Culture - The Daily Lobo

Culture

Species in Peril: Downtown exhibit spotlights biological crisis

Megan Holmen and Colin Peña | October 2

Inside of the 516 ARTS gallery in Downtown Albuquerque, the Species in Peril art exhibit aims to bring recognition and acknowledgement to the pressing issue of biological extinction focusing on the Rio Grande watershed. The collaborative project is centered in Albuquerque but has satellite exhibits up and down the Rio Grande watershed. Along the 1,885 mile long span of the river, thousands of species are threatened by human activity directly or indirectly. Human activity often reduces their habitats, threatening them with extinction. These species include large mammals like the American bison, which historically lived on both the river in the United States and Mexico, and the endangered silvery minnow, which used to have an expansive range but has now been reduced to just a few miles in central New Mexico.

Culture

Club highlights vital role of bees in ecosystem

Makayla Grijalva | September 30

Honeycomb glistened with golden morning hues as local beekeeper Bobby “Bee” Blanquez showed off one of his three honeybee hives to the University of New Mexico Beekeeping Club on Saturday. Blanquez and his wife, Camille Cunningham, have been keeping bees since 2012. "My name is Bee. That’s one reason (I began to keep bees)," Blanquez said. "We heard about bees dying, and once the bees go on Earth, you know that’s it. Our food supplies go out. We have bees because we want to support them." The couple doesn’t keep bees for the honey harvest, but rather primarily for their pollination abilities. They haven’t harvested honey from a hive since the spring of 2018 when one of their colonies abandoned the hive, leaving honey behind. "It's not for the honey, it’s for them. We do it for the bees," Blanquez said.

Culture

Ukekopelli Festival features music of the Beatles

Makayla Grijalva | September 30

The 6th annual Ukekopelli Festival kicked off last Friday with a concert featuring the hit-music of the Beatles. “The only festival that was anywhere near here was in Reno, Nevada. So, the local clubs, the local people that I knew, we decided we could have one ourselves,” Gary Wells said, one of the organizers of the festival. The theme was chosen because this year is the 50th anniversary of the Beatles last album “Abbey Road,” which Wells said defined rock’n’roll at the time of release. Performers at the concert included Brooke Adams, who played the entire “Abbey Road” album, and Bete-lele who also performed Beatles covers.

Culture

Photo Story: Japanese Fall Festival

Sharon Schischilly | September 26

The Land of the Rising Sun illuminated New Mexico on Sunday, Sept. 22. The New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League (NMJACL) hosted its annual Aki Matsuri (Japanese Fall Festival) at the New Mexico Veterans’ Memorial in Albuquerque. For over 40 years, the annual event has celebrated Japanese culture and heritage. The founding families of the NMJACL, Nisei and Sansei (second and third generation Japanese-Americans), started the event in Albuquerque. "The festival is an annual event sharing the Japanese culture with the community," NMJACL President Steve Togami said. "It’s our main fundraiser to try and build a Japanese Culture Center in Albuquerque." Live demonstrations held throughout the event included sushi making demonstrations, origami folding and Ikebana flower arrangements. The food court offered Japanese food: Participants lined up to taste the many flavors of Japan. The food included Japanese hot dogs, sushi, spam musubi and more.

Culture

Spirit Band integral part of UNM sports

Amanda Britt | September 23

Members of the Spirit Marching Band, a University of New Mexico musical ensemble, regularly perform and energize Lobo crowds during games and other events on campus and around the UNM community. The band enlivens Lobo fans during sports events and before and after games with their loud music, halftime shows and spirit. They take center stage on the field before kickoff and during halftime at football games, drive school spirit in the student section during games and perform in the tailgate lots. Brandon Rowe, Spirit Marching Band’s third-year co-drum major, said his role as a conductor of the show is to make sure the band has high energy and that they stay on task. He said this year the Spirit Marching Band has around 120 UNM student participants from a variety of majors and backgrounds — not just performance arts and music education majors.

Culture

Downtown taqueria makes international news

Luisa Pennington | September 22

In a small shop off of First Street, just north of Central Avenue, the Urban Taqueria serves tacos with a side of political commentary. With plates such as “Executive Privilege” and “Fake News,” the comfort-food restaurant is generating controversial conversations. Some of the more politically charged plates include “The Wall” burrito, the “Lock Her Up” burrito and the “Wikileaks” taco. Owner Hanif Mohamed said “The Immigrant” taco was often commented on for its sole ingredients: Organic green chile and fried potatoes.

