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Culture

Langston Hughes Project celebrates Black History Month

Loreena Cain | February 23

POPEJOY HALL — "The Langston Hughes Project" visited the University of New Mexico in honor of Black History Month and to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance. The project included one workshop led by Ron McCurdy called "The Poets, Dancers and Musicians of the Harlem Renaissance" and two multimedia concerts by the Ron McCurdy Quartet. The concerts also featured three local spoken word poets. The first concert on Feb. 21 was free to the public. The audience was primarily high school students on field trips from across the state. Event organizer Finnie Coleman told the crowd on Friday the concert was the first University-wide Black History Month event.

Culture

Zimmerman exhibit spotlights New Mexican women

Loreena Cain | February 19

Program Specialists Amy Winter and Mary Wise conceived and curated the digital exhibit "And Yet She Persisted: Women at UNM and Across New Mexico" for the Digital Initiatives and Scholarly Communications (DISC) office in Zimmerman Library. "And Yet She Persisted" is a web-based assemblage of nearly 1,000 records housed in Zimmerman. It highlights the accomplishments of women from the University of New Mexico and across the state. The digital exhibit uses sources such as graduation records, historical documents, biographies and interpretive essays from the library to show the role women have historically played in New Mexico.

Culture

Native American Studies turns 50

Beatrice Nisoli | February 19

University of New Mexico students and faculty gathered on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in the Student Union Building Ballrooms to celebrate 50 years since the Native American Studies (NAS) department's founding. In honor of its anniversary, NAS hosted its 16th annual Viola F. Cordova Symposium, which informed on the historical development of NAS, honored indigenous students and staff and promoted the cultural significance of Native American education. Tiffany Lee, the department chair with affiliations to the Diné and Lakota tribes, emceed the event.

Culture

Spring welcomes new edition of BSE

Annya Loya | February 19

Best Student Essays (BSE) returns to the University of New Mexico this April with their 2019-2020 spring edition. BSE is a nonfiction magazine student review of UNM and is published annually. It solicits nonfiction work including essays, photo essays, research, criticism, memoirs, foreign language with English translation, journalism, articles and more from UNM undergraduates and graduate students. The magazine, which has been part of UNM since the early 1980s, is meant to give students a platform to not only share their work but share new and different perspectives.

Culture

Vegans advocate for more vegans

Amanda Britt | February 18

Students don't often expect to see dead animals on campus sidewalks, but animal rights activists shocked passersby by displaying graphic footage of animals in the food industry last Thursday at the University of New Mexico. A vegan advocacy chapter, Anonymous for the Voiceless, set up two tents outside of Zimmerman Library — one with informational pamphlets and organizers giving information, the other with volunteers holding television screens depicting the horrors of animal cruelty, such as decapitating and skinning live chickens. "If I had known sooner what happens I would have gone vegan a lot earlier, but I wasn't exposed to this kind of footage," said Camille Severson, a recent graduate from Eldorado High School and vegan of seven months.

Culture

UNM MFA student showcases new play 'Summertime'

Beatrice Nisoli | February 17

"Summertime | an interlude" chronicles the aftermath of a fatal store robbery through the tangled tales of four tormented characters grappling with the tragedy of individual circumstances coupled with a yearning to escape structural oppression. The urban stagnancy of a boiling summer day is punctured with a gunshot wound that leaves Red, an affable shopkeeper and mentor, fighting for his life. This cruel incident emotionally rocks the city to its core and proves an effective backdrop for four damaged characters' introspection. The plot unfolds through the deliberate actions and snippets of dialogue of two radio hosts, a convicted felon (David) recently released from prison and his sister (Windy), an anxious neighbor who bears the responsibility of owning Red’s shop (Syd) and a young father (Vince) struggling to satisfy the demands of hospital bills for his daughter, who is battling cancer.

