and sometimes creatively combining Spanish, Mexican, American Indian and Anglo customs and beliefs.
Día De Los Muertos “is not a morbid holiday but a festive remembrance of Los Angelitos (children) and all souls (Los Difuntos),” according to a statement from the Calavera Coalition of Mesilla. “This celebration originated with the indigenous people of the American continent, the Aztec, Mayan, Toltec and the Inca. Now, many of the festivities have been transformed from their original pre-Hispanic origins. It is still celebrated throughout North America among Native American tribes. The Spanish arrived and they altered the celebration to coincide with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2).”
Continuing an annual Las Cruces Style tradition, here is a guide to some important terms and concepts relating to Day of the Dead celebrations, collected during 17 years of commemorations.
alfeñique: Molded sugar figures used in altars for the dead.
ancianos: Grandparents or elderly friends or relatives who have died; ancestors honored during the first (north) part of processions for Day of the Dead.
angelitos: Literally “little angels,” refers to departed children and babies, traditionally honored during the first day of celebrations, Nov. 1, and the third (south) part of processions honoring the dead.
anima sola: A lonely soul or spirit who died far from home or who is without amigos or relatives to take responsibility for its care.
calascas: Handmade skeleton figurines which display an active and joyful afterlife, such as musicians or skeleton brides and grooms in wedding finery.
calaveras: Skeletons, used in many ways for celebrations: bread and candies in the shape of skeletons are traditional, along with everything from small and large figures and decorations, skeleton head rattles, candles, masks, jewelry and T-shirts. It’s also the term for skull masks, often painted with bright colors and flowers and used in displays and worn in Day of the Dead processions.
literary calaveras: Poetic tributes written for departed loved ones or things mourned and/or as mock epitaphs.
Catrin and Catrina: Formally dressed couple, or bride and groom skeletons popularized by renowned graphic artist and political cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada.
copal: A fragrant resin from a Mexican tree used as incense, burned alone or mixed with sage in processions in honor of the dead.
Días de los Muertos: Days of the dead, usually celebrated on Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 (the official date for Day of the Dead) in conjunction with All Souls Days or Todos Santos, the Catholic Feast of All Saints. Various Borderland communities, including Las Cruces, have their own celebration schedules in October and November.
Difunto: Deceased soul, corpse, cadaver.
La Flaca: Nickname for the female death figure, also known as La Muerte.
Frida Kahlo: Mexican artist who collected objects related to the Day of the Dead. Her photo often appears in Día de los Muertos shrines or retablos.
Los Guerreros: Literally, “the warriors,” are dead fathers, husbands, brothers and sons honored in the final (east) stop in Dia De Los Muertos processions.
marigolds: In Mexico, marigolds, or “cempasuchil,” are officially known as the “flower of the dead.” The flowers are added to processional wreaths at each stop, with one blossom representing each departed soul being honored. Sometimes, marigold pedals are strewn from the cemetery to a house. Their pungent fragrance is said to help the spirits find their way back home. Mums and paper flowers are also used.
mariposas: Butterflies, and sometimes hummingbirds, appear with skeletons to symbolize the flight of the soul from the body to heaven.
masks: Carried or worn during processions and other activities, masks can range from white face paint to simple molded plaster or papier-maché creations or elaborate painted or carved versions that become family heirlooms.
Las Mujeres: The women who have died are honored during the second (west) stop of Day of the Dead processions. After names of dead mothers, daughters, sisters and friends are called and honored, it is traditional for the crowd to sing a song for the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Náhuatl poetry: Traditional odes dedicated to the subject of death, dating back to the pre-Columbian era.
ofrenda: Traditional altar where offerings such as flowers, clothing, food, photographs and objects loved by the departed are placed. The ofrenda may be constructed in the home — usually in the dining room — at a cemetery, or may be carried in a procession. The ofrenda base is usually an arch made of bent reeds. It is ornamented with special decorations, sometimes with heirlooms collected by families much like Christmas ornaments. Decorations may include skeleton figures, toys and musical instruments in addition to offerings for a specific loved one.
pan de muertos: Literally, “bread of the dead.” It is traditionally baked in the shape of a skull — calavera — and dusted with pink sugar. Here, local bakeries sometimes include red and green chile decorations.
papel picado: Decorations made of colored paper cut in intricate patterns.
Posada: José Guadalupe Posada, (1852-1913), the self-taught “printmaker to the people” and caricaturist was known for his whimsical calaveras, or skeletons, depicted wearing dapper clothes, playing instruments and otherwise nonchalantly conducting their everyday activities, sometimes riding on horse skeletons.
veladores: Professional mourners who help in the grief process in several ways, including candlelight vigils, prayers and with dramatic weeping and wailing.
Xolotlitzcuintle: Monster dog, sometimes depicted as a canine skeleton, sometimes as a Mexican hairless breed. Since pre-Columbian times, this Día de los Muertos doggy has, according to legend, been the departed’s friend, helping with the tests of the perilous crossing of the River Chiconauapan to Mictlan, the land of the dead.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Las Cruces Style keeps evolving
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Las Cruces style keeps evolving and just when I think I have a pretty good handle on our distinctive brand of panache, I have a couple of months that convince me that we just might be the global epicenter of innovation.
