SOUTHWEST WORD FIESTA 2023
By Catalina Claussen
“The Southwest Word Fiesta offers a crossroads where writers, industry professionals, and word lovers meet to discuss the craft of written and oral expression.”
CENSORED VOICES: BANNED BOOK PROJECT
Co-written by Dillon Pacheco & Andrea Galindo
“In the realm of intellectual freedom, censorship emerges as a contentious force.”
AN EDUCATIONAL MOMENT AND MOVEMENT: BANNED BOOK WEEK
By Heather Frankland
Many of the books challenged are those written by and about populations traditionally marginalized.
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: THE BURNING OF ZOZOBRA AND HERALDING THE NEW SEASON
By Nicolasa Chávez
“Now celebrating his 99th year, Zozobra is older than the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Tree.”
ANCIENT DEATH RITUALS RUN DEEP IN NEW MEXICO
By Ana Pacheco
“Through the mid-20th century some women wore the tápalo in the villages of northern New Mexico. That tradition is long gone, but the one that remains is the descanso, the roadside memorial.”
MY HALF-CENTURY-PLUS ASSOCIATION WITH THE NEW MEXICO HUMANITIES COUNCIL
By Jimmy H. Miller
“my association with the NMHC began before the Council was actually chartered.”
THE FREEDOM TO THINK OR WHY BOOK BANNING IS BORING
By Emily Romero
“if I truly like to think of myself as having a growth mindset then I have to support that with experiences and ideas that challenge me to be a critical & creative thinker and to engage with a variety of people and materials.”
CIVIL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE — THE FORCE OF REIES LOPEZ TIJERINA
By Ray John de Aragon
“What was the immortal legacy of the extreme activism of Reies Lopez Tijerina?”
COMO QUE DOLLY PARTON ?!
By Leeanna Teresa Martinez y Torres
“As a young girl growing up in rural New Mexico, I’d sift through Mama’s record collection, often landing on what became one of my favorite albums.”
THE B-52 BOMBER THAT FELL FROM THE SKY
By Mario X. Martinez
“In the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 30, 1963, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was flying a routine training mission out of Walker AFB when a tragic event thrust the inhabitants of the Mora Valley into the national spotlight.”