Pasa por Aquí

Pasa por Aquí is an initiative by the Council to present occasional columns by community members.  Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these blog posts/articles do not necessarily represent those of the the New Mexico Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.


The author making cookies with her grandmother in 1984. Photo courtesy of the Suina family.  

The author making cookies with her grandmother in 1984. Photo courtesy of the Suina family. 

The Bandana Brigade: With Hearts and Hands, Women Do it Together

Fri, Mar 1, 2024, 10:24am | By Kim Suina Melwani

It is clear when looking around our community that women have a hand in everything. When I was a kid, one place where this was evident to me was at my grandmother’s house. I would awaken to the smell...

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Toni Morrison speaking at

Toni Morrison speaking at "A Tribute to Chinua Achebe - 50 Years Anniversary of 'Things Fall Apart'". The Town Hall, New York City, February 26th 2008. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. 

Beloved Word Warrior: The Power of Toni Morrison's Pen

Fri, Mar 1, 2024, 8:50am | By Cathryn McGill

Fighting battles for control has been a constant in our society. In this world where violence, both past and present, continues to fracture our societies, Toni Morrison's pen emerges not just as a tool...

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In Estancia, New Mexico, A Basketball Hoop Against the Backdrop of a Sunset’s Vibrant Hues.  Photo by Marie Zamora.

In Estancia, New Mexico, A Basketball Hoop Against the Backdrop of a Sunset’s Vibrant Hues. Photo by Marie Zamora.

The Benefits of Living in a Small Town

Fri, Mar 1, 2024, 7:26am | By Olivia Thomas

Estancia, N.M., is a small, rural town 57 miles southeast of Albuquerque. Considering that this town has more stop signs than people, most people probably have not heard of it. Now living in Las Cruces...

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Author, poet and blog contributor, Darryl Lorenzo Wellington.

Author, poet and blog contributor, Darryl Lorenzo Wellington.

Reflections on the Black Footprint in New Mexico

Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 12:00am | By Darryl Wellington

Let’s begin with a story that reflects my concerns that the Black presence isn’t significantly appreciated – but that simultaneously reaffirms my belief in the importance of teaching New Mexican...

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Valentine's Day greetings card of 1909.

Valentine's Day greetings card of 1909. Credit: Wikimedia commons

Hate Valentine’s Day? Try Celebrating It Anyway

Tue, Jan 30, 2024, 8:57pm | By Monika Dziamka

As the shiny excitement of the holiday season wears off, do you groan at the thought of Valentine’s Day looming ahead? Does the sight of pink and red decorations and heart-shaped trinkets make you...

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Author and blog contributor, A.T. Cole

Author and blog contributor, A.T. Cole

Where are the Humanities in the Climate Crisis?

Tue, Jan 2, 2024, 9:52am | By Thomas Cole

We’re living in the most precarious moment in human history. There are more than 14,000 peer-reviewed science papers making clear that climate change is real, the greenhouse effect began with the agricultural...

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Blog contributor and NMSU student, Ryqir Haden

Blog contributor and NMSU student, Ryqir Haden

A Muslim Fitting into New Mexico

Tue, Jan 2, 2024, 9:29am | By Ryqir Haden

I am a Muslim, and I belong in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Surprised? So am I. My father was part of the U.S. Army, so much of my childhood was spent traveling around the world. I have lived in South Korea,...

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Nikolaus and Krampus in Austria. Unknown Author. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

Nikolaus and Krampus in Austria. Unknown Author. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

Krampus is Coming: Why Halloween is Actually Just the Start of Spooky Season

Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 3:22pm | By Monika Dziamka

Krampus is Coming: Why Halloween is Actually Just the Start of Spooky Season   Winter nights and cold weather invite more opportunities to stay at home, something I look forward to every year. As a native...

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Bread for the departed on family altar.

Bread for the departed on family altar.

Bread of Death and Life: A Short History of Pan de Muertos

Wed, Nov 1, 2023, 9:27am | By Vanessa Baca

For me, it’s not truly El Día de los Muertos until I read the following quote by the Mexican author Octavio Paz from his masterpiece El Laberinto de la Soledad: “Para el habitante de Nueva York,...

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Photo courtesy of Cottonbro Studio.

Photo courtesy of Cottonbro Studio.

Send in the Clowns: Funeral Humor

Tue, Oct 31, 2023, 8:59am | By Liz Hamilton

The funeral home I used to work at was SOOO busy. Since we offered the lowest cremation price in town, we helped many families take care of their deceased loved ones. And to keep our costs low, we...

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Dressed in her matriarch garments, Venaya’s later maternal grandmother Jane Werito Yazzie sits in her childhood home at Dziłnaodiłthe (Huerfano) NM on the eastern region of Navajoland.

Dressed in her matriarch garments, Venaya’s later maternal grandmother Jane Werito Yazzie sits in her childhood home at Dziłnaodiłthe (Huerfano) NM on the eastern region of Navajoland.