Some of the changes involve new twists on old favorites.
As I learned doing a Sept. 25 Mi Casa story on the Reynolds-Chávez-Fountain house, sometimes stylish souls born elsewhere, like Midwestern transplants Lori Miller and Len Gambrell, can have profound insights about enhancing — and dedication to preserving — Borderland style. Their renovations to the beloved 1860s, two-story adobe Territorial home and grounds is remarkable. Like settlers in the time of the home’s birth, they’ve gracefully merged their own heritage with vintage Mesilla style.
(And by the way, you city officials who balk at the challenges of preserving a single iconic Downtown Mall Chinese pistache tree, the couple have managed to transplant and preserve an entire small orchard of fruit and nut trees while renovating their pretty little acre.)
Sometimes, it’s a native son who travels the world and brings back some fresh ideas to contribute to the evolution of Las Cruces style. Check out today’s Artist of the Week profile of Michael Poncé. He grew up here and went off to live and study in San Francisco, New York and London, with exotic stopovers that have ranged from Kentucky to India, Australia and Hong Kong. I was amazed to see how gracefully he’s blended Pan-Cultural and Borderland influences in his art and downtown Las Cruces home. I can’t to see what he’s done in his new gallery, Michael Poncé Contemporary at 508 N. Mesquite St. Check it out from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday during the second monthly Camino del Arte tour of Mesquite historic district galleries and restaurants.
And speaking of stylish innovations, if you missed the first Camino tour, you’ll have more chances the second Saturday of each month at these locations: Gabriella Denton Studio, 403-B E. Court Ave., Unsettled Gallery & Studio, 905 N. Mesquite St., Mesquite Street Studios, 922 N. Mesquite St. Studios, Mesquite Art Gallery, 340 N. Mesquite St., Studio 308, No. 1, 308 N. Mesquite St., Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Joyce T. Macrorie Studio, 639 San Pedro St., New Dimension Artworks, 615-B E. Piñon Ave., Tony Pennock Studio, 721 N. Mesquite St. and Michael Poncé Contemporary, 508 N. Mesquite St.; plus 10 restaurants: Nopalito, La Nueva Casita, La Guadalupana, El Tiburon Mariscos, Kiva Patio Café, Tacos Santa Fe, Roberto’s, El Sombrero Patio Café, Church’s Chicken and Lujan Bakery.
I really enjoyed the first round, complete with a horse-drawn carriages, cosmopolitan artists and a transforming street that reminded me a lot of Albuquerque’s Old Town, with lots of people in the ‘hood for Camino, plus an event at Klein Park, and the first Color Las Cruces Plein Air Festival Community Art Festival.
I also ran into Las Cruces stylin’ trendsetter Bob Diven, making his own rogue plein air statement with a dinosaur chalk drawing on a Main Street sidewalk.
Now he says he’ll do some chalk art every Saturday morning during the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market. See some samples of his street creatures at http://wn.com/Street_Painting_by_Bob_Diven.
And speaking of the market, LCF&CM ranked No. 1 in New Mexico and No. 9 in the nation for markets with more than 56 vendors in a nationwide poll, despite an unpopular move in a time when the most popular part of the Downtown Mall is thoroughly torn up for renovations. And the market is looking better than ever, which is kind of an impressive Ginger Rogers achievement. (Wags have noted that she did everything just as well as Fred Astaire did, and she managed to do it backward, in heels!)
No wonder Pendleton is naming blankets after us and furniture and home accessory makers are coming out with Las Cruces lines.
Ah, Las Cruces style.
We always had it. Always will.
And we keep getting better all the time.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Las Cruces style keeps evolving and just when I think I have a pretty good handle on our distinctive brand of panache, I have a couple of months that convince me that we just might be the global epicenter of innovation.
Some of the changes involve new twists on old favorites.
As I learned doing a Sept. 25 Mi Casa story on the Reynolds-Chávez-Fountain house, sometimes stylish souls born elsewhere, like Midwestern transplants Lori Miller and Len Gambrell, can have profound insights about enhancing — and dedication to preserving — Borderland style. Their renovations to the beloved 1860s, two-story adobe Territorial home and grounds is remarkable. Like settlers in the time of the home’s birth, they’ve gracefully merged their own heritage with vintage Mesilla style.
(And by the way, you city officials who balk at the challenges of preserving a single iconic Downtown Mall Chinese pistache tree, the couple have managed to transplant and preserve an entire small orchard of fruit and nut trees while renovating their pretty little acre.)
Sometimes, it’s a native son who travels the world and brings back some fresh ideas to contribute to the evolution of Las Cruces style. Check out today’s Artist of the Week profile of Michael Poncé. He grew up here and went off to live and study in San Francisco, New York and London, with exotic stopovers that have ranged from Kentucky to India, Australia and Hong Kong. I was amazed to see how gracefully he’s blended Pan-Cultural and Borderland influences in his art and downtown Las Cruces home. I can’t to see what he’s done in his new gallery, Michael Poncé Contemporary at 508 N. Mesquite St. Check it out from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday during the second monthly Camino del Arte tour of Mesquite historic district galleries and restaurants.