Culture

Professor emeritus writes series on German dialects

Daniel Ward | February 17

The University of New Mexico is now home to the first worldwide collection of research in German dialect literature in Zimmerman Library. UNM Professor Emeritus of German Peter Pabisch began writing his book "The History of German Dialect Literature Since the Middle of the 18th Century" in 2012. What originally was only supposed to be one book on the research of dialect turned out to be a six volume collection that took eight years to be published. One reason why Pabisch said he wrote the books was because the German language has such a deep background of sub-languages, and communicating between different regions is very difficult with the several different dialects of German.

Culture

Esports student club gains space in Johnson Gym expansion

Caitlin Scott | February 12

The University of New Mexico Esports Club recently expanded in both its physical space and online presence after receiving a gaming room in the new Johnson Center. The two-year-old club was designed to be a fun and safe place for friends to play video games on a competitive level. With the recent remodel of the Johnson Center, the UNM Esports Club will receive a gaming space once construction is complete. The room will serve as a space for players and club members to congregate. Computers for people to play video games as well as engage in other club activities will also be available. Tyler Vencil, a UNM junior studying computer science, joined the esports club right around the time the club was first formed. League of Legends is his game of choice for competitive play and the reason he joined the student club.

Culture

Belen hosts world's largest matanza

Michael Sandoval / @msandovalphotos / Daily Lobo | February 11

Matanza translated to English means “Slaughter,” but for many New Mexicans, it’s synonymous with togetherness and family. As one of the oldest traditions practiced in the United States, the Matanza holds a special place in the hearts of many New Mexicans. What started out 20 years ago, as a way to bring the community together and raise money for local students, has grown from its humble beginnings in front of the Sheriff’s Posse to encompass most of Belen’s Eagle Park. As the years have gone on, not only has the venue changed but so has the number of guests, making it the World’s Largest Matanza with over 10,000 visitors.

Culture

Thrifting with consciousness: Gen Z fashion at UNM

Alyssa Martinez and Joseph McKee | February 11

Fashion fads, polarized politics and the digital documentation of Generation Z are establishing the social atmosphere of the 2020s. These four University of New Mexico undergraduates spoke about their thoughts on what the commencement of the decade means to them.

Culture

The Aux: Broadway’s 'The Book of Mormon' visits Popejoy

Loreena Cain | February 11

Popejoy Hall welcomed the raucous musical "The Book of Mormon" for the third time from Feb. 4 to Feb. 9. The show, which keeps audiences laughing for the entirety of its two-and a half-hour run time, has garnered praise nationally for its catchy songs, elaborate group dance numbers and the humorous way it deals with themes such as racism, religion and poverty. "The Book of Mormon" won nine Tony Awards — including Best Musical in 2011 — and has been running on Broadway for nearly nine years since March of 2011.

Culture

UNM student brings in psychedelic art show

Annya Loya | February 11

University of New Mexico student Lacey Chrisco joined the staff at the Albuquerque Museum to introduce the rock poster exhibition "Dreams Unreal." This new display features about 150 psychedelic posters that advertise concerts and events, mostly from late 1960s San Francisco. It premiered at the Albuquerque Museum on Jan. 11 and will run until April 12. "The exhibition describes the cultural and artistic influences that led to the creation of the posters and focuses on the most prominent poster artists of the time," Chrisco said.

Culture

Lobo Gardens rebuilds after years of struggle

Amanda Britt | February 11

Since its beginning, Lobo Gardens has been a place for the students, created by the students. A little over ten years ago Alex Borowski, a then-freshman living in Hokona Hall, planted a garden in the courtyard outside the student living facility. Shortly after, the garden was taken down by the Physical Plant Department for not having the proper plans or permission to form a garden. Over the past decade, building and maintaining its successor — Lobo Gardens — to its full potential has been a struggle, both with organizing a team and making sure the plants are tended to year-round, according to Monica Kowal, the associate dean in the Office of Community Engaged Learning & Research. Kowal said one of the biggest hurdles of her job is finding space and funding to make the gardens an actual living-learning classroom that's accessible to every student on campus.