Culture

Semicolon Tattoo Project benefits suicide prevention, awareness

Beatrice Nisoli | September 12

Tuesday was World Suicide Prevention Day. This week, the Agora Crisis Center is partnering with Archetype Tattoo Shop to host a week-long fundraising and awareness event. Starting on Sept. 10 and lasting until Sept. 14, Archetype Tattoo will be championing the Semicolon Tattoo Project by administering tattoos of various designs and colors, ranging from $30 to $90 in price. All proceeds will directly benefit the Agora Crisis Center’s suicide prevention program located here in Albuquerque. The semicolon itself is a metaphor: Just as an author adds a semicolon when they consider ending a sentence but do not, the semicolon represents a stopped impulse to end one’s life.

Culture

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor promotes children's book at KiMo

Ellie Aikman | September 11

Supreme Court Justice and author Sonia Sotomayor visited the KiMo Theater in downtown Albuquerque on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. to talk about her new children’s book, "Just Ask." Sotomayor was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is the first Latina Supreme Court justice. Sotomayor earned her bachelor of arts from Princeton University and also earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. When asked about how and what she does as Supreme Court justice, she answered, "Every decision judges make hurts someone... most of my work is spent sitting at my desk reading... (and I) deal with the biggest legal questions in the world."

Culture

UNM Students bike the Pacific Coast Trail

Makayla Grijalva | September 9

700 miles, 14 days, three friends, one Pacific Coast Trail. Three University of New Mexico students took time out of their summers to road bike the northern portion of the Pacific Coast Trail from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco. “I think it's definitely kind of a dream that we all shared and then we all finally decided to bite the bullet,” Caleb Brenden, one of the bikers said. Brenden is currently a senior at UNM majoring in business administration. Brenden embarked on the trip with fellow Lobos Ben Lane, a student studying liberal arts, and Julia Andreas who is majoring in biology. However, Andreas and Brenden agree that Lane was the mastermind behind the trek.

Culture

MFA grads showcase work

Amanda Britt | September 9

Incoming Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students from the University of New Mexico held an opening reception for their group show, “At First Sight” at the Center for Fine Arts (CFA) Downtown Studio on Friday evening. Work from the 12 MFA students varied from archival inkjet prints to two-channel projections, with a diverse array of art in between. Lee Montgomery, an associate professor of experimental art and technology at UNM, is teaching the introductory class for fine art graduate students this year. For this year's incoming student exhibition, Montgomery said he wanted to create a collaborative display of work between the students with their help and input.

Culture

ABQ holds first annual Prickly Pear Festival

Natty DeAnna | September 5

On Saturday, Aug. 31 the first annual New Mexico Prickly Pear festival took place at Three Sisters Kitchen. According to the website, the festival seeks to celebrate everything prickly pear including food, art and music. According to Desert USA, the prickly pear cactus, otherwise known as Genus Opuntia, “represent about a dozen species of the Opuntia genus (Family Cactaceae) in the North American deserts.” The flesh (tuna) of the fruit produced by these cactus are typically used to make pulp, juice and syrups, among other products. When asked what inspired the Prickly Pear Festival, Will Thompson, consulting arborist and co-owner of Agri-Environmental, told the Daily Lobo that he used to have a small farm in the North Valley, and one of the things he noticed after he stopped farming was that people really do not utilize the prickly pear even though it is a native food.

Culture

TAAS Sky Party teaches about the night sky

Colin Peña | September 4

On a dusty corner of the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge at 7851 2nd Street SW, members of the Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TAAS) came together to share telescopes and knowledge with more than 100 members of the community. Many of the people who attended the Star Party heard about it online. Arriving at the event, people were greeted by a dozen or so telescopes set up and pointed at anything interesting in the sky. Each telescope was manned by a helpful and informative TAAS member.. This gathering was a part of the TAAS Summer Star Parties — events held every summer that bring members of TAAS together to enjoy the night with anyone else who wants to come. Star parties typically take place further outside of Albuquerque, like at Oak Flats in the Manzano Mountains or the TAAS Observatory in Belen, so this is the first time one has been held at the Valle de Oro.

Culture

Coffee with a cop at UNM

Colin Peña | September 4

The University of New Mexico hosted Coffee with a Cop on Wednesday in the plaza outside of Dane Smith Hall. Standing next to tables filled with Flying Star coffee and boxes of cookies were members of the UNM Police Department, looking to interact with any student wanting to talk. As a part of the UNM Campus Safety Week, Coffee with a Cop is supposed to encourage both interaction with members of the campus police force as well as to spread information about various security concerns on campus. On the table were several sheets of paper promoting UNMPD’s social media accounts in addition to a raffle for a bike lock and steering wheel bar. Detective with the UNMPD and co-director of the Campus Safety Council, Trish Young sees Coffee with a Cop as part of an effort to communicate with the larger community, she said.