And speaking of stylish innovations, if you missed the first Camino tour, you’ll have more chances the second Saturday of each month at these locations: Gabriella Denton Studio, 403-B E. Court Ave., Unsettled Gallery & Studio, 905 N. Mesquite St., Mesquite Street Studios, 922 N. Mesquite St. Studios, Mesquite Art Gallery, 340 N. Mesquite St., Studio 308, No. 1, 308 N. Mesquite St., Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Joyce T. Macrorie Studio, 639 San Pedro St., New Dimension Artworks, 615-B E. Piñon Ave., Tony Pennock Studio, 721 N. Mesquite St. and Michael Poncé Contemporary, 508 N. Mesquite St.; plus 10 restaurants: Nopalito, La Nueva Casita, La Guadalupana, El Tiburon Mariscos, Kiva Patio Café, Tacos Santa Fe, Roberto’s, El Sombrero Patio Café, Church’s Chicken and Lujan Bakery.
I really enjoyed the first round, complete with a horse-drawn carriages, cosmopolitan artists and a transforming street that reminded me a lot of Albuquerque’s Old Town, with lots of people in the ‘hood for Camino, plus an event at Klein Park, and the first Color Las Cruces Plein Air Festival Community Art Festival.
I also ran into Las Cruces stylin’ trendsetter Bob Diven, making his own rogue plein air statement with a dinosaur chalk drawing on a Main Street sidewalk.
Now he says he’ll do some chalk art every Saturday morning during the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market. See some samples of his street creatures at http://wn.com/Street_Painting_by_Bob_Diven.
And speaking of the market, LCF&CM ranked No. 1 in New Mexico and No. 9 in the nation for markets with more than 56 vendors in a nationwide poll, despite an unpopular move in a time when the most popular part of the Downtown Mall is thoroughly torn up for renovations. And the market is looking better than ever, which is kind of an impressive Ginger Rogers achievement. (Wags have noted that she did everything just as well as Fred Astaire did, and she managed to do it backward, in heels!)
No wonder Pendleton is naming blankets after us and furniture and home accessory makers are coming out with Las Cruces lines.
Ah, Las Cruces style.
We always had it. Always will.
And we keep getting better all the time.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
We want to save our tree!
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — We aren’t ready to say die when it comes to our favorite tree, that venerable old Chinese pistache on the Downtown Mall that city officials first seemed inclined to save and now say will likely be cut down in the next phase of downtown construction, as noted in my Sept. 12 Las Cruces Style column.
Many of you are fighting mad about their change of tune — and it’s clear that you have not had a change of heart — when it comes to sparing that special tree.
Once again, you wrote, e-mailed, called and stopped me on the Downtown Mall by the tree, a popular, shady place to congregate on hot market days.
Tamie Smith has even created a commemorative website with photos of all the trees that have been cut down on the Downtown Mall.
Listen up, powers that be: We want to save that tree and make arboreal rescues a top priority, now and in the future.
Here’s a sampling of what you had to say. For more, or to post your own comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Jean Bartels (a resident of Las Cruces for 44 years): “It’s unbelievable that the city, which already demolished trees on the yellow brick road for the current project, is thinking of doing the same with the tree at the south end. Thank goodness for the artists who are creating things of beauty out of the wood that was saved.
“I was going into the library the day the big gorgeous city Christmas tree was being cut down and, although I’d read in the paper that it was to happen, I could hardly believe my eyes and stood aghast. Only God can make a tree, but L.C. can certainly destroy. Put in a vote for me that the tree at the south end be left standing where it is!”
Jim Hayhoe: “I cannot agree with you more that we should do the engineering necessary to save the Main Street pistache tree. A tree such as this is worth several parking spots, especially in a Downtown area that IS YET to demonstrate the ability to attract patrons. If the city has any serious intention of thinking GREEN this is a way to show it to the area residents.”
Esther Matthews: “I disagree with Robert Ebler’s (the city’s senior civil engineer) statements regarding the Chinese pistache tree downtown. The 20 parking spaces may be business friendly, but not necessary. Customers prefer green shade and natural beauty. There is ample parking behind the buildings. When are ALL the spaces full? (Ebler said) It would cost $30,000 to $40,000 to design around it. That seems like nothing in the whole scheme of things. What percentage of that is compared to the whole cost, minus the cost of moving it?
“New trees won’t demand the same respect of this old, beautiful tree. It is also disheartening that government will sacrifice this tree against the wishes of its citizens, in the hope of more revenue.”
Mary Salais: “I am writing because I am concerned about the pistache tree at the south side of the Downtown Mall. It is near the Music Box. I want it to stay alive and not to be chopped down. It reminds me of a favorite childhood tree near the tennis courts on Picacho street that they chopped down and it made me very upset and sad not to see it there. I enjoyed the shade under the tree. It’s gone now and it’s been three years ago. I don’t want this to happen again. The tree is useful since we have very hot sunshine here.”
Jack Pumphrey: “For the life of me I can't understand the reasoning behind the decision to destroy one of the finest outdoor malls in the Southwest.
“The Farmers Market wasn't the only group to benefit from the absence of traffic and abundant shade. Visitors to Branigan Cultural Center, Coas, Big Picture, ABC Printing, Insta-Copy and so on, had a pleasant place to take a noon-day stroll, relax and meet friends, have a solo sack lunch and enjoy the shade of those (now) destroyed trees, planters and awnings.
