Pasatiempo

04/10/2025

New to the ballooning realm: visual artist Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) collaborated with Heritage Hotels and Resorts on the creation of a new balloon, which folks might get a glimpse of at this year’s Balloon Fiesta but most likely will have to wait to see at the 2026 event.The yet-to-be-unveiled balloon, named Revolt Rising, showcases designs from "Ortiz’s Revolt 1680/2180," his multidisciplinary project honoring Pueblo history and culture through a futuristic lens.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta runs Saturday, October 4, through October 12.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/rising-together-virgil-ortiz-collaborates-on-hot-air-balloon-for-heritage-hotels-anniversary/article_e19d968c-7423-4177-bfd4-9629219aad4b.html virgilortiz.com balloonfiesta.com

The Cochiti artist creates a balloon that honors Pueblo culture and celebrates the regional hotel chain's spotlighting of New Mexico and Indigenous artists.

03/10/2025

Three musically diverse musicians perform this weekend
The Masters of Hawaiian Music tour returns to the mainland of New Mexico with appearances at Albuquerque’s FUSION art center on Friday, October 3, and San Miguel Chapel on Saturday, October 4.
Denver-based singer-songwriter Slim Cessna and Maria de Cessna return to Albuquerque on Saturday, October 4, for a show at Juno Brewery.
Singer Frah Siraj and her trio bring their blend of Arabic, pop, flamenco, jazz, and bossa nova music to FUSION on Wednesday, October 8.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/performance/musical-eclecticism-exists-early-in-october/article_1f71183d-bdb3-4621-91f9-d4a7af649c27.html

Three under-the-radar performers playing at small Albuquerque venues in early October offer a diverse array of genres and a high level of musicality.

03/10/2025

Out There:
“The Life and Music of George Michael: A Tribute, a Party, and Epic Show”
Off-Broadway singer Craig Winberry’s concert-style show honoring music and legacy of the late 1980s icon is currently on a 27-city North American tour that stops at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque on October 12 for one performance.
The performance follows the career of the international star, who died in 2016, from his beginning in 1981 with Wham! and Andrew Ridgeley through his solo career. But Winberry is not a George Michael impersonator. He auditioned for the role at the end of the pandemic and has been touring ever since, stopping in Australia, Canada, and the United States. popejoypresents.com

“Blue Desert”
The play presented by Teatro Paraguas, written by John Macker, and directed by fellow Santa Fean Noah G. Simpsonn stars David Jondreau, Day Forgaard, Giacomo Zafarano, and JoJo Sena-Tarnoff. It focuses on a has-been director of horror films and his estranged daughter hiking in the desert to spread his wife’s ashes. Along the way, they encounter the owner of a soon-to-close rural cantina and a curandera — a faith healer — and all four head out on a journey of self-discovery. Running Friday, October 3, through October 19. teatroparaguasnm.org

Santa Fe painter Shan Ogdemli
In an arts mecca in which it’s difficult to find a niche, Santa Fe painter Shan Ogdemli’s works are instantly recognizable.
Ogdemli’s paintings and prints consist of imperfect circles resembling inspiring sights in nature: planets, stars, flowers, seashells. She says that her work is “inspired by energy, light and color, patterns from biology, geometry and physics, by the Earth and Cosmos and by the interconnectedness of all things.” Aurelia Gallery shows her works in the exhibit The Frequency of Light opening Friday, October 3, through November 16. shanogdemli.com

Visit santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/out-there/article_c273ed12-a043-4b73-ab8e-d5a514b3124c.html for more events.

03/10/2025

Three under-the-radar October concerts of note:
The Masters of Hawaiian Music tour returns with slack key guitarist George Kahumoku Jr., ukulele wizard Daniel Ho, and vocalist Tia Carrere at Albuquerque’s FUSION art center on Friday, October 3, and San Miguel Chapel on Saturday, October 4.
Singer Farah Siraj and her trio perform at FUSION in Albuquerque on Wednesday, October 8, blending Arabic, pop, flamenco, jazz, and bossa nova tunes.
Denver-based singer-songwriter Slim Cessna returns to New Mexico to showcase his latest project, performing with his wife Maria de Cessna for a show at Albuquerque's Juno Brewery on Saturday, October 4.

Three under-the-radar performers playing at small Albuquerque venues in early October offer a diverse array of genres and a high level of musicality.

03/10/2025

Filmmaker Wes Anderson speaks with Pasatiempo contributor Joshua Encinias about his reflections on Gene Hackman ("The Royal Tenenbaums") and his new movie "The Phoenician Scheme." Visit criterion.com for information on the collector's set of Anderson's contribution to the arts. "The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years."
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/movies/wes-world/article_43064124-2041-4957-a088-410df9c00e1b.html

On the heels of the release of a collection of his body of work, filmmaker Wes Anderson talks with Pasatiempo about his approach to filmmaking and the industry's wild and

03/10/2025

Cover Story
Brian Sandford interviews newly named U.S. Poet Laureate and Santa Fean Arthur Sze, who says: “If I’m reading a poem about acequias or farolitos, people might say, ‘What is that?’ It’s all part of America, so I look forward to expanding people’s awareness of these cultures and traditions.”
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/u-s-poet-laureate-arthur-sze-an-early-riser-and-a-frequent-reviser/article_1093a4c1-9a22-4986-9784-ba5fde766bd4.html

Santa Fe's Arthur Sze aims to familiarize people nationwide with both Indigenous issues and Southwestern terms and terminology as the U.S. poet laureate.

27/09/2025

COVER STORY: Congrats to the seven recipients of the 2025 Governor's Awards for Excellence in the . Check out our profiles on musician Nacha Mendez, artist Cannupa Hanska Luger, Keshet Dance and Center for the Arts, artist Kevin Box (Box Studio and OrigamiintheGarden), poet Connie Voisine, musician Pete Amaral, and artist Tim Cox (Tim Cox Fine Art ). Links to all their profiles are in the story below.

A fresh slate of Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts recipients steps into the spotlight.

23/09/2025

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Florence Jaramillo, owner of Rancho De Chimayo Restaurante, at age 94, just shy of the celebrated restaurant's 60th anniversary in October. She was a culinary force in northern New Mexico and a constant presence at the restaurant, which received the 2016 James Beard Foundation America's Classics Award, among many other accolades. We'll miss you, Mrs. J.

Cheryl Alters Jamison profiled the restaurant and Mrs. J for Pasa last December.

Florence Jaramillo continues a 60-year legacy of serving northern New Mexico's favorite dishes.

22/09/2025

Dennis Muscari, the Albuquerque-based location manager for the just-realeased film "HIM," builds cinematic worlds out of the terrain and resources at his disposal.

Dennis Mascari helped producer Jordan Peele bring his vision for his new football-horror film to life using far-out New Mexico places and a touch of magic.

20/09/2025

This Albuquerque festival is a capstone for three days of music, when "BandsofEnchantment" returns to the KiMo Theatre to film — showcasing three bands a night — for its 10-episode fifth season on PBS .

The PBS series launches a music festival that celebrates Route 66 and the local music scene.

19/09/2025

Soprano Renée Fleming will be in Santa Fe next week with back-to-back programs focused on music, the brain, and the environment at the Lensic Performing Arts Center. She’s hosting a panel discussion, Music and Mind, on Thursday and singing a recital titled Voice of Nature the following evening, in which the National Geographic plays an important supporting role.

The celebrated soprano shares her passions for music, the brain, and the environment.