Pre-pandemic grief, ancestral memory, mourning the world in 2020 and healing in the present

Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 11:22am | By Venaya Yazzie

here  desert girl emerged –    she  stumbled  on to surface chaos    where – rain bowed  earthdwellers  pouredpowdered turquoise  on to  ant hills…    My late maternal...

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El Chicano Youth Center- A photo donated by CHHP participant Yolanda Martinez. El Chicano Youth Center was built in 1970 in Chihuahua Hill.

El Chicano Youth Center- A photo donated by CHHP participant Yolanda Martinez. El Chicano Youth Center was built in 1970 in Chihuahua Hill.

Nuestra Voz: The Chihuahua Hill Story and the importance of community, self-representation, and remembrance. 

Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 11:20am | By Javier Marrufo

  “Aye, como pasan los años.” This was a phrase that my maternal grandmother’s adopted tia, Rosa V. Castillo, would voice in bittersweet reminiscence as my generation, unbothered and uninterested...

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NMHC-Blog-Desert-Exposure.jpeg

Southwest Word Fiesta 2023

Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 8:57am | By Catalina Claussen

Sprung from our wildest imaginations, the Southwest Word Fiesta, originally known as the Southwest Festival of the Written Word, was established in 2010 to honor and celebrate writers who live and work...

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Blog contributor and student at Western New Mexico University. Dillon Pacheco.  -- Photo not provided by blog contributor and WNMU student, Andrea Galindo.

Blog contributor and student at Western New Mexico University. Dillon Pacheco. -- Photo not provided by blog contributor and WNMU student, Andrea Galindo.

Censored Voices:  Banned Book Project   Co-written by Dillon Pacheco and Andrea Galindo 

Thu, Sep 28, 2023, 2:35pm | By Dillon Pacheco

In the realm of intellectual freedom, censorship emerges as a contentious force, stifling vital narratives, limiting awareness, and creating huge knowledge gaps. One of the most conspicuous manifestations...

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WNMU student presents on banned children's books at Hurley Elementary

WNMU student presents on banned children's books at Hurley Elementary

An Educational Moment and Movement: Banned Book Week

Tue, Sep 5, 2023, 1:33pm | By Heather Frankland

As both an educator and a writer, I care deeply about the freedom to read. At Western New Mexico University in Silver City, N.M., where I teach English, each fall my students do a special project for...

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Crews setting up Zozobra for the big day. September 2, 2022.

Crews setting up Zozobra for the big day. September 2, 2022.

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: The Burning of Zozobra and Heralding the New Season

Thu, Aug 31, 2023, 11:53am | By Nicolasa Chávez

The sweltering days of an extremely hot summer are finally cooling down. The sun sets slightly earlier each evening leaving a golden glow upon the land, and the first smells of green chile roasting...

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NMHC-Blog-womanwithcrosses.jpg

Credit: The black shawl, known as the tápalo, was a symbol of mourning widely worn by women in New Mexico from the 1600s through the mid-20th century. Photo John Candelario. Courtesy Palace of the Governors [NMHM/DCA]. No.0165857.

Ancient Death Rituals Run Deep in New Mexico

Tue, Aug 1, 2023, 8:05am | By Ana Pacheco

In my 2019 book, Death Rituals of New Mexico, I delved into the rituals and customs of caring for the dead in Hispanic New Mexico. In 1850 when New Mexico became a U.S. territory, its citizens began...

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NMHC-Blog-BerniesFarmington.jpg

Credit: Photo Courtesy of Jimmy Miller. Where it all began for NMHC, site of the initial public meeting in San Juan County.

My Half-Century-Plus Association with the New Mexico Humanities Council 

Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 7:19pm | By Jimmy H Miller

I recently received an e-mail from Michelle Quisenberry, deputy director of the New Mexico Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  She had seen my name associated...

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2_NMHC-Blog-BannedBooks.jpg

Credit: Dmytro, stock.adobe.com

THE FREEDOM TO THINK Or Why Banning Books Is Boring 

Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 9:01am | By Emily Romero

I value the freedom to think. It is a close bedfellow for me with other valuable intangibles, such as being able to accept, challenge and/or enjoy mystery, to cultivate wonder,...

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New Mexico Gov. Jerry Apodaca with civil rights leader Reies Lopez Tijerina at the New Mexico State Capital building in Santa Fe. The New Mexico State Public Education Department building is named after Governor Apodaca. Photographic Collection (#000-654-

New Mexico Gov. Jerry Apodaca with civil rights leader Reies Lopez Tijerina at the New Mexico State Capital building in Santa Fe. The New Mexico State Public Education Department building is named after Governor Apodaca. Photographic Collection (#000-654-

Civil Rights and Justice-The Force of Reies Lopez Tijerina

Wed, Jul 5, 2023, 3:55pm | By Ray John de Aragon

The decade of the 1960s was marked by racial and social unrest, the Vietnam War, protests, tension, and cultural chaos. Heroic national social justice and civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther...