“Now the powers that be are constructing a three-to-four-block long, two-way street with no parking with no possibility of shade in our lifetime. Why? If you can't stop the car and get out to shop, visit the galleries, dine in the new bistros or, have an espresso … Why?, Why?, WHY?
“And another thing, mark my words, the ‘up-town’ chic, roundabout will cause the city more grief than benefit. It’s going to be confusing enough just trying to figure out a good (any?) reason to drive up or down that obscure part of Main Street.
“I can see it now. Another car gets rear-ended from someone gawking at the new sidewalk restaurant and refurbished buildings. Or, running into one of those patina-green carriage poles while dodging jaywalkers! (Theater goers beware!)
“The best use, so far, is when the street is blocked off for special interest dinner parties and the Farmers Market. Huh? Isn't that what was destroyed? The use of a nice traffic-free open space?
“Now the paranoiacs/urban planners want to kill the last remaining elder-tree because it's too tough to figure out a positive solution? The tree is now a traffic hazard? Build the ‘road’ around it for the sense of what’s common and sane. Build a curving divided pretty lane around the tree. Construct pointy planters that face oncoming traffic and make it wide enough so emergency vehicles can make it through. It’s not as if there are going to be speed bumps to show down what sparse traffic that probably will be too light to justify stop lights. And finally: IT (the tree) would take away parking spaces? What parking places!
“Leaving the tree where it is will create a reason for driving the three or four blocks to accomplish … what?”
Tamie Smith: “Thanks for the tree article. Sad, isn’t it, that citizens can't trust the words of our elected and hired officials?
“At a couple of city council meetings before a date had been set for cutting down the large trees, I asked if I could be notified when that would be done. I was assured by the city manager and my councilor that someone would let me know. Right! (They didn’t notify me.)”
NOTE: To see Tamie’s website with “a few assorted pictures of the trees we used to have,” go to http://bit.ly/dnFfw5.
I checked out the site and had trouble understanding how curving around the tree would eliminate 20 parking places. But if so, so what? I have yet to see anything close to 20 cars parked on the “finished” downtown block.
And don’t give up the fight. I’ll send these comments on to Mayor Ken Miyagishima at mayor@las-cruces.org. If you’d like to save the tree, let our mayor and city council know.
Here are some letters that came in after our deadline.
Diana Ayers: “The city might take a closer look at what makes a place desirable. Plantings, natural or exotic, attract folks; hot parking lots do not.
“I was stunned to see that the city had cut down that stately pine which had been Las Cruces's Christmas Tree. What other city would let that go by without challenge? What other city of any reputation has no tree ordinances?
“Of course it would be a little bit harder to route the road around the pistache, but what is the point to making it straight? If this exercise is being done in the name of commerce, the merchants certainly won't benefit by traffic's zooming through.
“There is parking everywhere already, and many existing businesses have rear entrances. Patrons of the museums and galleries aren't going to resent walking around the corner, as presumably they are drawn by esthetics in the first place.
“What the place could use is some sidewalk cafes, such as occur as magnets everywhere else. But diners don't want to stare at parked cars (or moving ones). Some storefront awnings for shade would be nice, too.
“Whom does this project serve, anyhow?”
Carole Rickman: “Save our tree. A message for our City Council and the powers that be: As the song goes — ‘Take Paradise and put in a parking lot’— or in this case, a road.
“It seems such a shame to destroy such a beautiful part of our Downtown in the name of ‘progress.’ Please leave the tree —work around it.
“The birds, critters (and) people will thank you.
“S. Derrickson Moore — I love your columns and hope your rallying cry for our tree will help save it.”
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — We aren’t ready to say die when it comes to our favorite tree, that venerable old Chinese pistache on the Downtown Mall that city officials first seemed inclined to save and now say will likely be cut down in the next phase of downtown construction, as noted in my Sept. 12 Las Cruces Style column.
Many of you are fighting mad about their change of tune — and it’s clear that you have not had a change of heart — when it comes to sparing that special tree.
Once again, you wrote, e-mailed, called and stopped me on the Downtown Mall by the tree, a popular, shady place to congregate on hot market days.
Tamie Smith has even created a commemorative website with photos of all the trees that have been cut down on the Downtown Mall.
Listen up, powers that be: We want to save that tree and make arboreal rescues a top priority, now and in the future.
Here’s a sampling of what you had to say. For more, or to post your own comments, go to lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Jean Bartels (a resident of Las Cruces for 44 years): “It’s unbelievable that the city, which already demolished trees on the yellow brick road for the current project, is thinking of doing the same with the tree at the south end. Thank goodness for the artists who are creating things of beauty out of the wood that was saved.
“I was going into the library the day the big gorgeous city Christmas tree was being cut down and, although I’d read in the paper that it was to happen, I could hardly believe my eyes and stood aghast. Only God can make a tree, but L.C. can certainly destroy. Put in a vote for me that the tree at the south end be left standing where it is!”
Jim Hayhoe: “I cannot agree with you more that we should do the engineering necessary to save the Main Street pistache tree. A tree such as this is worth several parking spots, especially in a Downtown area that IS YET to demonstrate the ability to attract patrons. If the city has any serious intention of thinking GREEN this is a way to show it to the area residents.”
