Miguela Holt y Roybal's Open Salon Blog

Return to Mars

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 22:04:13 -0400

(Chalk art on the sidewalk of the Portales courthouse by Jacob Lee)

New Mexico the Land of Enchantment

When I first moved to New Mexico as a youngster, I learned from my relatives that the state is known as The Land of Enchantment because the Hispanic and Native American cultures established its magic centuries ago with legends of brujas, curanderos, medicine men, and talking animals. There was also talk around the dining room table of strange glowing green fireballs in the night skies. Superstitious viejitos attributed the phenomenon to evil or lost spirits. Others, more contemporary in their beliefs, agreed with the local gringos that the fireballs must be the vessels of alien beings visiting the earth from another planet, probably Mars. I remember a conversation with my Tia Matilde in 1969 about the first astronauts who landed on the moon. "Bah!" she scoffed, "They were not on the moon. That's Roswell!" I just laughed but even as a child, I could understand how spacemen might be drawn to New Mexico because it is so remote in many areas. Whether I was on a mountaintop or in a lonely desert, this girl searched the night skies. A sense of wonder led to my early love of science fiction and I am fortunate to be able to rekindle that love for the genre every year.

The Jack Williamson Lectureship

For the past thirty-seven years, Eastern New Mexico University has sponsored the Jack Williamson Lectureship honoring the beloved professor who was also one of the earliest pioneers of Sci-Fi-- friend and mentor to the likes of Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl, Connie Willis, Joe Haldeman, and many others. I have attended the event for the past ten years and I would like to share this year's conference the theme for which was Return to Mars. Mars was Williamson's second favorite planet.

Friday night, spectators were entertained by this year's guest of honor and Grand Master of Science Fiction, Joe Haldeman, who burst on the the scene in 1974 with his novel Forever War . His other important books are The Hemingway Hoax, and Forever Peace. With them, Haldeman has garnered major science fiction acclaim winning Hugo and Nebula Awards. The man is also a poet and author of Saul's Death and Other Poems. Recent work includes Camouflage (2005), Old Twentieth (2006), The Accidental Time Machine (2008), Marsbound Trilogy (2008), Starbound (2010), and Earthbound (2011).

A nice luncheon was served in the university ballroom and one of my tablemates was fascinating Joan Saberhagen, wife of late sci-fi great Frederick. I was so pleased when she told me that she had donated his papers to my old school, Northern Illinois University.

Dr. Patrice Caldwell who has directed the lectureship for many years introduced Connie Willis, Jack Williamson's protegee, a woman who has won more Hugo and Nebula Awards than any other science fiction author. Willis charmed the audience with her warm remembrances of Dr. Williamson as well as her love for the television show, Primeval, a major theme of her speech. She also expressed her sorrow at the closing in Portales of the sci fi authors' favorite hangout, the Dairy Queen and how they would not be able to enjoy the Peanut Buster Parfaits in Portales anymore.

As Mistress of Ceremonies, Willis then presented the guest of honor, Joe Haldeman, whose speech focused on the conference's theme, Return to Mars. He told us that the exploration of Mars began in the 16th century and gave the audience a delightful history of the sometimes disastrous invention of the telescope as well as a childhood account of building a telescope with his friends from a drain pipe, rope, and a 100 times magnifying glass in order to study Mars. Although the device was swinging wildly, the boys swore they could see the red planet's polar icecaps and canals as the image flashed back and forth. He also expressed that when he was a young scientist, his and others' dreams were dashed in 1965. They learned that the planet was essentially dead when NASA's Mariner 4 performed the first successful fly by. Haldeman decided that he was a bad scientist and perhaps he could become a good writer and he believes and we agree that he made the right decision.

Joe Haldeman and his wife were gracious to pose for me while he signed copies of his books for conference attendees.

After lunch, people were able to buy books by the featured authors as well as Jack Williamson. My purchases at the table were Forever War, Haldeman's masterpiece, and Bellwether, Willis's love story.

More Books for Sale!

The university receives many donated books to become a part of the Jack Williamson Special Collection section of Golden Library. The ones that are not selected as part of the collection are sold to benefit the Jack Williamson Lectureship. I filled in my Ray Bradbury shelf with these delicious paperbacks pictured above at one dollar a piece.

This volume of God bless you, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut was purchased to be a lender from my home library.