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Author holding a piece of history, The Best of Dolly Parton record album.  Photo Courtesy of Leeanna Torres.

Author holding a piece of history, The Best of Dolly Parton record album. Photo Courtesy of Leeanna Torres.

Como que Dolly Parton ?!

Wed, Jul 5, 2023, 11:17am | By Leeanna Teresa Martinez y Torres

  “Workin’ 9 to 5…,” sings my little boy, out loud while I cook and he draws in the kitchen; only seven years old and he already has a Dolly Parton song stuck in his head. “…what a way to...

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Photo of article published in the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Associated Press  in 1963.   Photo Courtesy of Mario Martinez

Photo of article published in the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Associated Press in 1963. Photo Courtesy of Mario Martinez

The B-52 Bomber That Fell from the Sky

Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 10:19am | By Mario X Martinez

Located on the outskirts of Roswell, New Mexico, Walker Air Force Base served as a key U.S. military installation during the Cold War. It operated under the Strategic Air Command from 1946 until its...

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Hakim Bellamy.  Photo courtesy of Mavel Photography

Hakim Bellamy. Photo courtesy of Mavel Photography

Parable of the Papa    

Fri, Jun 9, 2023, 11:52pm | By Hakim Bellamy

Parable of the Papa by Hakim Bellamy Ever since “Mother May I…” became an anachronism of the Virgin Mary...conception has been synonymous with immaculate, while insemination has become...

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Martinez family members of Los Reyes de Albuquerque L-R: Rob Martinez, founder Roberto Martinez, Larry Martinez and Lorenzo Martinez in Old Town Albuquerque in 1994..

Martinez family members of Los Reyes de Albuquerque L-R: Rob Martinez, founder Roberto Martinez, Larry Martinez and Lorenzo Martinez in Old Town Albuquerque in 1994..

From Mora to Mariachi: My Dad and his Magical Journey of Music

Mon, May 15, 2023, 5:11pm | By Rob Martinez

My dad wanted to be Pedro Infante when he grew up.   His name was Roberto Martínez. As a young boy living in the Mora Valley during the Great Depression, hard work and scarcity were the norm....

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Paul Ingles with his father John, in 2014.

Paul Ingles with his father John, in 2014.

A SOLDIER'S PASSAGE: A New Mexico-made Film Explores the Art of Saying "Goodbye" to Dad

Mon, May 15, 2023, 1:56pm | By Paul Ingles

  Dec. 5, 2004, I was standing in the wings of Albuquerque’s historic (and some say haunted) KiMo Theater, watching the talented singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier close a fundraising concert I was...

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Esther Martinez, Native American storyteller, from Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico. Photo Courtesy of Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

Esther Martinez, Native American storyteller, from Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico. Photo Courtesy of Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.

Esther Martinez (P’oe Tsáwä/Blue Water): A Matriarch of Pueblo Language Preservation  

Tue, Apr 18, 2023, 9:52am | By Kim Suina Melwani

  We come from a tradition that values the music of language, its poetry, and its ability to conjure images. There is a love for the sound of the language, a love for the beauty of a phrase. —Tessie...

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Author and blog contributor, Elaine Montague with her husband Gary Montague.

Author and blog contributor, Elaine Montague with her husband Gary Montague.

MUSINGS OF A LOCKED-OUT WIFE

Tue, Apr 18, 2023, 9:25am | By Elaine Montague

  With thanks to Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Camus, Plato, Rousseau, Kafka and Saint-Exupery © Elaine Carson Montague 2023   How do we celebrate what it means to be human? Are we human when the Office...

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NMHC-JoeSando-Blog.jpg

Credit: Dr. Joe S. Sando. Photo Courtesy of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.

Telling our stories: Pueblo author and teacher, Dr. Joe S. Sando

Sat, Apr 1, 2023, 10:00am | By Jonna C. Paden

Despite the Pueblo’s long history in the Southwest, little has been written about Pueblo people and our contributions to history. What was written, especially for children, was not always complimentary...

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Laruen Camp, New Mexico Poet Laureate 2022 to 2025.

Laruen Camp, New Mexico Poet Laureate 2022 to 2025.

Meticulous Answer           Inspired by artist Agnes Martin

Sat, Apr 1, 2023, 12:00am | By Lauren Camp

My mind keeps moving. The country is nearly at war with satisfactionor could be.I want to set down my mind. A miniature lullaby. Watch the sloshing water, lost list, crisscrossed waves, a glass pane.One...

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D.Huerta.jpg

Credit: Huerta at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2019. Jay Godwin (public domain).

Dolores Huerta: A Legacy

Wed, Mar 1, 2023, 10:00am | By Maria Vielma

One of the most insulting insinuations made about women is that we are not meant to lead. As a little girl, I almost bought into this lie after hearing male names of leaders pertaining to my Mexican-American...