Esther Matthews: “I disagree with Robert Ebler’s (the city’s senior civil engineer) statements regarding the Chinese pistache tree downtown. The 20 parking spaces may be business friendly, but not necessary. Customers prefer green shade and natural beauty. There is ample parking behind the buildings. When are ALL the spaces full? (Ebler said) It would cost $30,000 to $40,000 to design around it. That seems like nothing in the whole scheme of things. What percentage of that is compared to the whole cost, minus the cost of moving it?
“New trees won’t demand the same respect of this old, beautiful tree. It is also disheartening that government will sacrifice this tree against the wishes of its citizens, in the hope of more revenue.”
Mary Salais: “I am writing because I am concerned about the pistache tree at the south side of the Downtown Mall. It is near the Music Box. I want it to stay alive and not to be chopped down. It reminds me of a favorite childhood tree near the tennis courts on Picacho street that they chopped down and it made me very upset and sad not to see it there. I enjoyed the shade under the tree. It’s gone now and it’s been three years ago. I don’t want this to happen again. The tree is useful since we have very hot sunshine here.”
Jack Pumphrey: “For the life of me I can't understand the reasoning behind the decision to destroy one of the finest outdoor malls in the Southwest.
“The Farmers Market wasn't the only group to benefit from the absence of traffic and abundant shade. Visitors to Branigan Cultural Center, Coas, Big Picture, ABC Printing, Insta-Copy and so on, had a pleasant place to take a noon-day stroll, relax and meet friends, have a solo sack lunch and enjoy the shade of those (now) destroyed trees, planters and awnings.
“Now the powers that be are constructing a three-to-four-block long, two-way street with no parking with no possibility of shade in our lifetime. Why? If you can't stop the car and get out to shop, visit the galleries, dine in the new bistros or, have an espresso … Why?, Why?, WHY?
“And another thing, mark my words, the ‘up-town’ chic, roundabout will cause the city more grief than benefit. It’s going to be confusing enough just trying to figure out a good (any?) reason to drive up or down that obscure part of Main Street.
“I can see it now. Another car gets rear-ended from someone gawking at the new sidewalk restaurant and refurbished buildings. Or, running into one of those patina-green carriage poles while dodging jaywalkers! (Theater goers beware!)
“The best use, so far, is when the street is blocked off for special interest dinner parties and the Farmers Market. Huh? Isn't that what was destroyed? The use of a nice traffic-free open space?
“Now the paranoiacs/urban planners want to kill the last remaining elder-tree because it's too tough to figure out a positive solution? The tree is now a traffic hazard? Build the ‘road’ around it for the sense of what’s common and sane. Build a curving divided pretty lane around the tree. Construct pointy planters that face oncoming traffic and make it wide enough so emergency vehicles can make it through. It’s not as if there are going to be speed bumps to show down what sparse traffic that probably will be too light to justify stop lights. And finally: IT (the tree) would take away parking spaces? What parking places!
“Leaving the tree where it is will create a reason for driving the three or four blocks to accomplish … what?”
Tamie Smith: “Thanks for the tree article. Sad, isn’t it, that citizens can't trust the words of our elected and hired officials?
“At a couple of city council meetings before a date had been set for cutting down the large trees, I asked if I could be notified when that would be done. I was assured by the city manager and my councilor that someone would let me know. Right! (They didn’t notify me.)”
NOTE: To see Tamie’s website with “a few assorted pictures of the trees we used to have,” go to http://bit.ly/dnFfw5.
I checked out the site and had trouble understanding how curving around the tree would eliminate 20 parking places. But if so, so what? I have yet to see anything close to 20 cars parked on the “finished” downtown block.
And don’t give up the fight. I’ll send these comments on to Mayor Ken Miyagishima at mayor@las-cruces.org. If you’d like to save the tree, let our mayor and city council know.
Here are some letters that came in after our deadline.
Diana Ayers: “The city might take a closer look at what makes a place desirable. Plantings, natural or exotic, attract folks; hot parking lots do not.
“I was stunned to see that the city had cut down that stately pine which had been Las Cruces's Christmas Tree. What other city would let that go by without challenge? What other city of any reputation has no tree ordinances?
“Of course it would be a little bit harder to route the road around the pistache, but what is the point to making it straight? If this exercise is being done in the name of commerce, the merchants certainly won't benefit by traffic's zooming through.
“There is parking everywhere already, and many existing businesses have rear entrances. Patrons of the museums and galleries aren't going to resent walking around the corner, as presumably they are drawn by esthetics in the first place.
“What the place could use is some sidewalk cafes, such as occur as magnets everywhere else. But diners don't want to stare at parked cars (or moving ones). Some storefront awnings for shade would be nice, too.
“Whom does this project serve, anyhow?”
Carole Rickman: “Save our tree. A message for our City Council and the powers that be: As the song goes — ‘Take Paradise and put in a parking lot’— or in this case, a road.
“It seems such a shame to destroy such a beautiful part of our Downtown in the name of ‘progress.’ Please leave the tree —work around it.
“The birds, critters (and) people will thank you.
“S. Derrickson Moore — I love your columns and hope your rallying cry for our tree will help save it.”