Culture

Remixing art at the UNM Art Museum

Loreena Cain | February 11

In a new installation at the University of New Mexico Art Museum, León De la Rosa-Carrillo remixes art and culture in his art installation "The Remix Room." "The Remix Room," which Rosa-Carrillo has been working on since 2013, opened Feb. 7 and will remain in the upper gallery at the UNM Art Museum until May 9. The installation consists of five different stations of mixed media arts. Some of the stations are interactive, and most of them consist of multiple works of art. The exhibit includes remixed videos, embroidery, lenticular posters, books and a short story displayed prominently on the wall.

Culture

Langston Hughes Project celebrates Harlem Renaissance centennial

Makayla Grijalva | February 11

In celebration of Black History Month, the Langston Hughes Project is commemorating 100 years since the Harlem Renaissance through two concerts and a master lecture. "I think (Langston Hughes) transcended the Harlem Renaissance," said event organizer and associate professor of literary studies Finnie Coleman. "But, not very many other authors are thought of outside of the Harlem Renaissance." The Ron McCurdy Quartet will perform the Langston Hughes poem "Ask Your Mama: The Twelve Moods of Jazz" on two separate occasions. The first performance will be held at Popejoy Hall on Friday, Feb. 21 and will be free to all.

Culture

The gamers of Zimmerman

Bianca Hoops | February 10

They refer to themselves as "the dark web version" of a game club and typically spend their time playing League of Legends or various board games deep inside of Zimmerman Library randomly throughout the week. The informal club started as a group study time for these STEM students but evolved into a combination of studying and battling one another for fun. It began last semester with people joining in as time went along, according to one member. This member, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he’s been playing League of Legends for nine years and started this trend with another friend. Most of the group requested anonymity because they said they didn't want this story to affect their standing as science, technology, engineering and math students.

Culture

Photo Story: Bosque nature walk highlights importance of cottonwoods

Liam Debonis | February 6

As the sun rose early Sunday morning, eager hikers gathered at the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center for the monthly “Bosque Wild!” guided nature walk. Richard Shackley, a volunteer steward at the center, led the group out of the building and into the desert forest towards the east. “Open Space aims to protect and preserve the natural environment,” Shackley said. According to the City of Albuquerque’s webpage, the Open Space program began in 1969, and now oversees nearly 30,000 acres of land. One of the most important hallmarks of this section is the cottonwood tree.

Culture

AASS raises the Pan-African flag to kick-off Black History Month

Fischer Knapp | February 5

University of New Mexico’s African American Student Services (AASS) celebrated the start of Black History Month with the raising of the Pan-African flag on Monday, Feb. 3. The event began with over a dozen students marching from African American Student Services at Mesta Vista Hall to Scholes hall, where the Pan-African flag was raised alongside the United States and New Mexico flags. “Personally, this event means a lot to me. We’re here at a university where the population of black people is under 5%” said Mateo Wells, a sophomore film and digital media student at UNM, “For us to be able to raise the flag, everybody on campus can see that at any time. That means a lot because it means the university is also standing with us and celebrating and commemorating Black History.”

Culture

Traveling art exhibit shakes New Mexico

Annya Loya | February 5

A new art installment, “Sayaka Ganz- Reclaimed Creations,” opened at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science with seemingly in motion sculptures purely made out of plastic items. The exhibit opened on Jan. 10 and will be part of the museum’s attractions until May 17. It can be accessed with normal museum admission. Created by artist Sayaka Ganz and produced by David J. Wagner, LLC, “Sayaka Ganz-Reclaimed Creations” is a series composed of over 10 pieces — some in motion. All of the sculptures are represented by animals and made completely out of plastic objects of various tones.

Culture

Photo Story: Electric Playhouse grand opening

Emille Domschot | February 2

The Electric Playhouse, an innovative new space bringing together art and community in Albuquerque’s West side, launched its grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 1. Among the sizable group gathered in front of the doors for the ribbon cutting were representatives from the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, and the ABQ West Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Tim Keller and his family were also in attendance. As the doors were opened, the whole crowd pressed forward to explore the space.