Culture - The Daily Lobo

Culture

UNM tops off Hispanic Heritage Month with Dia de la Raza

Alanie Rael | October 17

As the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end, Dia de La Raza was held as one last function put on by the University of New Mexico to help bring Hispanic culture to life. Time Magazine defines Hispanic Heritage Month as “an official celebration of American citizens whose ancestry can be traced back to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.” This definition applies to the events that have been put on by student cultural groups on campus and El Centro from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Many events included traditional foods and music that celebrated the large Hispanic population at UNM.

Culture

UNM community favorite Richard Perce leaves for new opportunites

Luisa Pennington | October 16

The campus-renowned manager of the Satellite in the Student Union Building walked away from a legacy of iced coffee, warm muffins and University of New Mexico connections, last Friday. Richard Perce, former community staple at the SUB, experienced his last day of work at Satellite on Friday, Oct. 11. Though many people have seen Perce behind the shiny metal counters of Satellite, he has spent many days outside of the SUB, as well. Not only did he manage to help out with last year's Raza Graduation, but he assisted with University events such as Late Night Breakfast and Friday Night Live, as well. Though his prominence and impact on campus life may allude to him being at UNM for decades, he has only been at the SUB Satellite location for seven years. Before that, he had been working for the company, off and on, for 19 years.

Culture

El Centro de la Raza embraces National Hispanic Heritage Month

Alyssa Martinez | October 16

Although National Hispanic Heritage Month is coming to a close, the celebration and cultivation of Hispanic cultures are a constant at El Centro de la Raza, the Latino resource center at the University of New Mexico. Rosa Isela Cervantes, special advisor to the president on Latino affairs and director of El Centro de la Raza, said El Centro has been serving students at UNM for just over 50 years through outreach events, academic help and personal assistance.

News

Grecian festival brings in Albuquerque community to celebrate Greek culture

Megan Holmen | October 7

Opa! Aromatic, authentic Greek food, upbeat lyrical music, the sound of people laughing and heels clacking against the dance floor — thousands came out to the Albuquerque Grecian Festival over the weekend. The festival, located in downtown Albuquerque at the Greek Orthodox Church off of High Street, is held the first weekend of October every year. It features traditional Greek food and dance shows, a craft fair, a children’s carnival area, cooking lessons and dance lessons — all with the aim to immerse the Albuquerque community in Greek culture. Mary Anne Kay, an active member of the community and volunteer, runs a booth at the festival. Kay said she has been doing this for many years and is passionate about it.

Culture

ABQ Zine Fest showcases diversity, art Downtown

Caitlin Scott | October 7

Page-turning text and eye-catching art lined various tables at the National Hispanic Cultural Center this past weekend as the ninth annual Albuquerque Zine Fest (ABQZF) took shape. ABQZF is now the longest-running zine event in New Mexico. Zines are self-published magazine-type booklets. Often, creators will use them to showcase their original artwork and literature. The ABQZF has created a noncompetitive, diverse, queer-friendly and creative environment for such artists for almost a decade. The event is founded and run by women of color and featured 62 diverse artists.

Culture

Burqueños get opportunity to walk on the moon

Natty DeAnna | October 7

On Friday, Oct. 4 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Natural History Museum of New Mexico (NHMNM) hosted the annual Observe the Moon Night. This event occurs in either September or October, when the moon is around the first quarter – a great phase for evening observing, according to NASA’s website. International Observe, the Moon Night has been held annually since 2010. Each year, thousands of people participate at museums, planetaria, schools, universities, observatories, parks, businesses and backyards around the world. Everyone can participate. Although Friday started out rainy and cloudy, the sky cleared up by the time night fell with only a few clouds scattered in the evening sky by 7 p.m. Telescopes were provided by the museum, and the Albuquerque Astronomical Society also set up telescopes along the observation deck for use.

Culture

Photo Story: SOMOS welcomes thousands in event's new location

Kristina Tanberg | October 3

Thousands of people gathered in Downtown Albuquerque's Civic Plaza on Saturday, Sept. 28 to celebrate the beauty and brilliance of our city. Last year, the event welcomed 25,000 attendees and estimates from event organizers estimated this year’s event brought event more — hence the move to Civic Plaza. The festivities included local games, food and drink, vendors and local music. This year, the musical lineup included Def-I, Whipped Cream, Felix Cartal, Chicano Batman, Fad Vandals and BTSM as the headliner. Additionally, many local musicians and artists got the chance to perform and show off their talent to the public.

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.