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Fun with birthday numbers
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — It’s a big year for significant birthdays in the Land of Enchantment in general and the City of the Crosses in particular.
We’re always up for a party, here in the city of fiesta moods and festive attitudes.
J. Paul Taylor turned 90 about the same time the Branigan Cultural Center turned 75. Initially, the August birthday bashes were scheduled for the same day, but “human-before-institution” honors prevailed, and the Branigan fiesta moved to anther day, Sept. 3.
The celebrations continue.
On Sept. 15, No Strings Theatre Company celebrated its 10th anniversary. As it happens, that’s also Guatemalan Independence Day and the birthdays of my late dad Jack and my early soulmate Dr. Roger. Hmm. I’m sure a good astrologer could enlighten me about the significance of these Sept. 15 events. Maybe I’ll write a play about it all and present it at the Black Box Theatre, No Strings’ home base.
There are some other interesting things involving birthday/anniversary celebrations, like the fact that our state is so much younger than its three biggest cities. New Mexico will celebrate its 100th birthday (the centennial of statehood) in 2012, yet our state’s capital, Santa Fe, is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.
Albuquerque, if I remember right, had a big 300th birthday bash about four years ago and Las Cruces has a year of sesquicentennial (150th) celebrations in 1998.
Probably on some plain of existence, there are some chuckles about these “founding” dates and epic birthdays from Anasazis and Mimbres and other ancient souls, whose first appearances in shards and fossil remains date back thousands, not mere hundreds, of years.
Back on the home front, coming up soon is another, if much younger, milestone anniversary.
The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico will celebrate with a 10th Anniversary Gala at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Las Cruces International Airport. There’ll be dinner, dancing and a live auction and dress is “semi-formal or aviation costume,” so if you’ve ever wanted to dress up as a World War I flying ace, this is your big chance. Tickets and info: (575) 521-4794 or cfsnm.org.
Coming up is a season of 25th anniversary celebrations for the New Mexico State University Choral Department. In a few months, Court Youth Center, home of Alma d’arte Charter School, will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its rebirth.
Today you can read about the nation’s oldest two-story adobe theater, the Rio Grande, which first entertained Las Crucens in the 1920s. What we’re celebrating this month is the fifth anniversary of its facelift, or restoration. It’s an intriguing fiesta concept, a kind of rebirthday.
I’ve always wondered why the only birthdays deemed worthy of major fiestas always seem to end in “5” or “0,” whether they’re measured in two- or three- or four-digit increments. And we stop there. I can’t remember the 10,000th anniversary celebration of anything, can you? Though I do recall, growing up, monitoring the number of burgers sold on ever-changing signs at McDonald’s. I don’t think they do that anymore, but a website reports that by spring of 2010 the total was about 245 billion served.
Meanwhile, back home on the range, we have some more eco-friendly, organic, downhome numbers to celebrate. Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market fans who might have missed the earlier stories will be pleased to know that in the America's Favorite Farmers Markets Contest, we ranked first in New Mexico overall and No. 9 in the United States for markets with more than 56 vendors.
Chris Faivre of the Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau noted that we were also “the only market within New Mexico to rank nationally in any one of the contest categories. In fact, the LCFCM was only one vote shy of an 8th place tie with the Chattanooga Market in Tennessee.”
The contest is sponsored each year by American Farmland Trust (farmland.org).
In 2011, the LCFCM will celebrate its 40th anniversary. If trends continue, our market could be No. 1 in the United States at age 40.
That could be quite a birthday present.
NOTE: City officials, spare the tree that shades our nation’s fabulous No. 9 market! Many of you are fighting mad about plans to cut down what many of us think is the Downtown’s most beautiful tree — and we’d also like to preserve some other old-growth faves. We’ll share your comments in next week’s Las Cruces Style column.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — It’s a big year for significant birthdays in the Land of Enchantment in general and the City of the Crosses in particular.
We’re always up for a party, here in the city of fiesta moods and festive attitudes.
J. Paul Taylor turned 90 about the same time the Branigan Cultural Center turned 75. Initially, the August birthday bashes were scheduled for the same day, but “human-before-institution” honors prevailed, and the Branigan fiesta moved to anther day, Sept. 3.
The celebrations continue.
On Sept. 15, No Strings Theatre Company celebrated its 10th anniversary. As it happens, that’s also Guatemalan Independence Day and the birthdays of my late dad Jack and my early soulmate Dr. Roger. Hmm. I’m sure a good astrologer could enlighten me about the significance of these Sept. 15 events. Maybe I’ll write a play about it all and present it at the Black Box Theatre, No Strings’ home base.
There are some other interesting things involving birthday/anniversary celebrations, like the fact that our state is so much younger than its three biggest cities. New Mexico will celebrate its 100th birthday (the centennial of statehood) in 2012, yet our state’s capital, Santa Fe, is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.
Albuquerque, if I remember right, had a big 300th birthday bash about four years ago and Las Cruces has a year of sesquicentennial (150th) celebrations in 1998.
Probably on some plain of existence, there are some chuckles about these “founding” dates and epic birthdays from Anasazis and Mimbres and other ancient souls, whose first appearances in shards and fossil remains date back thousands, not mere hundreds, of years.
Back on the home front, coming up soon is another, if much younger, milestone anniversary.