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magic_circle.jpg

Credit: The Magic Circle” by John William Waterhouse, 1886. Retrieved from: File:The magic circle, by John William Waterhouse.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Witch: From Villain to Victorious

Wed, Mar 1, 2023, 7:00am | By Keelyn Byram

Until quite recently, the archetype of the Witch in Western culture has been the primary representation of the monstrous feminine. However, in the last century this archetype has been transformed from...

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Dr. Meta L. Christy

Dr. Meta L. Christy Credit: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Healer of the Unseen:  Dr. Meta L. Christy

Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 8:56am | By Ina Jane

Although systemic racism in America attempts to ensure the odds remain stacked against African Americans, Dr. Meta L. Christy proceeded to pave the way for many aspiring future Black doctors. As the first...

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Ivan B. McClellan, Kortnee Solomon, Hempstead, Texas, n.d., photographic print, 38 x 29 in. Courtesy of Ivan B. McClellan.

Ivan B. McClellan, Kortnee Solomon, Hempstead, Texas, n.d., photographic print, 38 x 29 in. Courtesy of Ivan B. McClellan.

The Harwood Museum of Art Presents “Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy” Narrating the Rich History of the Black Cowboy in the American Southwest

Mon, Jan 30, 2023, 12:10am | By Ariana Kramer

African Americans have been an integral part of the history of the Southwest since preCivil War days. However, their stories have largely been expunged from the cultural imagination. The Harwood Museum...

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Colonial period chocolate making implements and ingredients.  Photo by Nicolasa Chávez.

Colonial period chocolate making implements and ingredients. Photo by Nicolasa Chávez.

Chocolate: From Food of the Gods to the Food of Love

Sun, Jan 29, 2023, 11:41pm | By Nicolasa Chávez

This Valentine season stores large and small fill up with festive chocolate items from elegant hand-crafted bonbons to heart-shaped boxes to tiny teardrop-shaped morsels wrapped in pink and red. One often...

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Print made by John Simon (1675–1755), Portraits of Four Indian Kings of Canada: Sa Ga Yeath Pieth Tow, King of the Maquas, C. 1755, Mezzotint, third state, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B2001.2.1506. https://collections.britishart

Print made by John Simon (1675–1755), Portraits of Four Indian Kings of Canada: Sa Ga Yeath Pieth Tow, King of the Maquas, C. 1755, Mezzotint, third state, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B2001.2.1506. https://collections.britishart

What's in the word, savage?    

Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 10:51am | By Felicia Bartley

“My grandpa was a savage before savage was in style.” -Snotty Nose Rez Kids, “Savages” I have been hearing the word savage more than I would like to acknowledge. I have noticed...

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President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. after signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965

President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. after signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Credit: The LBJ Presidential Library

Now What? Civil Rights & The Post-Pandemic Iconography of King’s Dream

Thu, Dec 15, 2022, 2:01pm | By Cathryn McGill

Now What?Civil Rights & The Post-Pandemic Iconography of King’s Dream  How did buying a new mattress become the most prominent symbol in the annual celebration of President’s Day? (The holiday is...

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Grullas in a twilight sky

Grullas in a twilight sky Credit: Photos by Laura Paskus

Grullas

Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 7:57am | By Leeanna Teresa Martinez y Torres

Each year grullas arrive by the hundreds, settling over the valley’s farm-fields, seeking shelter on vegetated islands of the Rio Grande. But the year my boy was born, I missed their lone, throaty-calls,...

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Green Chile Stew

Green Chile Stew Credit: Vanessa Baca

Slow Burn: A Family History of Green Chile Stew 

Thu, Dec 1, 2022, 11:20am | By Vanessa Baca

Wintertime in New Mexico is unique. The relatively mild weather, the smell of pine-scented woodsmoke in the air, the farolitos and luminarias that light up the nights throughout the...

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Luminarias light up adobe wall in New Mexico.

Luminarias light up adobe wall in New Mexico. Credit: Photo Courtesy Leeanna Torres.

Little brown bags: A brief meditation on a Nuevo Mexico tradition

Thu, Dec 1, 2022, 9:25am | By Leeanna Teresa Martinez y Torres

  How many candles come in a pack?  How many paper sacks will accompany each pack of lights? How many to get? And will it be enough? These are the decisions before me, in the aisle of...

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Josh2021-01-1715.05.43-1blackwhitecopy.jpg

Credit: Joshua K. Concha

Cultural Identity Theft: Immeasurable Suffering

Mon, Nov 14, 2022, 2:08pm | By Joshua K. Concha

unauthorized access to your personal information has occurred, including your name children were given Anglo names. Their native languages and cultural practices were forbidden.

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Rosalia de Aragon as La Llorona

Rosalia de Aragon as La Llorona Credit: by Rosa Maria Calles.

Cosas Extrañas y Duendes---Strange Things and Goblins

Wed, Sep 28, 2022, 12:32pm | By Ray John de Aragon

¡Los muertos se espantan con los vivos!  The dead are scared by the living! New Mexico is a land of mystery, suspense, and intrigue. One is easily captivated and drawn by immortal tales filled with energy,...

