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Culture

Fired up for the Fourth

Luisa Pennington | June 30

With temperatures reaching the mid to upper 90s, New Mexico’s summer is in full stride. This means that lake days, barbecues and camping trips are upon us. For many Americans, the Fourth of July is a holiday that is key to the summer experience. This week, communities across the nation will be celebrating America’s Day of Independence. For members of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho communities, the Fourth of July is a holiday where block parties and backyard get-togethers line almost every street. Explosions light up the air decorating the city skyline. Since aerial fireworks are far from legal, instead of risking the danger of the shells yourself, here’s a couple Fourth of July celebrations to attend:

Culture

Lobo's showcased in NM photo gallery

Amanda Britt | June 30

New Mexico Prints celebrated the grand opening of their gallery on Saturday, which showcased New Mexico’s beauty through high quality canvas prints shot by local photographers. Robert Jaramillo and Lyric Moya, the co-owners of the gallery, began planning their gallery a little over a year ago. While only being in the building for three months, they have transformed the space from a concrete shell to a functioning gallery with renovated walls, flooring and lighting. According to Jaramillo, they were inspired to create the exhibit to highlight the beauty of New Mexico, since they believe the media often highlights the negative aspects of Albuquerque.

Culture

UNM team places top five in rocket competition

Makayla Grijalva | June 24

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it’s a rocket. Eyes were fixed on the skies this week as more than 120 teams from across the globe gathered in the New Mexico desert to compete in the third annual Spaceport America Cup. University of New Mexico Lobo Launch placed top five in the 10,000 feet Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) motor category, announced Saturday at the awards ceremony. “It’s about precision and getting as close to that as possible and we were 600 feet off, which with our category is pretty good,” Victoria Ramirez, Project Lead for the 2019 Lobo Launch team, said to the Daily Lobo on Thursday. “We’re optimistic to see the see the results.”

Culture

Senior games boost economy

Alyssa Martinez | June 24

The biennial National Senior Games have brought visitors from all 50 states to the Land of Enchantment for two weeks of competition and community building. This year’s games are the largest in history, with 13,712 registered athletes spanning across 20 sporting events.The games have brought around 25,000 visitors to the city and local restaurants are feeding the demand. According to Tania Armenta, CEO and director of Visit Albuquerque, the games are projected to bring in at least $17 million in direct spending, and over $30 million in economic impact. One of the restaurants impacted is Frontier, a staple restaurant in Albuquerque best known for their breakfast dishes, green and red chile, flour tortillas and sweet rolls. Dorothy Rainosek, co-owner of the landmark restaurant, seems delighted to be giving visitors a taste of what the city has to offer.

Music

Review: "Doom Days" offers enticing musical story

Chris Mather | June 24

British band, Bastille, released their third studio album on Friday, June 14. This is the band’s first venture into concept albums. Exploring the themes of escape, “Doom Days” narrates what may happen when things might not be going as well as they could be. Beginning with “Quarter Past Midnight,” and ending with “Joy,” the album follows the path of a night out at a party while the world outside is in turmoil. Each of the 11 tracks represents a time during the night, going from 12:15 a.m. with ‘Quarter Past Midnight’ to 8:34 a.m. with ‘“Joy’.” Though each song is intertwined with one another through the main narration, the musical styles vary greatly, going from a somber ballad in “Divide” to the gospel choir assisted euphoric sound of “Joy.” Some songs feature the simple sounds of a plucked guitar, while others feature lead vocalist Dan Smith’s self harmonization. Some even have an ‘80s style synthesizer.

Culture

ABQ Folk Festival offers good music

Luisa Pennington | June 17

Albuquerque’s annual Folk Festival brought melodious tunes to Bosque School this Saturday, June 15. In this all-day festival, patrons were welcomed to purchase items from local vendors, participate in educational sessions, enjoy live performances and eat from a variety of food trucks. This was the first year the festival was held at Bosque School, as it was originally held at Balloon Fiesta Park. The day officially began at 10 a.m. as attendees lined up outside of the school's doors. Walking in, a group of local performers played classic folk songs. Here, patrons could also ask for assistance in signing up for workshops, signing up for Band/ Dance Scramble, and locating any one of the three large stages.

