Archive for October, 2009

Who: The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum
What: Ghosts of the Past Tours
When: October 22-24 2009
Where: The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum
Contact: (575) 522-4100

Ghosts of the Past are back Oct. 22-24

LAS CRUCES — Stand on a 107-year-old bridge under the moonlight and hear the story of La Llorona, the “weeping woman” in Hispanic folklore. Spend a few moments with Pat Garrett, the lawman who killed Billy the Kid. Or meet Anastacia Perea, a school teacher from southern Dona Ana County in 1875.

Ghosts of the Past returns to the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum on Oct. 22-24 and provides visitors an opportunity to step back in time and visit with characters from New Mexico’s colorful past.

There are three specific tours available – two outdoor and one indoor — for this popular living history event. The characters are different for each tour and visitors will be able to interact with the characters, see them in their own environment and hear their stories in their own words.

“Living history reveals the emotions of the past,” said Scott Green, the museum’s education coordinator and organizer of the event.

The characters are played by museum volunteers and staff members who have spent months researching the individual they will be portraying. There will be many new characters this year.

Each tour lasts about one hour and the starting times for the Cobweb Tour (indoor) and the Scarecrow Tour (outdoor) are 6:00, 6:15, 6:35, 6:55, 7:15, 7:40, and 8:00. The start times for the other outdoor tour, the Scythe Tour, are 6:25, 6:45, 7:05, 7:25, 7:45, 8:05 and 8:20. The Scythe Tour features mature themes and may not be appropriate for all ages.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 17 and under. Tickets will be sold for each specific tour time.

Attendance for this family event has doubled over the past two years, so the museum is offering advance tickets this year to help streamline the evening festivities and shorten the wait. There are a limited number of tickets available for each of the one-hour tours. The tickets that aren’t sold in advance will be available for sale at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ticket holders are encouraged to arrive at the museum at least 15 minutes before their specific tour is to begin. For more information, please call (575) 522-4100.

Here is a look at the historical characters featured on each of the tours.

Cobweb Tour (indoor):

            Anastacia Perea (1875): A school teacher from a one-room schoolhouse in southern New Mexico.

            Tia Delores (1824): A character in the Josefina books who lives on the rancho with Josefina and teaches her many things.

            Fabiola de Baca Gilbert (1930s): A county agent in northern New Mexico for more than 30 years.

            Railway Express Agent Kling (1920s): Railway express agents processed and insured expedient delivery through the system. There were express cars on most passenger trains during this time.

Scarecrow Tour (outdoor):

            Mamie Aguirre (1870): She married a trader named Don Epifanio Aguirre and the two traveled the El Camino Real and the Santa Fe Trail together. They lived in a large adobe hacienda in Mesilla for a time, and she later became the first female professor at the University of Arizona.

            Agnes Morley Cleaveland (1890): Famous cattle-ranching woman of the late 1800s, she wrote “No Life for a Lady,” which chronicled her many adventures on the New Mexico frontier.

            Sister Blandina (1880s): A Catholic nun who traveled the Santa Fe Trail, built a school and a hospital and negotiated peace treaties with outlaws and Apaches.

            Dona Catarina: Mysterious Dia de los Muertos character who loves to dance and sing.

Scythe Tour (outdoor):

            La Llorona: The famous “weeping woman” from Hispanic folklore. Her tragic story has been told for countless generations.

            Pat Garrett (1908): Famed sheriff, rancher and irrigation visionary who brought Billy the Kid to justice. Garrett’s murder in 1908 is still a mystery.

            Ovida “Cricket” Coogler (1949): A young Las Cruces waitress and barfly who died under mysterious circumstances. The investigation into her murder fragmented the rampant political corruption of the time.

            Pope (1680): One of the leaders and organizers of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Monumental in history, the revolt exiled the Spanish from what is now New Mexico for 12 years.

            Dona Tules Barcelo (1852): Considered no more than a courtesan by many, she was a very influential woman in the tumultuous New Mexico of the 1840s.

Who: The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum
What: New schoolhouse exhibit
When: October 8 – July 18th 2009
Where: The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum
Contact: (575) 522-4100

Museum exhibit explores rural schoolhouses

LAS CRUCES — They are unofficial monuments to the beginnings of public education in New Mexico, dotting the rural landscape in our vast state. They are all shapes and sizes. And while some have found new life as museums or community centers, many others are crumbling back into the New Mexico landscape.

