Culture

Culture

UNM receives donation of works by filmmaker Brian Levant

Addison Fulton | February 2

Early scripts, storyboards and creative process materials of filmmaker Brian Levant will find a new home in the University of New Mexico’s Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections.  On Jan. 19, UNM announced that Levant, the mind behind the “Leave it to Beaver” series and the films “The Flintstones” and “The Spy Next Door,” starring Jackie Chan, has donated his work to the CSWR in Zimmerman Library. Suzanne Schadl, director of the CSWR, said Levant worked in many aspects of the Hollywood creative world. 

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Culture

UNM alum, songwriter and artist Hataaliinez Wheeler makes Indie Rock his own

Camillo Cretara | January 26

Staying in one place is never good for an artist and University of New Mexico alum Hataaliinez Wheeler, who performs under the name “Hataałii,” recently realized that when he moved to New York City, New York, to continue writing music and painting.  A 23-year-old singer, songwriter and painter, Wheeler is known for creating a psychedelic fusion of indie-rock and melancholic pop. Wheeler, who recently attended UNM, first started writing songs and painting in his dorm room, he said. Art can come from a lot of different places, and for Wheeler, his music and paintings often come from similar places, described as “Ntł’iz and Yódí,” he said.

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Culture

Albuquerque to become ‘Community Edition’ Monopoly board

Addison Fulton | January 26

In November, 2026, the city of Albuquerque will join the proud ranks of San Diego, Memphis, Tenn. and Star Wars in receiving its very own Monopoly board.  Monopoly’s publisher, Hasbro, selects cities to be made into “Community Edition” releases where iconic local landmarks and institutions replace the traditional properties on the game board. Daniel Mayfield, the public information officer for the City of Albuquerque, said the board will be split into parks, restaurants, cultural destinations, tourism spots and other locations. 

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Culture

Immersive show encourages Popejoy to sing

Leila Chapa | January 22

“Sing-A- Long Broadway” is a unique show which invites audience members to an opportunity to celebrate Broadway music, from a variety of shows, through a guided sing-along stage experience on Sunday, Jan. 25. According to a Popejoy press release, the show is designed to include attendees of all ages and levels of experience to participate in the show. “Hosted by a two-person emcee team, the duo will lead the audience through musical highlights, thematic medleys, and interactive moments,” the press release reads.

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Culture

REVIEW: ‘Marty Supreme’ is an instant cult classic

Addison Fulton | January 19

For a film about table tennis, Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” includes remarkably little table tennis. It’s a dizzying, disorienting and fast-paced film about fictional table tennis star Marty Mauser, a Jewish man living in New York in the 1950s. Mauser is an irresponsible, womanizing jerk. At the beginning of the movie, he impregnates another man’s wife, and mocks a fellow player who survived a concentration camp — not the kind of guy you usually root for in a sports film. But “Marty Supreme” is no ordinary sports feature, and that’s the root of its artistry and charm.

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Culture

Spyglass Festival features spies, secrets at nuclear museum

Elizabeth Bolke | January 19

The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History hosted its inaugural Spyglass Festival from Jan. 15-17. This three-day event combined science and history through a range of activities celebrating the work of spies during World War II and the Cold War, as well as featured retired Central Intelligence Agency officer David Kitchen. On Thursday, Jan. 15, Science on Tap featured specialty brews from Bombs Away Beer Company, a veteran-owned brewery and taproom in Albuquerque’s Skyline Heights neighborhood. 

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Culture

REVIEW: ‘We feel that’ Vince Gilligan’s ‘Pluribus’ is a masterpiece

Addison Fulton | January 19

Creator of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” Vince Gilligan’s newest series “Pluribus” reinvents the alien bodysnatcher subgenre and brings Albuquerque to centerstage once again.  Largely filmed in New Mexico, “Pluribus” features an alien, virus-like entity that comes to Earth through a mysterious radio transmission, with almost everyone on Earth assimilated into a pacifistic hivemind, except for just 13 people worldwide, who are — for an unknown reason — immune. 

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Culture

Mariachi Christmas celebrates over 25 years of tradition through Mexican song and dance

Leila Chapa | December 16

On Friday, Dec. 19, the sights and sounds of Christmas in Mexico come back to the Popejoy Hall stage, with colorful mariachi music and traditional ballet folklórico. This year marks Popejoy’s 25th celebration of New Mexico holiday traditions through Mariachi Christmas. Through music and dance, the show highlights the faith and traditions found across Mexico in a cheerful holiday performance for the whole family. Founded by Noberta Fresquez in Albuquerque, Mariachi Christmas tells the story of Christmas with regional and traditional folklore from several regions in Mexico.