Culture

"Rocketman" offers inspiring take on Elton John's life

Amanda Britt | June 10

“Rocketman”, an impressive musical fantasy directed by Dexter Fletcher, tells the uncensored story of Sir Elton John’s breakthrough years, his struggle with addiction and finding the purest form of love from those close to him. The story begins with John (Taron Egerton) admitting he’s an alcoholic, a drug addict, a sex addict and a shopaholic at a group therapy session. He then tells his story to fame and fortune through biopic scenes and musical numbers set in his hometown of Pinner, England. Egerton is terrific as the singer in the movie – bringing an electrifying energy and high-level performance with him each time he goes on stage. Although he plays a character troubled by self-loathing and insecurities, Egerton does a great job of making the character multi-dimensional. Egerton’s commitment to the role shows as he effortlessly portrays the conflict John faces between his inner diva and pure musical genius.

Culture

Five things to keep you busy over the summer

Luisa Pennington | June 3

Existential dread got you down? Now that the semester is over, you may be wondering what to do. With the time to do whatever, whenever, you may be feeling a little disoriented. No worries, though. Here at the Daily Lobo, we have you covered. Here’s five things you can do with your freedom this summer:

Culture

Adrian Abeyta's 'unpredictable' college experience

Makayla Grijalva | May 6

“Unpredictable,” is how graduating senior Adrian Abeyta describes his overall college experience at the University of New Mexico. “In my brain I always have steps of things I want to get done,” Abeyta said. “I am probably a totally different person than I was when I started, and I really could never have predicted that I’d be a mechanical engineer.” Although he is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering this month, it wasn’t always Abeyta’s chosen degree path. He first started out as an Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media (IFDM) major and even did a semester-long stint in Pre-Pharmacy before settling on engineering. Abeyta’s younger brother, Esteban, 22, was not as surprised when Abeyta decided to pursue mechanical engineering.

Culture

Shayla Cunico discovers love of journalism at UNM

Danielle Prokop | May 6

Shayla Cunico isn’t fragmented, she’s kaleidoscopic. Cunico, the culture editor for the Daily Lobo has said her time at the University has helped to transform how she sees the world and carve out space for her authentic self. She’s learning now that despite how she has pulled in different directions, she could be a whole person and create something new. Graduation is looming but afterward she’s headed to Arizona State University, where orientation starts for her Masters in Visual Communication Design on May 28. Cunico said she feels she has one foot in two places as she finishes here but looks ahead to the program. “I’ve been trying to go through my head and see how I feel,” Cunico said. “But it’s difficult.”

Culture

The art of student-photography

Luisa Pennington | May 6

Last Friday seniors in Associate Professor of Photography Patrick Manning’s advanced photography class, presented their final projects in their art show: “If you don’t know the population of rats in an area, you don’t know anything…” The show showcased artwork exploring themes of technology, identity and familial ties. The Daily Lobo had the opportunity to get to know five of the ten seniors that presented their work at the show. Manning said that the students in his class made him feel like a passenger for the semester. "I guess for this particular group of students, the thing I was very impressed by was that they were all very self driven," Manning said. "It felt like I was a passenger. They were all very good about working together to produce the show."

Culture

Milkweed and Monarchs

Makayla Grijalva and Shayla Cunico | May 5

Tatia Veltkamp, owner of Wings of Enchantment, has a home filled to the brim with butterflies — whether it’s decorations on the walls or breeding monarchs fluttering in their mesh enclosure. Wings of Enchantment is a butterfly farm in northeast Albuquerque that ships butterflies to consumers across the country. What once started out as a hobby 18 years ago, has grown into a business of Veltkamp farming butterflies for the last nine years. Her customers purchase the butterflies to release them at weddings and other events. After release, it is expected that the monarchs migrate with the Eastern population “When my kids were little, I read an article in a magazine about how to go find caterpillars and eggs, but I didn’t know what milkweed was, so we had to figure out what milkweed was first in order to go find them,” Veltkamp said.

Culture

Heroes of Johnson Center

Sean Arguello | May 3

Johnson Center is a place on campus where students go to destress. However, it is the people who work at Johnson Center that make a difference. One student-employee at Johnson is University of New Mexico student Jaquan Franklin. Franklin worked his way up for six months to assistant supervisor at Johnson Center. Franklin said in order to work at Johnson, a person must have “hard work and dedication, a good attitude and the ability to focus on customers.”