The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces has created an exhibit that pays tribute to many of these historic structures. “Building for the Future: Rural Schoolhouses of New Mexico: 1880-1965,” takes visitors on a tour of the state where they will encounter more than 30 schoolhouses from various small communities. The exhibit opens with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 8, and will be on display through July 18, 2010. Former state Representative and longtime New Mexico educator J. Paul Taylor of Mesilla will be the speaker at the opening.

“There is a lot of nostalgia attached to these old buildings and it’s something that people really enjoy,” said David Lundy, the museum’s exhibit curator. “This exhibit also is a way for us to document these schoolhouses. A lot of them are disappearing.”

By the 1950s, many of these rural schools (including the classic one- or two-room schoolhouse) were largely a thing of the past. Drought, the Great Depression and shifting populations left many of them vacant, while some smaller, more isolated schools were merged into larger ones.

The exhibit tells the story of these iconic structures through a mix of historical images, contemporary photographs of surviving buildings, and objects from the museum’s collections. Text panels describe the beginnings of public education in the state which led to a boom in building schoolhouses between 1891 and the beginning of World War II. Other panels describe how these schools were built and used.

“It’s interesting to see the sheer variety, from the sizes, to the architecture, to the materials used,” said Lundy. “Adobe structures were always popular. They go from very humble log schoolhouses, to brick and block buildings that you would expect to see in big cities back East.”

From the Goodson Memorial School in remote northeastern New Mexico, all the way to the Lake Valley School near Hillsboro, Lundy logged more than 2,500 miles photographing surviving structures across the state. Some are ruins and some are still intact, but all are witnesses to a unique part of New Mexico history.

For more information, call (575) 522-4100, or visit www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org.

Who: The Rio Grande Theatre
What: Calendar of Events
When: October 2009
Where: The Rio Grande Theatre
Contact: (575) 523-6403

Rio Grande Theatre – October Calendar of Events

Saturday & Sunday, October 3 & 4
Viva La Danza!
NMSU’s Dance Department showcases the works of student choreographers and dancers, alongside guest artists in genres ranging from classical to modern. This time around, the works of resident Flamenco dancers Antonio Granjero and Estefania Ramirez will be featured. Granjero currently performs as guest artist ofMaria Serrano Company (Seville), Esmeralda Enriquez Company (Canada), Susana Dipalma (Minnesota) and the Victor Monge “Serranito” Company. Ramirez is the co-artistic director and instructor at Entre Flamenco DanzArt Center and principal female soloist with the company Carlota Santana’s Flamenco Vivo. Showtime is 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors at the Pan American Box Office or through ticket master www.ticketmaster.com. For information contact the Pan American Dance Institute office at (575) 646-2070.

Thursday, October 8
ASNMSU presents Kepa Junkera
A folk music icon in the Basque region of Spain and a frontrunner in the World Music genre, Kepa Junkera has made his mark as an innovator on the trikitixa, the diatonic accordion. Over the years, since his debut with the Spanish band Oskorri, he has explored the areas of Folk-Rock, Jazz and Symphonic orchestration, collaborating with such diverse musical influences as The Chieftains, German composer Andreas Vollenweider and the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. The Seattle Rocket claims that Kepa Junkera is “…something of a revelation… Not only a remarkable accordionist, but a true master of many styles… a tour de force…” Kepa Junkera will appear at the Rio Grande Theatre as part of the ASNMSU Cultural Series. Showtime is 7:30pm.

Friday, October 9
Luca Ciarla
Italian virtuoso violinist and composer Luca Ciarla’s music digs its roots into contemporary jazz, but takes color also from ethnic and classical music, giving life to a fascinating sound. Having played in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico, England, France, Albania, Croatia, Macao, Italy, Scotland, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United States, Luca will be bringing his “Fiddler In The Loop” project to the Rio Grande Theatre, in which he plays solo violin live with a loop machine at his feet, superimposing a succession of tracks over one another to create music that is never the same twice. Luca Ciarla will appear at the Rio Grande Theatre as part of the Dona Ana Arts Council’s 2009/2010 Cultural Series. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are $25. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit www.RioGrandeTheatre.com.