The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico will celebrate with a 10th Anniversary Gala at 6 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Las Cruces International Airport. There’ll be dinner, dancing and a live auction and dress is “semi-formal or aviation costume,” so if you’ve ever wanted to dress up as a World War I flying ace, this is your big chance. Tickets and info: (575) 521-4794 or cfsnm.org.
Coming up is a season of 25th anniversary celebrations for the New Mexico State University Choral Department. In a few months, Court Youth Center, home of Alma d’arte Charter School, will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its rebirth.
Today you can read about the nation’s oldest two-story adobe theater, the Rio Grande, which first entertained Las Crucens in the 1920s. What we’re celebrating this month is the fifth anniversary of its facelift, or restoration. It’s an intriguing fiesta concept, a kind of rebirthday.
I’ve always wondered why the only birthdays deemed worthy of major fiestas always seem to end in “5” or “0,” whether they’re measured in two- or three- or four-digit increments. And we stop there. I can’t remember the 10,000th anniversary celebration of anything, can you? Though I do recall, growing up, monitoring the number of burgers sold on ever-changing signs at McDonald’s. I don’t think they do that anymore, but a website reports that by spring of 2010 the total was about 245 billion served.
Meanwhile, back home on the range, we have some more eco-friendly, organic, downhome numbers to celebrate. Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market fans who might have missed the earlier stories will be pleased to know that in the America's Favorite Farmers Markets Contest, we ranked first in New Mexico overall and No. 9 in the United States for markets with more than 56 vendors.
Chris Faivre of the Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau noted that we were also “the only market within New Mexico to rank nationally in any one of the contest categories. In fact, the LCFCM was only one vote shy of an 8th place tie with the Chattanooga Market in Tennessee.”
The contest is sponsored each year by American Farmland Trust (farmland.org).
In 2011, the LCFCM will celebrate its 40th anniversary. If trends continue, our market could be No. 1 in the United States at age 40.
That could be quite a birthday present.
NOTE: City officials, spare the tree that shades our nation’s fabulous No. 9 market! Many of you are fighting mad about plans to cut down what many of us think is the Downtown’s most beautiful tree — and we’d also like to preserve some other old-growth faves. We’ll share your comments in next week’s Las Cruces Style column.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Is there still time to save our tree?
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Bureaucrats, spare that tree!
Remember that big, beautiful Chinese pistache near the Music Box on the Downtown Mall? The one some of us think may be the most beautiful tree in the Mesilla Valley?
Many of us thought it was safe, after a controversy erupted in January and many of you wrote, called and e-mailed offering to petition, protest or even picket to save your favorite trees. Others suggested that the Downtown Mall plan be redesigned to accommodate the tree.
This is what some our city officials had to say then.
“I think it would be kind of nice to have the street curve around the tree. Maybe it would be like that street in San Francisco and people would come to see our street with the big tree right in the middle,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said, referring to San Francisco’s Lombard Street, known as “the crookedest street in the world.”
Assistant city manager Robert Garza called the tree “a cornerstone that’s fortunately strategically planted right in the middle, which enables us to design a solution around the tree” and said “mechanics have now been set in motion” for a redesign that could save the tree when the final phase of revitalization begins on the south end of the mall, possibly as early as next March.
Garza won the hearts of tree-lovers when he noted, “It’s a perfect tree and it’s a happy tree and has been there a long time and should be there as long as possible.”
Sounds like our tree dodged a bullet — or a bulldozer — yes?
Well, apparently, no. Maybe you missed some crucial information in the last paragraphs of Amanda Bradford’s Sept. 1 story on the demise of the towering Downtown Mall Afghan pine that has served as the city’s Christmas tree for the past two years. Robert Ebler, the city’s senior civil engineer, said our tree is likely to be among a group (once scheduled to be spared or moved) that will be destroyed, after all.
“We could lose over 20 on-street parking spaces by leaving the tree in place and transitioning the road into tight quarters on the sides. Ultimately, it's best to remove the tree. We are planting over 50 new trees for about the same cost as moving just the one. Also, we feel it is more business-friendly to provide parking and related amenities with the proposed plan,” Garza said in an e-mail.
Eber said costs to move the pistache could be $30,000 to $40,000 and designing around the tree could cost $50,000. He opined that the flow of traffic would be pushed to one side, creating safety hazards and reducing parking and landscaping possibilities for the area.
To which I say, let’s consider the landscaping reality of that tree that’s been green and growing with us for more than three decades, and find a way to let it be and make it work.
If it’s the design money, maybe we can find some volunteers who will help us or give us a discount. I’ve toured eco-friendly developments here where planners have managed to curve roads and sidewalks and readjust mega-buck developments to save old growth mesquite. Surely we can find ways to do the same for the prettiest tree shading the corazon y alma (heart and soul) of our city, a place we want to revitalize to showcase what’s best about Las Cruces.
So what, if it means a little jog in the road, the sacrifice of a few parking spaces, or some artful landscaping to reroute pedestrians? We aren’t looking for a high-speed expressway there, anyway. And won’t it be worth it, especially when the street is closed off for market days and festivals, to see another generation of kids playing under its leafy canopy?
