Tag: Cultural Vibrancy

by Kristin Satterlee Eaters rejoice! After years of desire for Ethiopian food in New Mexico, Seble Yemenu’s Clay Pot Ethiopian Cuisine food truck opened in January to fill that need. So… what is Ethiopian food? Ethiopian cuisine consists largely of spicy, stew-like dishes. Those stews can feature meats, beans or lentils, or vegetables, but they…

by Kai Warrior kelechi agwuncha is a first-generation Igbo-American filmmaker, documentarian, and storyteller. agwuncha combines audio and visual blips in time with fervor and play, inviting you into their world while motivating you to question your own. Born and raised in Illinois, earning their BA at Southern Illinois University and their master’s at The University…

By Kai Warrior Growing up in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho public schools was interesting, to say the least. Being a child and noticing you’re treated differently than others is an isolating experience. Becoming older and experiencing racism in much more blatant, plain letters and not having any peers to share the feeling with is isolating…

By Shannon Yvonne Moreau  Back in the day, Broadway’s nickname was the Great White Way. It came from the sight of all the billboards and marquees lit up at night. Nowadays, it’s tempting to give that moniker some side-eye.   The theatre isn’t famous for inclusivity. Black playwright Lynn Nottage, despite many accolades, didn’t debut on…

by Kristin Satterlee In a small theater space near UNM, VIIIzon Academy co-founder Trey Pickett has taken on leadership of Black Cat Cultural Enterprises. Pickett envisions the space as a community hub, a mental health resource, and a place where everyone can joyfully be themselves. A space for everyone to shine “A lot of people…

By Shannon Yvonne Moreau Born from ragtime, blues, and Black spirituals in New Orleans, jazz embodies the American spirit of improvisation and individual expression. Yet it was created by those whose freedom was hard-won and remains an ongoing battle. This musical style’s heritage is celebrated in April during Jazz Appreciation Month, and some say it’s…

By Kristin Satterlee The Black Men Flower Project has moved to New Mexico! The nonprofit has a beautiful mission, challenging stereotypes of Black men and boys by giving them flowers to recognize their beauty, humanity, and contributions. “I just don’t want to be here anymore” Robert Washington-Vaughns founded the nonprofit in 2021, a few years…

by Kristin Satterlee This holiday season, you’re invited to National Dance Institute of New Mexico’s SOUL-stice Jam and Bazaar, on Dec. 21 from 2 pm to 8 pm. Photo credit: National Dance Institute of New Mexico What is the National Dance Institute (NDI)? While primarily known for its dance classes at the Hiland Theater in…

by Shannon Yvonne Moreau Wouldn’t it be cool if there were one place to learn about all the events and entertainment happening in New Mexico? That’s the question local publisher Teresa Robinson asked herself while at her first Isotopes game, seeing the advertisers and businesses promoting there. The result: New Mexico Entertainment. Launched in 2013…

by Samantha Anne Carrillo In the United States, Latinx and Chicanx Studies scholarship has largely focused on the colonial period while historically erasing Blackness. A new cross-institutional, cross-regional collaborative research project, AfroChicanx Digital Humanities Project: Memories, Narratives, and Oppositional Consciousness of Black Diasporas, explores, interrogates, and documents contemporary experiences of people who self-identify as Afro-Latina/o/x…

by Kristin Satterlee What does it mean to be a Black New Mexican? How does one make sense of that identity in light of our state’s tricultural myth: the story that New Mexico history revolves around Latine, Indigenous, and Anglo heritages in a way that tends to erase everybody else?   Or, in Ellery Washington’s words,…