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Martin and Refugio Amador surrounded by their seven children in a family portrait taken in Las Cruces around 1900

Martin and Refugio Amador surrounded by their seven children in a family portrait taken in Las Cruces around 1900 Credit: Photo Courtesy of Amador Family Papers. Ms 0004. New Mexico State University Library, Archives and Special Collections Department.

Hispanic Heritage Month – Amador Family

Wed, Sep 28, 2022, 10:00am | By Jennifer Olguin

September 15 to October 15 marks Hispanic Heritage Month. This monthlong celebration recognizes the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans throughout the country. The monthlong observation...

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Prompt for image generation: 4-year-old, vaguely punk freestyling

Prompt for image generation: 4-year-old, vaguely punk freestyling Credit: DALL-E generation by Philip Allfrey, @dr_pda

 Everything is COM-PLI-CA-TED!!

Sun, Aug 14, 2022, 3:09pm | By Ellen Dornan

After robots write and perform a new hit song about the humanities, things get complicated!

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Michael Running Wolf

Michael Running Wolf Credit: Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Indigenous in AI - Lakota Language Camp

Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 1:46pm | By Ellen Dornan

In January 2022, Michael Running Wolf joined our Augmented Humanity podcast to talk about his efforts to create machine learning models for Indigenous languages. Recently he caught up with us to let us...

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Hampton Sides

Hampton Sides Credit: Photo by Kurt Markus

The Click of the Shutter Means “Yes” Kurt Markus, 1947-2022

Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 11:45am | By Hampton Sides

When I think about Kurt Markus, the internationally acclaimed fine-art photographer who died last month at his home in Santa Fe, I think of the word slow. Slow, as in, he always had to meditate on things,...

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NMHC-Blog-4thofJuly.jpg

AIMING FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

Sat, Jul 2, 2022, 1:27pm | By Richard Etulain

The noted Western novelist and historian Wallace Stegner once wrote, "I have been convinced for a long time that what is mistakenly called middle of the road is actually the most radical and difficult...

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“Lumbre salvaje.” Fire cresting in trees, Monte Aplanado.

“Lumbre salvaje.” Fire cresting in trees, Monte Aplanado.

Las lumbres del 2022 en el norte de Nuevo México 

Thu, Jun 30, 2022, 2:41pm | By Gabriel Meléndez

1.  In late summer, clouds thicken quickly on the ridgeline of the sierra, and the distant rumble of their thunder echoes endlessly in the mountain canyons and in the tall stands of spruce...

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NMHC-Blog-BillytheKid.jpg

Credit: Billy the Kid, circa 1873 - 1881. Ben Wittick. Wikimedia Commons

A DIFFERENT KIND OF BILLY THE KID 

Thu, Jun 30, 2022, 11:00am | By Richard Etulain

Billy the Kid is the most-written-about New Mexican. Most of the nearly 1,000 books and essays about Señor Billy picture him as a villain, hero, or combination...

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Sean Cardinalli

Sean Cardinalli

Juneteenth and Violence, Revisited

Wed, Jun 1, 2022, 8:27am | By Sean Cardinalli

Juneteenth is once again on the horizon. It reminds of emancipation. It is characterized by celebration. It is rooted in Black freedom delayed and so, therefore, denied. Our Black freedom is still delayed...

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NMHC-Blog-VicenteF_June_MV-b.jpg

Credit: Vicente Fernandez in 1965 Wikimedia Commons

El Grito Eterno: Imagining Vicente Fernandez and Remembering My Father 

Tue, May 31, 2022, 8:20am | By Matthew Villegas

The mariachi legend, Vicente Fernandez, passed away late last year at 81. Affectionately known by his legions of fans as "Chente," he left a legacy that will likely go unmatched.  Chente was...

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Photo Courtesy of Vanessa Baca

Photo Courtesy of Vanessa Baca Credit: Ultima and Owl, artist Kathy Gidden, oil on canvas.

Burning Última:  Rudolfo Anaya and the Impact of Book Bans on Democracy

Tue, May 31, 2022, 8:10am | By Vanessa Baca

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines democracy as a government by the people, especially the rule of the majority, and one that is characterized by free and open elections. As Americans, most of us tend...

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The La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, ca. 1930-1940. The La Fonda was built in 1922, and was acquired by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in 1925, who leased it to Fred Harvey. It was a Harvey House from 1926 to 1968. It has been locally own

The La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, ca. 1930-1940. The La Fonda was built in 1922, and was acquired by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in 1925, who leased it to Fred Harvey. It was a Harvey House from 1926 to 1968. It has been locally own Credit: UNM Library, William A. Keleher Collection http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=nmupict000-742.xml

Mapping Queer History in New Mexico

Tue, May 31, 2022, 8:05am | By Ellen Dornan

For this month’s Augmented Humanity podcast, we’re talking with Dr. Amanda Regan, and Dr. Eric Gonzaba, co-creators of Mapping the Gay Guides, which is built around interactive geographic visualizations...