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Culture

Inside the wonderful tradition, hanging of the greens

Alex Joe | December 8

As the calendar turns to December and the temperature drops,  it’s officially time to decorate for the holidays and for Christmas songs and carols — the reasons as to why Hanging of the Greens is one of the University of New Mexico’s best traditions.  After a long week of work and studying, on Dec. 5, people were able to unwind and bring their holiday cheer with Hanging of the Greens. The festivities started with some cocoa and biscochitos served at the UNM bookstore.

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Culture

‘Build-a-Bo’ builds community (and plushes)

Addison Fulton | December 8

During a chilly but bright New Mexican afternoon, cuddly plush animals spread holiday cheer as students lined up through the University of New Mexico Student Union Building to take part in this year’s “Build-a-Bo” event. A pun on “Build-a-Bear,” the “Build-a-Bo” event provided free empty plushies, cotton stuffing and an animal sized New Mexico themed t-shirt to students, turning the SUB into a whimsical workshop. To design their plush, students picked from snow leopards, reindeer, snow men, arctic foxes, penguins, snowy owls and, of course, the titular wolf: “Bo.” Participation was free while supplies lasted for those with student ID. The Dec. 2 event is the second year the event has been hosted by the SUB.

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Culture

Maxwell Museum hosts events celebrating free speech

Addison Fulton | November 24

On Friday, Nov. 21, the University of New Mexico Maxwell Museum of Anthropology hosted two events highlighting the importance of freedom of expression and the role of museums in protecting the exchange of ideas.  The first event was “Lexicon of Liberty,” a celebration of banned and threatened books. Maxwell Museum Preparator Chris Albert and Curator of Education and Public Programs Julián Antonio Carrillo led the event, sharing statistics on who bans books, why and how. The second event, “Designed to Disrupt,” was a round table event where attendees were invited to play “Designing to Disrupt,” a card game by museum worker Chaya Arabia, designed to teach what can be achieved with activism.

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Culture

Beading workshop honors traditions of Native American Tribes

Lexis Lovato | November 24

On Friday, Nov. 21, The University of New Mexico Language Learning Center held a free beadmaking workshop featuring Native American beading, a longstanding tradition within Native communities across the United States. Adam Greenberg, a member of the  Mescalero Apache and Taos Pueblo, and Alicia Clouser,  a member of the Navajo tribe,  led attendees through creating their own set of beaded earrings, while teaching the history behind the Native tradition. Greenberg said that beading originally traces back to 16th-century China and Europe. He said that it was taught to Native women by Victorian nuns during a time when Native Americans were forcefully evangelized. At this time, beadmaking was seen as a womanly, domesticated hobby that nuns encouraged women to learn, in addition to other hobbies like embroidery.

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Culture

UNM Libraries host last Crafternoon of the semester

Marina Olmstead | November 24

A ball of yarn, a streak of a pen and glue on a marble magnet were all things seen at the University of New Mexico’s seventh and final Crafternoon of the year on Nov. 19 and 20. It was an event for all students to come and choose from the variety of crafts, or create their own, to express their creativity. Kate Costello, an undergraduate engagement team librarian, said that Crafternoon was created at UNM to take advantage of the chill library environment for students to explore their creativity and catch a break from classes, as well as a hope for libraries to be third spaces. 

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Culture

Chicana and Chicano Studies Department sponsors national Latinx Vision 2.0 conference

Marina Olmstead | November 22

The University of New Mexico’s Chicana and Chicano Studies Department sponsored the Latinx Vision 2.0 “One Planet-Many Worlds Online Conference” on Nov. 3 through 7. On Nov. 3, speaker Jessica Hernandez gave a powerful presentation on “Indigenous Science and the Diaspora” hosted via Zoom. Joining her presentation was Divana Olivas, an assistant professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies Studies at UNM. Hernandez, a Binnizá/Zapotec and Maya Ch'orti’, is a Indigenous scientist, climate justice leader, best-selling author of “Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous science” and founder of Earth Daughter, a transnational Indigenous-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering Indigenous women and youth through mutual aid and climate justice initiatives.