Sidewalk Chalk Art

The Jack Williamson Lectureship has always reached out to local children with workshops and other activities. This year a writing workshop on character building was held at the Portales Public Library with Connie Willis and Steven Gould as instructors.

(Connie Willis, far right, joins high school participants of the workshop at the local sandwich shop, The Do Drop In instead of the Dairy Queen.)

Community involvement behind the Jack Williamson Lectureship was in full swing on Saturday. A chalk drawing contest was held and children of all ages were decorating the sidewalks with Return to Mars as the theme. It was about seventy-five degrees with very little wind, a lovely day, and the artists were entertained by musicians from the university.

(ENMU music students played for the participants and spectators.)

The drawing I used at the opening of this post was selected by me because besides its artistic excellence, the idea of a Native American in a full traditional headdress on Mars with the white buffalo in the background and establishing a stake there after having had his own land brutally stolen here on Earth gave me renewed hope that was lost last week when I read about the depressing prediction by scientist Stephen Hawking who concluded we will be an extinct species if humans do not leave the earth. Frankly, I give us much less time--maybe two hundred years--and it won't be pretty.

Onlookers were delighted with the wide range of ideas and dreams of the young artists. Below are some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy walking around the town square admiring drawings as much as we did and thank you for reading.

Jaime and Michelle's Reunion: Photo Essay

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:10:20 -0400

(Michelle and Jaime 2012.)

Party Girls

It would be wrong to think that I was completely glum in the shadows at my fortieth high school reunion last month. My friends know that I am a party girl at heart and my favorite person to party with and pretty much anything else is my BFF, Jaime. I have written before on my blog about my girlhood pal and with whom I have had a forty six year friendship. I knew that whatever happened at the reunion, we'd still have fun together exploring our old haunts in downtown Santa Fe, a very picturesque city, and I'd like to share some photos with you.

Approaching Santa Fe drivers can see the moody Sangre de Cristo mountains. Nevertheless, I always experience a comfortable feeling when I see the rolling range something akin to a hug.

On the day of the reunion Jaime and I planned to go downtown and wander around like we used to when we were young and reminisce about our Santa Fe girlhood. We went shopping at the old DeVargas mall first because Jaime needed a few things and I had to buy a more comfortable pair of shoes so we could walk around the plaza while the Santa Fe fiesta was in full swing. Once I was properly shod, we pondered where to have lunch. There are lots of choices for fine cuisine in Santa Fe and considered The Shed, however, we decided on Bert's Burger Bowl, our favorite hamburger joint since we attended Leah Harvey Junior High School in the late sixties.

Bert's Burger Bowl

Jaime and I used to eat lunch at Bert's everyday along with our friends. The establisment still makes the most delicious green chile cheese hamburgers on the planet. One location worldwide.

The longtime Santa Fe favorite restaurant still has the old concrete tables and benches where Jaime sits waiting for her burger.

Santa Fe's Low Key Fiesta

Maybe it was the overcast sky or maybe gasoline is just too expensive for the tourists to invade Santa Fe but the annual fiesta was not nearly as crowded as it has been in years past. It seemed to be a family day, like when Jaime and I were kids, with children chasing pigeons and old men taking pictures with their 36 mm cameras. Above celebrants are enjoying mariachi music across from the Palace of the Governors.

The natives still sell their finely crafted jewelry and other objects of art there.

Colorful impatiens were hung from the lamp posts all over the Plaza.

Jaime and I used to like to play guitar together and sing folk songs like those of Simon and Garfunkel. Somehow we knew our friendship would last a long time and so we have always planned on taking a picture while sitting on a park bench like the old friends in one of their songs called Old Friends/Bookends. When we are seventy, we will wear our round-toed shoes and stage a newspaper blowing across our feet. In the meantime we found an amiable young hippie dude who took our picture while we contemplated buying some cotton candy. We changed our mind when we learned it would cost five bucks!

Children dressed in costumes were frolicking merrily on the grass.

Hippies and school kids during their lunchbreaks used to hang out at the monument in the center of the Plaza and smoke.

Two handsome mariachi players posed for me.

Doodlet's is the most adorable novelty shop where Jaime and I would shop when we were teenagers buying pinon incense, colorful Polish foral scarves, metal pins in the shapes of parrots, and other sundries. The little shop used to smell like rosemary so fitting for the day but alas no more.