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Chábáh Davis Watson of the Tl'aashchi'i Clan, Red Bottom People, from Wheatfields, AZ.  Photo Courtesy of Ninabah Davis.

Chábáh Davis Watson of the Tl'aashchi'i Clan, Red Bottom People, from Wheatfields, AZ. Photo Courtesy of Ninabah Davis.

Teacher Warrior

Sun, May 1, 2022, 11:40pm | By Ninabah Davis

Just recently I watched a movie on Netflix called Te Ata, the story of Mary Thompson Fisher, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, an actress and storyteller who called herself Te Ata (which is thought...

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My friend La Llorona, 2018

My friend La Llorona, 2018 Credit: Photo by Rica Maestas

Loving La Llorona

Sun, May 1, 2022, 11:38pm | By Rica Maestas

It has always been easy to see myself in the infamous “crying woman,” La Llorona. Like her, I am brown and femme, a survivor of abuse and mental illness, a child forced into adulthood too soon. A consummate...

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Shozo, Goro, Mamoru and Keigo Takeuchi taken in Alvarado, CA in 1939.

Shozo, Goro, Mamoru and Keigo Takeuchi taken in Alvarado, CA in 1939. Credit: Photo courtesy of Shelley Takeuchi.

Shikataganai - It Can't Be Helped

Sun, May 1, 2022, 11:36pm | By Shelley Takeuchi

80 years ago, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that began an irreversible tidal wave of racial prejudice towards Asians, particularly those who were Japanese. Issei and Nissei were first-...

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New Mexico State Poet Laureate, Levi Romero

New Mexico State Poet Laureate, Levi Romero

Carlos, Prieto, and Ramiro Come to Hoe the Milpa

Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 12:40pm | By Levi Romero

  I have been unable to keep up with the gardening This year and have had to hire help. I have never hired help before, and I feel as if I  Might be breaking a code-of-honor, An unstated rule where we...

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Diana Velazco

Diana Velazco

SOY MAGDALENA…Y HE PECADO

Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 12:35pm | By Diana Velazco

Me han maltratado Me han herido Por dar lo que me exigen Me han perseguido.   Mis ropajes me han desgarrado Tanto y aun mas mi moribundo Corazon y sin latidos.   Tengo ojos, tengo oidos; Tengo manos...

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Gottlieb, W. P. (1947) Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt Milton Jackson, and Timmie Rosenkrantz, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. United States, 1947. , Monographic. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https

Gottlieb, W. P. (1947) Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt Milton Jackson, and Timmie Rosenkrantz, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. United States, 1947. , Monographic. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https

International Jazz Day: Jazz and Democracy

Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 12:32pm | By Andy Kingston

In 2011, UNESCO teamed up with the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz to designate April 30th as International Jazz Day “in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners...

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Credit: Image Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Accessed through the New Mexico Digital Repository

Sufragista y más: Adelina "Nina" Otero-Warren

Mon, Feb 28, 2022, 1:22pm | By Dr. Anna M Nogar

       Nuevomexicana Adelina “Nina” Otero-Warren (1881-1965) is one of the outstanding early feminist figures in United States history and an actor for representation...

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Credit: Ida B. Wells. Late 19th century Credit: From Wikimedia Commons

Ida B. Wells: The Power of the Pen

Mon, Feb 28, 2022, 12:24pm | By Ina Jane

"I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap.” (I.B. Wells) Ida B. Wells, a renowned American journalist and social activist from Holly Springs,...

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Credit: graphic courtesy of Ariel Dougherty

COMMUNITY VISIONS – Cinematic Narratives by Women

Mon, Feb 28, 2022, 11:46am | By Ariel Dougherty

My friend Laura X, founder of the Women's History Library, sends me two and three notices a day about film screenings. A multitask-juggler of scores of feminist concerns, it is difficult for me to keep...

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NMHC-Blog-DarrylLorenzoWellington.jpg

Credit: Darryl Lorenzo Wellington

Encountering New Mexico

Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 9:17pm | By Darryl Wellington

 This nation’s greatest commentator on race relations, James Baldwin, never visited New Mexico (as far as my research can tell).      But Baldwin published  an...

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Credit: Creative Commons photo of MLK

The Last MLK Day

Sat, Jan 1, 2022, 12:00am | By Hakim Bellamy

“On August 6th, 1965, the President’s Room of the Capitol could scarcely hold the multitude of of white and Negro leaders crowding it. President Lyndon Johnson’s high spirits were marked...

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New Mexico's State Cookie:  The Biscochito

New Mexico's State Cookie: The Biscochito Credit: Photo Courtesy by Vanessa Baca

A Sweet and Spicy Memory: Biscochitos in New Mexico Culture

Wed, Dec 1, 2021, 6:52pm | By Vanessa Baca

In my memory, I am standing next to my grandmother, watching her roll out the dough, deliciously studded with tiny seeds of anise. I have the very important job of cutting the dough into the shapes of...