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Culture

BioPark expands Mexican grey wolf conservation effort with new facility

Addison Fulton | November 17

In the 1970s, the Mexican gray wolf was nearly hunted into extinction, with just seven remaining. So began one of the biggest success stories in wildlife conservation; now a population of nearly 300 canines survives and grows in Arizona and New Mexico. The story of the Mexican gray wolf continues on at the Albuquerque BioPark. On Saturday, Nov. 15, the Albuquerque Biopark hosted a first look at its recently completed “Mexican Wolf Conservation Facility.” The BioPark does not yet have wolves living in its conservation area; the visitation time was deliberately set between the completion of the habitat and the arrival of the animals — which are expected to move in during early 2026 — as the facility will be closed off to the public.

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Culture

American Indian Student Services hosts first annual feast day

Paloma Chapa | November 17

Students gathered at the University of New Mexico’s Cornell Mall to watch Pueblo dancers and musicians and shop from Indigenous artist vendors during American Indian Student Services’ first annual feast day on Thursday, Nov. 13. The feast day was hosted by American Indian Student Services and featured dancers from the pueblos of Ohkay Owingeh and Zuni, and artists from the Navajo Nation and Pueblos of Acoma, Kewa and Cochiti, among others. AISS Director Andrew Yazzie said the event was a moment to celebrate Indigenous culture on campus and offer a feast day for students who might not be able to travel home for different events.

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Culture

‘Paint Night’ brings calm and color to students

Addison Fulton | November 17

Laughter and acrylics filled the cafeteria of the University of New Mexico Student Union Building on Friday, Nov. 14, as students unwound and expressed themselves with free art supplies and full creative license.  During “Paint Night,” students received a free canvas, brushes and paint to fuel their imagination. The evening also featured a raffle for four prizes: a $50 Amazon gift card, another $50 gift card to “Art Attack,” a local business where people paint their own ceramic art, a pair of Beats headphones, and a 200-piece art supply kit. One student and attendee, Aaliyah Zamora, painted a planet against a blue and pink pastel background of fluffy clouds and white stars. She said this is the second “Paint Night” she  attended, and heard about it through the SUB’s Instagram page. 

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Culture

UNM Art Museum pauses gallery exhibitions for ‘Collections Year’

Addison Fulton | November 10

The walls of the University of New Mexico Art Museum are bare now, but the space is packed with potential as collections workers catalog and curate new additions to the museum’s collection.  In 2024, The University of New Mexico Art Museum announced it was the recipient of a gift of over 100 photographs from the collection of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, collectors based in Los Angeles, California. The influx of art prompted the museum to temporarily pause gallery showings and embark on their “Collections Year” project.  Collections Year is a catch-all name for an unprecedented, difficult-to-define era for the museum, Collections Manager for the UNM Art Museum Andrea Perez-Martinez said. For the first time, UNMAM has closed its galleries; however, its study rooms remain open and accessible for visitors and classes. 

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Culture

Mammals, migrations and maps: UNM hosts ‘Wildlife without Borders’ talk

Addison Fulton | November 10

Against the backdrop of shifting literal and social climates, a Fulbright scholar reminded listeners that “Wildlife don’t know anything about the political world.” The speaker, Jesús Fernández, was one member of the “Wildlife Without Borders: Conserving Mammals Across the U.S. Southwest and Northwestern Mexico” panel hosted by the University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Studies Department on Thursday, Nov. 6. The panel included four speakers — Fernández, Jason Malaney, Enrique Martínez Meyer and Cuauhcihuatl Vital García — alongside moderator and historian Samuel Truett. Fernández is a professor of taxonomy and systematics of biodiversity at Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. He focuses primarily on the evolution and conservation of mammals and discussed the biodiversity in the transboundary region at the event.

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Culture

‘Festival of Languages’ showcases multilingualism at UNM

Lexis Lovato | November 10

Individuals interested in sharing appreciation and education for multicultural communities and languages were brought together by the The Festival of Languages, which highlighted research, cultural and career presentations centered around language study made by graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and alumni. The event was part of Research and Discovery week — and was held on Friday, Nov. 7 — which is a list of scheduled events that promote the research enterprise of the University of New Mexico and the opportunities available to researchers. Presentations in the event focused on how, and where, multilingualism thrives throughout areas like healthcare, community service and education.