Many of our favorite dress shops are now gone: Nina, Ruoff's, The Guarantee, but The Sign of the Pampered Maiden is still here. We loved wearing dresses we bought there.

Speaking of dresses, I complained to Jaime that the women didn't wear traditional fiesta clothing anymore. We didn't. I was heartened when I saw these ladies who renewed my faith in the continuation of fiesta garb. I resolve to wear mine next time.

Canyon Road

When we left the Plaza, Jaime surprised me when she turned left onto Canyon Road, my old neighborhood, that is famous for its artists and one of our favorite haunts of old. The grungy hippies in the 1960s that we used to hang out with transformed this old neighborhood into a world class art colony. We passed many interesting galleries.

People were enjoying themselves at the sidewalk cafes. I recalled the old Three Cities of Spain where Jaime and I would order ice cream and coffee while we listened to our friends play in live bands like The Anvil Cloud.

Here is my old apartment and studio. I loved living here as a young adult across the street from the old Cristo Rey Church. This place had all the architectural trimmings inside so highly prized by Santa Feans--vigas, latillas, charming built-ins. The studio overlooks Canyon Road Park where I would play with my German Shepherd, Heidi.

This is a closer look at the entrance. I feel pretty sure that I would not be able to afford to rent this place at today's Santa Fe prices. Canyon Road soon veers off into upper Canyon Road and we thought about a longer drive but it was time to head back over to Jaime's place so we could dress for the reunion.

Santa Fe Country Club

Jaime was not as enthusiastic as I was to attend the meeting of our classmates. One reason was the venue at the country club. She has a long history there because her father was one of the founders and her mother died in a car accident when Jaime was fourteen after a long day on the links. My family could not afford the country club's dues and so I often went there with my friend as her guest and we enjoyed the pool and tennis courts many times. My memories of the place are happy.

Sing-A-Long

There were technical difficulties with the sound for my slideshow that Jaime had also worked on so hard. I had requested equipment that had Windows 2007 and the computers there had every Windows configuration except that one. We were very disappointed.

However, Jaime is a professor and also a musician and somehow was undaunted. She also always has my back. Do you know how Jaime saved the day? The talented woman SANG all the songs and even led the class in several! Our friend Leslie, also a music teacher, joined in with pretty harmonies. That slide show lasted almost twenty minutes and I almost felt lucky that the audio had failed.

I don't like to dance but enjoyed watching Jaime, who looked absolutely terrific, with all our old beaus while I got a little drunk and had cheery conversations with my classmates. I danced twice. Once with the fellow who reminded me of the fired speech teacher who hypnotized his students and another with the guy who protected me from my ex during the group photo. The latter hurt my feelings when he said I was leading even after I told him I was a crummy dancer having only had ballet training. My daughter reminded me that I wouldn't have had to lead if he was. She was right about that.

Jaime and I were not the last of our classmates to leave but we stayed awhile after the band left saying tearful goodbyes to our school chums until the next reunion. Fifty years. We'll be very close to seventy years old then.

The Reunion

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:10:31 -0400

(Group photo of Santa Fe High School's 40th high school reunion. Above: what we saw. Below: what they saw. You won't see me in this shot. I am hiding.)

Day of the Dread

Many people want to forget about their high school years. Some heartaches and the inumerable slights that hurt are just too much to bear. Consequently, the fortieth reunion of my high school graduation loomed before me like the black hole of doom. Like others, my high school experience was often painful and other times gloriously triumphant. After my reputation was ruined by my first boyfriend, I kept as low of a profile on campus as I could while still trying to please my parents with good grades and participating in school activities. Since I am still young looking and had a long career as an educator, I decided to attend because I wanted to demonstrate that I had overcome my past and was a decent person. Learning that my ex-husband would also be there, my friends told me to just smile and they would rally 'round me and they did.

Here is my account of the strange event. At the start of the evening I had a conversation with a classmate, a gentleman whose family is old guard Santa Fe. He reminded me of a long ago repressed memory that shed some light upon my inexplicable malais. This person all but ruined the night for me because he brought up the name of a teacher who affected my life profoundly and not for the better. Unsure if this was a purposeful cruel insult, I wondered why he would bring up the name of the popular high school speech teacher who was ubruptly fired in 1971. It baffled me because I have never had any relationship with this person who was stirring up my past; nevertheless, my heart beat fast as I reluctantly listened to him and pictured my life's trajectory-- how it was unalterably affected in such a way that I still reel from it to this very day.