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Credit: https://web.archive.org/web/20160112123725/http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001138.html

Instrument of Change: A Brief Look at Photography in the United States

Wed, Dec 1, 2021, 6:34pm | By Mathew Contos

Some of the earliest photographs in history captured the brutality of war, a major departure from the heroic and romantic stylization of battle paintings that preceded them. Photographs of the Mexican-American...

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NMHC-Blog-VeteransDay-PrivateAugustusWalley.jpg

Credit: Private Augustus Walley Credit: National Museum of African American History and Culture, Ellen Dornan photographer

1867: A Snapshot of the Military Occupation of New Mexico

Mon, Nov 1, 2021, 3:54pm | By Ellen Dornan

The 1867 U.S. Topo Bureau map showing the Old Territory and Military Department of New Mexico, “compiled in the Bureau of Topographic Engineers of the War Department chiefly for military purposes under...

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NMHC-Blog-EdgarAllenPoe-October2021---.jpg

Credit: Unknown author; Public Domain; "Annie" daguerreotype of Poe circa 1849 jpg; originally from http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=39406

Beyond the Macabre: Edgar Allan Poe and the Psychology of Horror

Tue, Sep 28, 2021, 2:22pm | By Chrysta Wilson

Edgar Allan Poe’s status as the father of contemporary horror is so fully entrenched in the American psyche that his portrait is instantly recognizable to people who have never read his work.

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The author’s personal altar with paper flowers, candles, autumn leaves and food items. In the center is a drawing of the author’s sister Christel Angélica  Chávez, Captain U.S. Air Force. Drawing by Anthony Thielen (cousin).

The author’s personal altar with paper flowers, candles, autumn leaves and food items. In the center is a drawing of the author’s sister Christel Angélica Chávez, Captain U.S. Air Force. Drawing by Anthony Thielen (cousin). Credit: Photo Courtesy by Nicolasa Chávez

Celebrating the Dead: Día de los Muertos and All Hallowe’en  

Tue, Sep 28, 2021, 2:05pm | By Nicolasa Chávez

Many people do not know the origins of this fun - and fright-filled night, nor of the similarities its’ origins share with Día de los Muertos

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Scene at Signing of the Constitution of the United States.

Scene at Signing of the Constitution of the United States." Credit: Howard Chandler Christy, 1940

America’s Constitution: A Machine That Does Not Run By Itself

Wed, Sep 1, 2021, 9:28am | By Christian Fritz

When the Founding Fathers drafted America’s frame of government in Philadelphia during the constitutional convention of 1787, they knew they had begun a journey and not completed a task. By creating...

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Jack Loeffler on the San Juan River in 1971

Jack Loeffler on the San Juan River in 1971 Credit: Photo Courtesy by Terrence Moore

Invigorating Metamorphosis

Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 11:37pm | By Jack Loeffler

It’s tough to overcome inertia, especially when it is self-imposed by presumed limitations. I speak from experience as a mid-point octogenarian having survived the last eighteen months of pandemic...

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Credit: Photo Courtesy Melissa Auh Krukar

Hispasian

Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 9:06am | By Melissa Auh Krukar

The questions are always the same: “Where are you from?” or worse, “Where are you really from?” or worse yet, “What are you?”

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Credit: Pixabay photo by Bruce Tunget

Growing up “Coyota” in New Mexico

Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 3:49pm | By Nicolasa Chávez

Did being a coyote make me any less New Mexican? What exactly did it mean to be a “Coyota” in New Mexico?

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Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of the Great West, Volume I. 1855. James A. Roberts. Greenville, TN.

Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of the Great West, Volume I. 1855. James A. Roberts. Greenville, TN.

Map of the Indian Territory, Northern Texas and New Mexico, Showing the Great Western Prairies

Sun, Jul 25, 2021, 11:56am | By Ellen Dornan

Josiah Gregg's 1844 map is ostensibly included in Commerce of the Prairies to help the gentle reader follow the “Wild West” adventure to an exotic, foreign destination, but that neutrality is quickly belied by a closer look.

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Artist: Unnamed Youth in Immigration Detention Center

Artist: Unnamed Youth in Immigration Detention Center Credit: Photo by: Justin Hamel

Art Cannot be Caged: Detained Migrant Youth Create an Exhibit

Mon, Jun 28, 2021, 12:07pm | By Kayla Myers

“Uncaged Art Tornillo Children’s Detention Center” is fundamentally about Central American children who came to our nation seeking security and safety and found themselves incarcerated within the walls of a sterile detention center built in the Chihuahuan Desert.

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Credit: Photo curtesy of Samantha Bomkamp

How Has the Pandemic Affected Museums? Examples from the Blackwater Draw Museum at Eastern New Mexico University

Mon, Jun 28, 2021, 10:02am | By Samantha Bomkamp

The Blackwater Draw Museum (BWDM) was among the many museums in the country whose daily operations were disrupted during the pandemic.