Culture

Business owner nurtures butterflies to maturity

Makayla Grijalva and Shayla Cunico | May 2

Tatia Veltkamp, owner of Wings of Enchantment, looked over her growing butterflies as a trio of breeding monarchs fluttered around their mesh enclosure. Wings of Enchantment is a butterfly farm in northeast Albuquerque that ships butterflies to consumers across the country. What once started out as a fun hobby 18 years ago, has grown into a business farming butterflies for the last nine years. “When my kids were little, I read an article in a magazine about how to go find caterpillars and eggs, but I didn’t know what milkweed was, so we had to figure out what milkweed was first in order to go find them,” Veltkamp said.

Culture

El Paisa showcases Mexican heritage

Aaron Mendoza | May 2

The Institute of Mexicans abroad reports there are more than 36 million people with Mexican heritage living in the United States. In addition they reported that there are more than 24 million people that are Mexican-born and living in the United States. The city of Albuquerque is one of the most diverse cities in the country. Hundreds of Mexican families have settled in the largest city in New Mexico. Southwest Albuquerque has become a point of concentration for the Mexican community. Bridge Boulevard is brimming with local restaurants that bring a bit of Mexico to the Duke City for those who have had to leave their country.

Culture

Local woman works to rescue dogs

Danielle Prokop | May 2

Veronica Garcia Ortega hadn’t had breakfast yet, because the motto in her home is that “the dogs eat first,” she said in Spanish. The dog food clatters into the baby swimming pool, and Garcia Ortega tries to step back as dogs scramble over each other to wolf it down. She scoops up the dogs for their photo shoot, navigating muddy paws and eager face-licks. They are under consideration for adoption in the United States, to be taken in shelters as far away as Salt Lake City, Utah. Mary Tovey from Albuquerque and Alma Morfin from Juárez are partners in the nonprofit Planned Pethood de Juárez — an organization which is mainly focused on animal welfare education and spay/neuter efforts in the city and surrounding area.

Culture

New Mexicans trek miles for pilgrimage

Danielle Prokop and Anthony Jackson | May 2

There are many traditions in New Mexico -- green chile harvesting, lighting luminarias -- but there is nothing that attracts people from all over the world like the pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo. Located at an elevation of more than 6000 feet and east of Espanola, thousands of people visit a Spanish mission tucked away in the mountains during Holy Week. Most walkers start near the village of Nambe, others start in Santa Fe and a select few begin their trek in Albuquerque, more than 80 miles away. Along the way people carry crosses with the names of loved ones. Some walk their dogs and others push their loved ones in a wheelchair through the pastel colored desert and the rising hills. Some people carry their burdens for their God to absolve them.

Culture

Lopez Farms thrives despite the heat

Justin Schatz | May 2

Dry soil cracked beneath worn soles. The sun was still behind the mountains to the east. Dew clung to wheatgrass. Chris Lopez surveyed his farm with a look of pride and concern before climbing into his Ford to start the day. Lopez has been farming this piece of land his entire life. His grandfather left behind mining in Magdalena and purchased the original piece of land over fifty years ago. Despite the increasing aridity of the southwest and risks of ranching, Chris’ grandfather relocated his family to the fertile middle Rio Grande valley. From an original few acres, Lopez Farms expanded to encompass nearly 700 acres. They grow expansive fields of winter wheat and the hottest green chile in Central New Mexico.Several acres are designated wildlife habitat.

Culture

Faces in the crowd at Fiestas

Justin Garcia | May 2

The mass of human bodies swayed back and forth to blaring electronic beats below a flashy stage. Heat generated from those bodies rose into a damp night sky flooded by pulsing yellow, blue and green lights. The crowd moves as one unit, pushing itself closer to the stage like a child yearning for its mother. This is Fiestas, an annual music festival hosted by organizations within the University of New Mexico. It’s attended by thousands of people including students and community members from around main campus and Albuquerque. While the mass around the stage seems to be homogeneous, it is actually a motley collection of individuals moving as one. Each person, swaying and turning to the music, is lost in themselves and obsessed with the one foot of space there bodies have occupied.

Culture

KIVA Club wraps up week-long celebration on Johnson Field

Anthony Jackson | April 30

The 64th Annual Nizhoni Days Powwow wrapped up their week-long event with a gathering on Johnson Field at the University of New Mexico on Sunday, April 28. Crowds formed a circle under the sun around indigenous dancers, drummers and singers. A small market of more than 70 bright blue, white and red tents sold clothes, food and provided information on Native American causes and programs among others, under the shade. Some dancers were local to Albuquerque, but Dan Nanamkin came as far as Washington from the Colville Indian Reservation. He heard about Nizhoni Days through a relative.