Music

Review: BROCKHAMPTON's renaissances is sad, honest

Luke Standley | September 4

BROCKHAMPTON released their fifth studio album, “Ginger” on Aug. 23. The 12 tracks trudge through the boy band’s recent emotional turmoil and Shia Labeouf’s studio meditation sessions, following the removal of founding member Ameer Vann. Contrary to comments made by Kevin Abstract, a founding member of the band, declaring Ginger to be a summer “feel good” record, the album is heartbroken, bitter and flustered. Notable songs on the album are “BOY BYE,” “ST. PERCY,” “DEARLY DEPARTED” and “VICTOR ROBERTS.”

Culture

Uni Nights hosts water battle event

Beatrice Nisoli | September 3

Crowds of excited students sweltering from Albuquerque’s relentless heat swarmed to the Uni Night’s Water Battle, motivated by the promise of free food and the cooling water of a balloon fight. Uni Nights is a student-led program, run through the Student Activities Center, that put on events throughout the year. The water battle was hosted last Aug. 24. Past Uni Night events have included a variety of activities — from last semester’s plant night to late-night breakfasts, to even a masquerade ball.

Culture

Blue Mesa Review editor talks writing

Natty DeAnna | September 3

University of New Mexico poet Tori Cárdenas loves writing, almost as much as she loves her dog. Cárdenas is a master of fine arts student and the poetry editor of “Writers Resist,” a feminist literary collective born of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. She has also worked her way up to become the editor in chief for Blue Mesa Review, UNM’s graduate student literary magazines, during the 2019-2020 school year. Cárdenas said that Blue Mesa is dedicated to showcasing authors and artists, especially in the southwest. She hopes to include more information about the mission and goals of the magazine for readers and artists to help people better understand the culture.

Culture

New Mexicans gather for 95th annual Zozobra

Lauren McDonald | September 3

Aug. 30 marked the 95th annual burning of Zozobra, a historic New Mexican tradition, held in Santa Fe, New Mexico at Fort Marcy Park. The event doors opened at 4:30 p.m., drawing people, bands, vendors alike. Old Man Gloom is an eerie monster-like puppet that represents sorrow, first created in 1924 by Will Shuster. The burning of Zozobra is always occurs, rain or shine, so even though it was windy Friday night the show went on as scheduled. This year the theme for the burning of Old Man Gloom was the 1970s, with era’s music playing, such as the bands Abba and Queen

Culture

UNM Art Museum features exhibit on transgender community

Ryan Kieffer | August 29

The University of New Mexico Arts Museum (UNMAM) opened the exhibition, “To Survive on this Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender Community Members and Nonconforming Adults,” on Aug. 23. Food and music accompanied the opening night as people entered the exhibit downstairs. The people featured in the exhibit were photographed and interviewed by artists Jess T. Dugan and Venessa Fabbre. Mariah Carrillo, the press contact for UNMAM, said in a press release that Jess T. Dugan is an artist whose work explores issues of gender, sexuality, identity, and community. For the past decade, she has photographed people within queer and transgender communities, focusing on the complexities of identity, gender, and sexuality.

Culture

New Mexican author breaks down stereotypes upheld by the true crime genre

Megan Holmen | August 29

New Mexico poet Olivia Gatwood returned to her hometown of Albuquerque last Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Kimo Theater to read poems from her most recent publication, “Life of the Party.” It focuses on the intersection and nuances of being a woman and true crime as a genre. “Life of the Party” is a three part book, but the underlying theme is both disturbing and undeniably truthful. Gatwood said that when she tours across the United States her listeners always comment on the dark, hot, heavy, mysterious air to it. To which she says “That’s just Albuquerque.”

Culture

El Chante hosts poetry workshop on anger

Alyssa Martinez | August 22

The colorful El Chante: Casa De Cultura on the southwest corner of Park Avenue and 8th Street is home to burqueño poets every first and third Tuesday of the month. Manuel González, co-instructor of an introductory Chicano and Chicana studies course at the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque poet laureate emeritus, is the organizer of the bi-monthy “Low Writing” workshop at El Chante. Tuesdays are dedicated to digging deep into a single emotion selected by González. On Tuesday, Aug. 20, anger swarmed the bright yellow room.