Slideshows

Flavor of the night

The Mancillas came to the United States 14 years ago from Mexico. Alberto Mancilla, 34, and his wife Irene Mancilla, 29, own the El Taco Loco Mexican food truck parked at San Pedro Drive and Central Avenue. They’ve operated their food truck in Albuquerque for the past five years. Their business is popular around the International District for its carne al pastor. This Central Mexico dish is meat marinated in a guajillo chile sauce and roasted on a spit called a trompo. Carne al pastor is distinct for being served with pineapple pieces in tacos, tortas or burritos. At El Taco Loco, customers don’t pay until they’re finished eating.

Un Dia la Vez Dios Mio

Steven Cervantes, 13, lives at home with his mother, father, sister and 3-year-old niece, from whom he is inseparable. He loves cokes and cheeseburgers, he likes to shoot his BB gun and play with his dogs. He attends middle school and participates in myriad different sports. His favorite sport? Basketball. The one thing that separates Cervantes from the average 13-year-old is that he has spent the past 10 years in a wheelchair. For the rest of his life, Cervantes will most likely live with a shunt running from the ventricular system in his brain to his stomach to keep his brain from swelling. The thumb-sized scar on the right side of his torso is the only visible sign of his shunt. Anyone who knows Cervantes knows that he accepts the challenge of living with spina bifida with a bold and smiling face, and when those around him are looking for a reason to smile, he provides one. “He keeps us on our toes, keeps us going night and day,” says his 23-year-old sister Annette Cervantes. “Steven loves to go to church. If he didn’t make us go every Sunday, we probably would not go at all,” says his mother Manuela Cervantes. “When times have been hard, he has stayed strong for us.”

Celebrate like it's 1912

On Nov. 4, Gurney Ashbridge celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends. She received cards from both President Barack Obama and Gov. Susana Martinez congratulating her on the milestone. Ashbridge never thought she would live to be a century old, and said she can’t pinpoint a secret to longevity. “All of a sudden I found myself there,” she said. Ashbridge’s daughter, Ann Swanson, said her mother’s positive attitude and thinking has led to her feat. “I don’t know that I want to live a lot longer,” Ashbridge said. “I’ll just be here as long as the good Lord wants me to be here.”

Brothers on board

Brothers James Tracey, 22, and Sean Stratmeyer, 17, have been skating together for 15 years. They say skateboarding is more than an activity, it’s a lifestyle. The brothers celebrate birthdays and holidays by exploring Albuquerque on their skateboards. It’s a cheap way to have a good time and it often leads to the kinds of shenanigans that only two brothers can have.

Election 2012 Watch Party

Mens basketball vs. Highlands

Día de los Muertos

Over the years, the Marigold Parade has grown from just a neighborhood event to one with citywide draw. Participants adorn their faces with effigies of skulls, known as calaveras, to represent the dead souls. The parade features music, food, art, and memorium altars, and attracts participants from car clubs to political activist groups.

Men's soccer vs Dartmouth

The seventh ranked UNM Lobos men’s soccer team hosted the Lobo TLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing Invitational this past weekend beating Dartmouth 3-2 in a game that saw four goals scored in the first 20 minutes. Ben McKendry scored the game winner in the 66th minute scoring off a short pass from Blake Smith.

St. James Tearoom

Désolé, je ne parle pas français. Parlez-vous...?

By following this phrase with “anglais” or “espagnol” I hopefully had an open line of communication with any French speaker I encountered. Six weeks in La Chapelle and another three weeks in République, both located in the 10eme arrondissement of arguably the most romantic city on Earth, was more than enough time to see to it that my heart bled for the French and my mouth formed the perfect pucker to pronounce: “Je peux prendre une photo de vous?”For all its predictable daytime tourist traps and gritty, damp nighttime streets, Paris stood as a monument for the development of my photographic eye and inspiration and will always remain coursing through my blood (not only because I am a quarter French) as an enchanting and nurturing giant.The opportunity to chase a photo essay through streets of Paris in the saddle of a steel, 12-speed vélo is not one you may stumble across every lifetime. Santé, salut et allez les bleus! (See pages 8 and 9 for full photo journal.)

Curanderismo

Pride Parade

Flamenco Workshop

Homelessness

photos by Tom Hilsee

Johnny's Tapia's memorial at the Pit

Photo Issue - Junfu Han

Mario Montoya and Albert Rosales started teaching hip hop break dance classes at the Harwood Art Center last fall. Montoya lost his right leg after a football injury about 17 years ago, when he was in eighth grade. “I feel like I lost my anger with my leg and I became a better person,” Montoya said. He continued his hip hop life after that. Rosales is a local visual artist and break dance expert. Every Friday afternoon the pair teaches break dancing to an after-school program at Harwood. “I’m amazed by (the pair’s) ability of connecting themselves to each kid,” said the director of Youth and Education at Harwood, Vashti Moss. “It is absolutely the kids’ favorite class here.”

Photo Issue - Adria Malcom

Van Pexa trains approximately 15 hours per week, and plays a sport in every season of the year. Pexa competes in a number of sporting events in the Special Olympics of New Mexico, including hockey, bocce, softball, golf, equestrian, bowling and basketball. Pexa said he started competing in sports competitions at age 13, and that his favorite sports to play are unified golf, in which each athlete has a partner he or she competes with, and equestrian riding. When Pexa is not competing, he watches his favorite athletes compete on the court at The Pit. For roughly 15 years he has had season tickets for Lobo basketball, has attended nearly every game and even travels to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference tournament. “He’s nothing less than fanatic about Lobo basketball,” his mother, Dana Pexa, said.

POW WOW

El Santuario de Chimayo

Photos of the Week