After the Christmas tree came down, I was stopped on a Downtown Mall stroll by Tamie Smith, who’s mad and sad about the tree topplings.
“If (auto) mall traffic is so great, why don’t they put a street down the middle of the Mesilla Valley Mall?” she asked.
She said she’s been ignored by bureaucrats and city officials when she comes up with plans for Downtown revitalization. She shared a few with me: a railway line running through the mall, acting as a tourist attraction and a way of transporting people to attractions in our burgeoning cultural corridor. She pointed to a strip of grass across from the Rio Grande Theatre and suggested we ask the bank if they’d be willing to allow a line of shade trees there, if we could get the city to provide and maintain the trees.
And she wants to save the big, beautiful pistache.
“The new trees aren’t enough. I won’t have another 30 years until they grow. I won’t be alive to see it,” she said.
What do you think? If you feel it’s worth the effort to slightly alter the mall plan to save the tree, or have some other ideas, let us know.
To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style, email dmoore@lcsun-news.com or write me c/o Las Cruces Sun-News, 256 W. Las Cruces Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88005.
There’s still time to save that tree, a symbol of so many things we love about Las Cruces. Let’s do it.
S. Derrickson Moore at can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Bureaucrats, spare that tree!
Remember that big, beautiful Chinese pistache near the Music Box on the Downtown Mall? The one some of us think may be the most beautiful tree in the Mesilla Valley?
Many of us thought it was safe, after a controversy erupted in January and many of you wrote, called and e-mailed offering to petition, protest or even picket to save your favorite trees. Others suggested that the Downtown Mall plan be redesigned to accommodate the tree.
This is what some our city officials had to say then.
“I think it would be kind of nice to have the street curve around the tree. Maybe it would be like that street in San Francisco and people would come to see our street with the big tree right in the middle,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said, referring to San Francisco’s Lombard Street, known as “the crookedest street in the world.”
Assistant city manager Robert Garza called the tree “a cornerstone that’s fortunately strategically planted right in the middle, which enables us to design a solution around the tree” and said “mechanics have now been set in motion” for a redesign that could save the tree when the final phase of revitalization begins on the south end of the mall, possibly as early as next March.
Garza won the hearts of tree-lovers when he noted, “It’s a perfect tree and it’s a happy tree and has been there a long time and should be there as long as possible.”
Sounds like our tree dodged a bullet — or a bulldozer — yes?
Well, apparently, no. Maybe you missed some crucial information in the last paragraphs of Amanda Bradford’s Sept. 1 story on the demise of the towering Downtown Mall Afghan pine that has served as the city’s Christmas tree for the past two years. Robert Ebler, the city’s senior civil engineer, said our tree is likely to be among a group (once scheduled to be spared or moved) that will be destroyed, after all.
“We could lose over 20 on-street parking spaces by leaving the tree in place and transitioning the road into tight quarters on the sides. Ultimately, it's best to remove the tree. We are planting over 50 new trees for about the same cost as moving just the one. Also, we feel it is more business-friendly to provide parking and related amenities with the proposed plan,” Garza said in an e-mail.
Eber said costs to move the pistache could be $30,000 to $40,000 and designing around the tree could cost $50,000. He opined that the flow of traffic would be pushed to one side, creating safety hazards and reducing parking and landscaping possibilities for the area.
To which I say, let’s consider the landscaping reality of that tree that’s been green and growing with us for more than three decades, and find a way to let it be and make it work.
If it’s the design money, maybe we can find some volunteers who will help us or give us a discount. I’ve toured eco-friendly developments here where planners have managed to curve roads and sidewalks and readjust mega-buck developments to save old growth mesquite. Surely we can find ways to do the same for the prettiest tree shading the corazon y alma (heart and soul) of our city, a place we want to revitalize to showcase what’s best about Las Cruces.
So what, if it means a little jog in the road, the sacrifice of a few parking spaces, or some artful landscaping to reroute pedestrians? We aren’t looking for a high-speed expressway there, anyway. And won’t it be worth it, especially when the street is closed off for market days and festivals, to see another generation of kids playing under its leafy canopy?
After the Christmas tree came down, I was stopped on a Downtown Mall stroll by Tamie Smith, who’s mad and sad about the tree topplings.
“If (auto) mall traffic is so great, why don’t they put a street down the middle of the Mesilla Valley Mall?” she asked.
She said she’s been ignored by bureaucrats and city officials when she comes up with plans for Downtown revitalization. She shared a few with me: a railway line running through the mall, acting as a tourist attraction and a way of transporting people to attractions in our burgeoning cultural corridor. She pointed to a strip of grass across from the Rio Grande Theatre and suggested we ask the bank if they’d be willing to allow a line of shade trees there, if we could get the city to provide and maintain the trees.
And she wants to save the big, beautiful pistache.
“The new trees aren’t enough. I won’t have another 30 years until they grow. I won’t be alive to see it,” she said.
What do you think? If you feel it’s worth the effort to slightly alter the mall plan to save the tree, or have some other ideas, let us know.
To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style, email dmoore@lcsun-news.com or write me c/o Las Cruces Sun-News, 256 W. Las Cruces Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88005.
There’s still time to save that tree, a symbol of so many things we love about Las Cruces. Let’s do it.
S. Derrickson Moore at can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450.
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