Ghosts of Reunions Past

Now, I have attended other reunions of my class--in fact all of them except the ten year reunion which was disappointing because I had a great job at the Republican National Committee (don't ask) and looked the same as I did in high school. I would have loved to show off. However, 1982 was an election year and so no vacations were permitted after August.

When I left Washington years later, I became a teacher in New Mexico and was able to attend the twentieth reunion. Here is a picture of me dressed for the event--still looking good, I thought. It was enjoyable even though I was the only one there with an ex-husband also in attendance. He wanted to be friendly but I didn't.

(1992)

Instead there was another person I sought out. I confronted my first love about why he had ruined my reputation and to my surprise he was extremely contrite and apologized admitting that he was an asshole and begged my forgiveness. He was indeed forgiven but that is another story that perhaps I will share in the future.

For the thirtieth reunion, a number of classmates took a cruise but I and some of us others couldn't afford to sail to sea, so we planned an alternate reunion. We enjoyed barhopping downtown and then held a barbeque the next day at Hyde Park. Below is a picture of me with my pals. I was as big as a house and this photo is the very reason why I made sure not to stand in the front for pictures last month.

(The Santa Fe High School Class of 1972 in 2oo2.)

The Fortieth

As the 40th reunion date approached, as can be expected, there were plenty of classmates that I looked forward to seeing and you can be sure that there were also a few that I didn't. Nevertheless, I worked on the slideshow to be shown after dinner at the Santa Fe Country Club and made sure to include almost everyone even people who were unkind to me.

The country club dining room was alive with yellow and blue balloons as I drank my first glass of wine. My best friend Jaime brought our old friend, the one I mentioned earlier, to the table where I was sitting and greetings were exchanged. While we were revisiting our high school days, out of the blue he asked, "Do you remember how the speech teacher used to hypnotize his students who competed in tournaments so they would perform better?" My stomach dropped. I did.

Only once did I go to the teacher's small apartment on Otero Street. There were drinking, poetry readings, and argumentative debates going on there. And something else that was very sinister--hypnosis. Students were lining up to go under but not me. I am not the kind of person who can be hypnotized because I am not one who is easily suggestible, but I remember a person who did fall under the spell of the affable teacher: my future ex-husband.

Realize that I was the girl who had recently been the subject of gossip and was feeling like a slutty outcast. I was a little flattered when the teacher suggested to one of my classmates that he should ask me out on a date. Still, I found this person to be extremely unattractive with a strange back that made his physique look like a frog and wondered how in the world he could have such a pretty sister who was one of my friends. Nevertheless, after falling into a hypnotic trance, he asked me to go out and I stoutly refused.

The guy followed me around for weeks leaving notes in my locker and his friends, some of them were members of the popular set at school, reported that he was a swell guy. I finally relented and kissed the frog that began a reign of abuse that lasted over twelve years. The guy was obsessed and stalked me continually. I wanted to shake him but he would wreck his car, slash his wrists, and break wine bottles on his head until I relented.

I made the mistake of marrying him and the union lasted for ten years. We were childless, thank Providence, because I would not let the man touch me. He was no prince and became physically abusive. I endured a number of beatings whenever I tried to leave. Finally, I told him to kill himself, kill me, I didn't care, because I would rather be dead than live with him. I even suggested that I was gay--anything to get away from his oppressive presence. He finally let me go.

At the country club last month I tried to hide in the shadows but there he was all the way from Minnesota--the ex-husband--only he had undergone a hideous transformation that rendered him absolutely monstrous. He looked like some kind of humpback beast and his sister explained to me that he had gained a lot of weight because of a delayed hip replacement but it was something more. He must've also had a stroke because the guy was almost incoherent when he greeted me. I was physically sick.

During the group shot I have shared above, he came from behind me and put his hand on my shoulder and said, "hi." I turned around and with a shudder said hi in return but took the arm of the man next to me who didn't seem to mind being my protector. After the picture I hurried back to my table in the dark. The horrid man took a table by the entrance to the bar knowing that I would have to pass by to get a drink or two but I sent friends to bring them to me. Passing by him once, some boisterous classmates urged me to take a photograph that included him and I agreed to because I am not rude, however, I did not smile.

(Here I am smiling with one of my classmates-- the foreign exchange student who came all the way from Japan to celebrate with us.)