Wednesday, October 21
Perla Batalla
Grammy nominated vocalist, composer, and arranger Perla Batalla was born in Los Angeles, CA, and first gained international attention as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen who later encouraged Perla to embark on a solo career. Perla released her debut album, “Perla Batalla” on the Warner/Discovery label in 1994. The critics loved it, calling her singing “sublime” and her talent “stunning”.  Batalla’s mission of honoring her roots and exposing young audiences to the beauty of music and the Spanish language is ongoing in her outreach endeavors throughout many of the poorest communities in the United States. In 2008, Perla was the recipient of the U.N. commissioned Earth Charter Award for extraordinary devotion to social and economic justice. Showtime is 7:30pm. Tickets are $25. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit www.RioGrandeTheatre.com.

Thursday, October 22
Malcolm Daly
NMSU Outdoor Recreation continues its extreme mountain climbing series with a special appearance by guest speaker Malcolm Daly, whose harrowing adventures and against-all-odds survival during a near-fatal fall in May of 1999 are recounted through an inspirational evening of sport enthusiasm. In addition to being the founder of Great Trango Holdings (which manufactures innovative climbing gear and women’s activewear) and serving on the access Fund board (a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open), Daly is currently on the Board of Directors for Paradox Sports, which provides inspiration, opportunities and adaptive equipment to the disabled community, empowering their pursuit of a life of excellence through human-powered outdoor sports. Showtime is 7pm. Tickets are $8. For more information call 575-646-4746.

Thursday, October 29
Tragedy In Tin Can Holler
Local filmmaker and teacher Mark Vasconcellos presents a special screening of his documentary film, made in collaboration with author Rozetta Mowery and based on her autobiographical book of the same name. Both the book and the documentary relate the harrowing events which took place in the late 1950s when Rozetta’s mother was brutally murdered at the hands of her own husband. Rozetta’s search for the truth behind the incident revealed the shocking story of a backwoods family who committed unspeakable horrors beginning more than a century before the author was born and traumatized the residents of three counties in southeast Tennessee when they were revealed. Showtime is 6pm, beginning with an appearance by Rozetta Mowery, an introduction by Vasconcellos and ending with a book signing. Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for students. Proceeds will benefit Mesilla Valley Court Appointed Special Advocates (C.A.S.A.) for Children, Alianza and Holston Home for Children. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit www.RioGrandeTheatre.com.

Friday, October 30
Author Antonio Garcez
Born of mixed heritage with a diverse cultural background, award-winning author Antonio Garcez grew up with a traditional knowledge to be “cautious and respectful towards spirits, folk/healers, witches and forces considered to be paranormal in origin.” Using this knowledge as a springboard for his research and exploration of Southwestern ghost lore, to fill a void in the bookselling market, he has written five best-selling books comprised from personal stories directly transcribed from interviews with residents who have experienced first-hand encounters with ghosts. He currently lives and writes from his mountaintop home in New Mexico, but will bring his expertise and examples of his findings to the Rio Grande Theatre, for an All Hallows Eve look at the real spiritual world that surrounds us. Showtime is 6pm. Tickets are $8. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit www.RioGrandeTheatre.com.

Saturday, October 31
Nosferatu: A Silent Masterpiece by F.W. Murnau
The earliest surviving screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel has had a long and dangerous life of its own. Almost destroyed by Stoker’s widow because of copyright infringement, this film has outlasted many others of the silent era. Originally released in 1922 as Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens, director F.W. Munarau’s chilling and eerie adaption of Stoker’s Dracula is a silent masterpiece of terror which to this day is the most striking and frightening portrayal of the legend.  Combined with a new score, compiled by Nathaniel Berman, Alexandra Aguirre-Berman and Ann Berman, from contemporary chamber works for woodwinds, and played live on stage, the result is an atmospheric reworking of a cinematic classic with the immediacy of a live chamber concert. Showtime is 9:30pm, with a costume contest and other Halloween-themed events beginning at 8pm. Tickets are $8. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit www.RioGrandeTheatre.com.

Every Other Tuesday at the Rio Grande Theatre
October 6 – James Gier: Vocalist
October 20 – Las Cruces String Quartet (Tentative)
Please note: Every Other Tuesday performances always begin at 5:30pm and are free to the public. 