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Credit: Tarot de Marseilles Justice card beside Dolores Huerta mural painted by Jodie Herrera. Credit: Photo by Bethany Tabor

The Fool's Journey

Tue, Jun 1, 2021, 8:00am | By Bethany Tabor

It’s impossible to travel through Albuquerque without encountering at least one beautiful, larger-than-life mural on the side of a building or wall. The practice of mural painting—which has...

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Nasario and Prieto

Nasario and Prieto Credit: Nasario © Nasario Garcia, age 6, on horst Prieto in Ojo del Padre, NM.

Lágrimas: Poems of Joy and Sadness

Fri, May 28, 2021, 2:36pm | By Nasario Garcia

Beyond people, the landscape and animals were dear to my heart. “Me hablan/They Speak to Me” is a vivid manifestation of how I as a kid communicated with the peaks, valleys, ravines, and arroyos.

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National Parks Service; “Journey’s End” Artist Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera, in collaboration with landscape architect Richard Borkovetz

National Parks Service; “Journey’s End” Artist Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera, in collaboration with landscape architect Richard Borkovetz Credit: National Park Service

The Santa Fe Trail

Fri, May 28, 2021, 1:51pm | By Thomas Chavez

For much of its history New Mexico was an island in the wilderness, a unique European settlement among Native cultures in the middle of the continent distant from the so-called frontier lines of the United States and Mexico

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Into the Beautiful North 

Fri, Apr 30, 2021, 12:12am | By Ann Bentley

What do you think of when you hear “book club”? Middle aged women discussing the latest literary fiction or, maybe chick lit, novel, while drinking wine of course. Or maybe you think of retirees, discussing the latest John Grisham or C.J. Box novel. You probably don’t think of inmates discussing the plot line of any novel; much less bring up the plot device of “the hand of God” also known as “Deus ex machina”.

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Credit: Credit: Ernest Hemingway at his home in Cuba, circa 1950s. Courtesy of AE Hotchner.

Hemingway

Wed, Apr 7, 2021, 9:29am | By Michael Privett

For me, the Hemingway work that stuck was The Old Man and The Sea. I was stunned at its raw emotion, specifically Hemingway’s ability to depict a man fiercely at war with the natural world. I struggled with the symbolism; was the fish really a fish, or a metaphor? Did the boy represent the hubris of youth and the Old Man, God?

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Credit: Leonard Martinez (~1942, ~age 27) Credit: L. Torres

MANITO

Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 3:15pm | By Leeanna Teresa Martinez y Torres

Manito: Examining and Deconstructing New Mexico’s Tri-Cultural Myth; “Patterns of Migration”

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Denise Chávez  in front of

Denise Chávez in front of "Lalo" Chávez's mural in the lobby of La Posta in Las Cruces, NM. Photo by Daniel Zolinsky.

MOTHER’S DAY. 2019. ©2022  

Sun, May 1, 2022, 11:42pm | By Denise Chavez

Bendito, Bendito, Bendito Sea Dios Los ángeles cantan y alaban a Dios Yo creo Jesús mío que estás en el altar Oculto en la ostia te vengo a adorar I climbed one bumpy narrow step at a time with a rickety...

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Vanessa Baca

Vanessa Baca

Fish Not Flesh: Symbolism of the New Mexico Lenten Feast

Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 12:33pm | By Vanessa Baca

When I was growing up, my New Mexico Catholic family each year would enjoy what we call the Lenten meal. Though Catholics are asked to eschew eating meat on Fridays during Lent, it was the Good Friday...

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Miguel Trujillo with his daughter Josephine.

Miguel Trujillo with his daughter Josephine. Credit: Photo Courtesy from the collection of Josephine Waconda.

Miguel Trujillo 

Wed, Sep 1, 2021, 12:09am | By Gordon Bronitsky

For most Americans, Indians remain the backdrop to American history. Indian heroes are the warriors of the past. Miguel Trujillo was an Isleta Pueblo Indian living at Laguna who directly confronted the...

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Credit: Mural near International Border Crossing as seen with AR viewer. (screengrab of the Augment El Paso app) Credit: Ellen Dornan, photographer

Why is El Paso in Texas?

Fri, Aug 27, 2021, 2:49pm | By Ellen Dornan

Today, Southern New Mexicans frequently cross the border to El Paso, Texas, to enjoy shopping and entertainment, perhaps appreciating the culture without understanding the long history of why El Paso...

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George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart

George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart Credit: Retrieved from the Library of Congress

Washington’s Farewell Address: Timeless Wisdom

Wed, Feb 24, 2021, 9:38am | By Brandon Johnson

A lesson from Washington’s earlier life illustrates his deep understanding of how unchecked power and privilege can do violence to the fragile nature of liberty and self-government.

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Recent Columns

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these blog posts/articles do not necessarily represent those of the New Mexico Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.


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