Joel & Jeanne: A New Film by Katharina Rivilis

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 17:08:19 -0400

As a school teacher for over twenty years, I have had the pleasure of knowing many talented young people among my students. One young lady, Katharina Rivilis, was a student in my English class at Las Cruces High School and I learned she was visiting New Mexico as a foreign exchange student from Germany. She was also a student of the theatre who performed in an astonishing production of Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread a one act play from David Ives' acclaimed All in the Timing with my daughter, Hillary, who is an artist/museum curator in New York City. I say it was astonishing because of the complex nature of the play. It employs the comic reordering of words that must have been challenging to the two actresses and especially for Katharina because English is not her native tongue.

Years later, Katharina Rivilis is a now a talented writer, director, and actress. She was born in 1985 in St. Petersburg. I learned that as a child she performed on the stages of professional theatre companies all over Europe. Between the years 2003-2007, she studied acting at the renouned University of Film and Television at Potsdam-Babelsberg in Germany. Since then, she has been acting in film and television productions such as Operation Valkyrie directed by Jo Baier and My Life - Marcel Reich Ranicki directed by Dror Zahavi.

Still a very young woman, Katharina is already an acclaimed director. Her last short film The Girl with the Red Hair recently premiered in the official selection of the Human Rights Film Festival in Barcelona.

Currently, Katharina is the writer, director, and actress in a new project before she begins formal studies at the German and Television Academy Berlin.

JOEL & JEANNE

Siblings Joel (Dejan Bucin) and Jeanne (Katharina Rivilis) are connected in a most peculiar intimate way. Their illicit relationship is put to a crucial test when they meet the charismatic Manuel at a wedding party. Manuel (Samuel Theis) is an uninvited guest and turns out to be a professional wedding crasher.

Joel and Jeanne are both fascinated by and attracted to him. The three flee from the party and drift through the night experiencing Manuel's main pursuit as a "biography thief." The stranger finds an intriguing way to manipulate the siblings while they hope to find in him a relief of their own impossible love.

Joel & Jeanne is a film that explores the fear of loneliness and isolation. It is the story of two people who feel like they don't fit into the society surrounding them because they are unable to face their deepest desires.

Cinematographer Benjamin Bayer

Benjamin Bayer has been working on films since the age of 17. Now, 17 years later, he has honed his skills with a technical education at various film schools in Europe and has worked as a cinematographer on numerous film projects. The possibility of new challenges, like creating a dense atmosphere for Joel & Jeanne triggered his interest when he read the script for the first time.

The Film Needs Funding

Are you in a position to help this film get off the ground? It is currently in pre-production. Your financial participation will support the following action items:

- Paying for the location rent for the wedding scenery
- Renting equipmemt for the shooting (camera + light + sound equipement)
- Renting / buying costumes for the actors
- Food for the crew on set while shooting
- Travel expenses to the set
- Film festivals promotion

To learn how to help, please see the following website:

http://www.indiegogo.com/joel-and-jeanne

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Katharina and her latest film.

Delicious Homemade Salsa

Tue, 3 Jul 2012 13:07:29 -0400

Homemade Salsa

I am making burritos for lunch today and we need some picante salsa to make our meal even more delicious. You can tell that I am a lazy cook and bought a quart of pinto beans from the deli. And since my homemade tortillas are shaped like the state of Texas, I bought a dozen from the grocery that are hot off the griddle, round, and perfectly acceptable. However, we prefer my homemade salsa to the kind that can be found in the store.

It's so easy and this will make about four cups of salsa. You will need a can of tomato sauce, four tomatoes, two jalapeno peppers, a half cup of parsley (real aficionados use cilantro but I don't like its soapy taste), four sections of garlic, three tablespoons of minced onion, salt, cumin, and chile powder.

Into the blender, I pour the tomato sauce. Then I quarter two of the tomatoes and add to the sauce. After de-seeding the jalapenos, I put one of them in with the tomatoes. Add the parsley and garlic and blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture from the blender into a bowl. The remaining tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos that have been diced very finely are then combined to the blended vegetables to give a nice texture. Add salt, chile powder, and a dash of cumin to taste and you have salsa that will please even the most discriminating lover of Mexican food.

After enjoying the salsa on our burritos, we snacked on tortilla chips 'til it was gone. That is the trouble with this recipe. It will not last!

The beautiful green bowls are vintage Indiana glass.