On Exhibit in the El Paso Electric and Carolene de Mesilla Galleries
Depictions Of The Renaissance by Sue Nichols
Though the annual Renaissance ArtsFaire doesn’t kick off until early November in Las Cruces, one artist has dedicated the month of October to the exploration of that diverse contemporary celebration of yesteryear in the galleries of the Rio Grande Theatre. Alamogordo painter Sue Nichols will present a series of bright, richly textured paintings, entitled Depictions Of The Renaissance, in the El Paso Electric and Carolene de Mesilla Galleries. The show will run through the entire month of October, 2009, beginning with an artist reception on October 2, from 5 to 7pm, as part of the Downtown Art Ramble.

Also featured in this month’s ArtRamble will be the works of the Potter’s Guild of Las Cruces, in anticipation of their 17th Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon on October 16th. A silent auction to benefit El Caldito will begin with jewelry, sculpture and functional pottery on display in the lobby of the Rio Grande Theatre, along with bid sheets. The auction itself will continue through the end of the luncheon, two weeks later, when patrons will enjoy a meal of soup and bread, then take home a handmade bowl as a reminder of the meal’s purpose.

For clarification, photos or additional information, please contact the Rio Grande Theatre Manager, David Salcido, at 575-523-6403.

Tranquility on the Bosque
By: Paul Dahlgren
Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau

It’s hard to imagine what Las Cruces would look like 200 years ago, no buildings, no streets…just nature in its purest form.

It is this natural beauty that truly defines the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park (MVBSP), as views of the sprawling Bosque sprinkled with native wildlife and vegetation give you a real sense of the raw beauty engrained in the Las Cruces area.

“The park is a natural area close to Las Cruces, that’s very quiet, very peaceful, with lots of wildlife,” said MVBSP Education Coordinator C. J. Goin, who also mentioned that it’s one of the few natural areas in Southern New Mexico, which is very close to the Rio Grande.

With 305 acres of mostly wetlands, adjacent to 620 acres of Chihuahuan desert and alongside three miles of the Rio Grande River, the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park offers two separate trails that take you on a journey through the beautiful wetland and desert landscapes that are native to the Rio Grande habitat. The park also serves as a haven for a variety of birds and wildlife, and also offers stunning birding opportunities and intriguing general wildlife viewing.

Whether it’s hiking, birding, wildlife viewing, geocaching or just a stroll through the park on one of its many guided tours, the park gives visitors a true hands-on nature excursion through a habitat that was slowly fading into the pages of history.

“As far as activities that are popular in the park, hiking is popular activity as is birding, the park has excellent birding and general wildlife viewing. We do have two geocahe sites, and geocaching is a popular activity. Fishing is allowed in the river, but not in the drain or the ponds, so we do have limited fishing,” said Goin while explaining some of the popular activities at the park.

“Over two hundred species of birds may be seen in the park at various times of the year, we also have abundant amphibians, fish and reptiles, and we have lots of plants, some of the more interesting plants include cottonwoods, mesquite, willows and yerba Mansa,” said Goin, as he explained the rich environmental ecosystems in the Bosque and Desert that remain teeming with vegetation and wildlife.

Along with programs to educate local schools and teachers about the Bosque, the park offers a variety of tours, including a birding tour the first Saturday of every month, which, during fall migration, September and October, is being offered every Saturday.           

Ongoing exhibits at the park give visitors a glance into the native wildlife, vegetation, geography and geology of the Rio Grande habitat, as well as, information about the Mesilla Valley.

Along with an exhibit hall the park also hosts several events throughout the year, such as “On The River, For the River,” the Southwestern Environmental Center’s Annual Fundraising Banquet, which was held the at the park on September 26th.

Eventually planning to expand by acquiring the adjacent 620 acres of adjacent Chihuahuan desert from the Bureau of Land Management, the restoration of the natural Rio Grande habitat remains a key goal, as the process of replacing non-native saltcedar with native vegetation such as willows and cottonwoods is ongoing.

The park is located in Mesilla, at 5000 Calle del Norte, and is open from 7a.m. – 5p.m. during September 1 – March 31, and 7a.m. – 7p.m. during April 1 – August 31, but closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.  There is a $5 per car fee to enter the park.

The park, which opened in December 13th, 2008, is New Mexico’s 34th state park, which also makes it New Mexico’s newest state park.