If you grew up in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s, you likely would have encountered the manga character Kitarō at some point. Manga helped rejuvenate interest in a centuries-old assortment of various Japanese ghosts and demons, or yōkai.
A Musical Piñata for Christmas, now in its seventh year, is a bilingual, pointedly heartwarming theatrical event that’s both a celebration and a reflection of life in the City of Holy Faith. This year’s installment opens 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 and continues 7 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays, through Dec. 15.
Recent Lensic Performing Arts Center screenings of Hansard (National Theatre Live in HD) and Akhnaten (The Met Live in HD) were potent reminders of how much these broadcasts (and their high artistic standards) have added to the local cultural scene and that a significant emotional impact can be generated by the simplest of theatrical means as well as the most complex. They’re also an excellent value, with ticket prices capped at $28.
The Floozies, with opening act Mystic Grizzly, appear at Meow Wolf Friday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. (doors open 8 p.m.); 21+.
We’ve tiptoed into December, which means the crush to find that perfect present is on. Amuse-Bouche reviewers Patricia West-Barker and Laurel Gladden have got you cove…
In Vanessa Vassar's debut children’s book, Evan and the Skygoats (Leaf Storm Press, 48 pages, $18.95), the Albuquerque author writes of the loss of a daughter and — for her 3-year-old son, Evan — the loss of a big sister, which Evan struggles to understand.
Random Acts
Recreating the Christmas story: Las Posadas
Las Posadas is recreated in Santa Fe, presented by the New Mexico History Museum, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8. A candlelit procession will begin at 5:30 p.m. on the Santa Fe Plaza and end in the courtyard of the Palace of the Governors.
CCA Cinematheque and Screening Room
Movie Review
Great vistas, glum family: "Frankie"
There are a number of ghostly cinematic influences hovering over this film.
Lights of Los Luceros runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at 253 County Road 41. Admission is $6 for ages 16 and older, $3 for ages 3 to 15, and free for children under 3.
Local celebrities read Christmas stories at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Collected Works Bookstore and Coffee House. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.
Pre-solstice frivolity glazes over deep emotions. We can enjoy camaraderie and still feel the world changing.
Gregory Alan Isakov appears in Albuquerque at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, at El Rey Theater, 620 Central Ave. NW.
Random Acts
Meeting of the minds: Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell joins guitarist Julian Lage for a 7:30 p.m. performance on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Taos Community Auditorium.
The Santa Fe Symphony's holiday presentation takes place 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
Photography books
Picture perfect: Coffee table books worth their weight
A review of coffee-table books for the holidays.
Tencha Ávila set her play, No Number Home, in the small, southern Colorado migrant community where she grew up. Based on events that transpired when Ávila was a toddler, the play takes place in the days before Christmas 1944.
With glittering costumes, spellbinding feats of strength and endurance, and live music performed onstage, Wise Fool productions often elicit awe and wonder from audien…
Wise Fool returns to the Lensic Performing Arts Center with its Thanksgiving show. This year’s extravaganza, Circus Luminous: Chaos! plays 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30; and there is a sensory-friendly show 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1.
Leni Stern African Trio play Gig Performance Space on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m.
In Other Words: Poetry
Books by NM poets
An impressive new crop of books by New Mexico poets includes three debut collections, a seasoned sophomore effort, and the latest from a former Santa Fe Poet Laureate.
As 2019 draws to a close, Amuse Bouche decided to look back at the restaurants we reviewed in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico. Some were uniformly beloved by our crit…
What follows is our suggestions for 10 quirky gift ideas — from off-the-beaten-path CDs to books even an aficionado could love — for the classical music nut on your to-do list.
Movie Review
Love on the run: "Queen & Slim"
Queen & Slim is full of violence and danger, but it isn’t a hectic, plot-driven caper. Its mood is dreamy, sometimes almost languorous, at least as invested in the aesthetics of life on the run as it is in the politics of black lives.
Mixed Media
A winter Journey to Los Alamos
You don’t have to go to New York, London, or Austria to see A-list talent. Just head about 25 miles northwest to Los Alamos and the programs of the Los Alamos Concert Association.
The Goo Goo Dolls play at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, at Isleta Resort and Casino–The Showroom; doors to the 21+ show open at 6 p.m.
The New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Players perform at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30.
Random Acts
Revolutionary sound: Whyt Rbbt at Meow Wolf
Whyt Rbbt, a new collaboration between electropop music artist Indigo (vocals) and acid crunk artist An-Ten-Nae (beats), land at Meow Wolf on Friday, Nov. 29, 9 p.m., with guest act ATYYA opening.
Random Acts
Spanish guitar: Gustavo Pimentel at El Mesón
Classical Spanish guitarist Gustavo Pimentel gives a free concert at El Mesón Restaurant and Tapas Bar, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30.
This post-Thanksgiving weekend starts on a thoughtful note that can stray into grim determination. We may want to corner a younger relative — skewer them with tough qu…
On Sunday, Dec. 1, the Lensic Performing Arts Center will offer its first sensory-friendly performance. “We want to make shows universal so everyone can enjoy them,” says Joel Aalberts, the Lensic’s executive director.
Movie Review
A not-so-classic breakup movie: "Marriage Story"
Can this divorce be saved? For all its satirical jabs at bourgeois mores and self-involved artists (a MacArthur “genius” grant pops up for a cameo), Marriage Story is suffused with humanism and forgiveness.
Art News
Art briefs
Santa Fe’s former poet laureate wins National Book Award; Antiques Roadshow seeking hidden treasures in Santa Fe; Taos museum names new executive director, and more.
In Scott Johnson: Fissure, a beguiling, immersive exhibition of more than 30 works by Colorado artist Scott Johnson, the viewers’ perspectives are challenged; at Center for Contemporary Arts through Feb. 2.
Movie Review
The killing fields of West Virginia: "Dark Waters"
Outrage mixes with despair in Dark Waters, an unsettling, slow-drip thriller about big business and the people who become its collateral damage.
Mixed Media
A sweet life: Tony Vaccaro at Monroe Gallery
Tony Vaccaro: La Dolce Vita continues at Monroe Gallery through Jan. 26. The gallery screens the HBO documentary Underfire: The Untold Story of PFC Tony Vaccaro at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30; free, but RSVP required.
Suzanne Sbarge combines oil and acrylic painting with found imagery and invests all of her work with a surreal quality. There's a reception for Suzanne Sbarge: Dovetail 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 at Turner Carroll Gallery; the show runs through Dec. 14.
Jim Henson's legacy and passion for puppetry are carried out by his children and the scores of artists who have been inspired by him. The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited opens Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Albuquerque Museum and runs through April 19, 2020.
Holiday music
Tinsel tunes: Holiday music for all tastes
Whether the choice is Santa Fe tradition or something new, there should be plenty of musical cheer for everyone as we head toward the new decade.
Perini Ranch Steakhouse: Stories and Recipes for Real Texas Food, by Lisa and Tom Perini and Alters Jamison, was released this month (Comanche Moon Publishing, 192 pages, $35).
A Latin Explosion: Nosotros 25th anniversary celebration, featuring Manzanares and DJ Pancho Quiñones, is at Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery, 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.
Maybe you’ll find yourself in Denver or Los Angeles in the next few weeks. When you’re done feasting and it’s time to walk off all that pumpkin pie, consider these enticing exhibitions, and feast your eyes on art.
Terrell's Tune-up
Top (not quite) 10 and farewell (for now)
The clocks have caught up with me, folks, it’s really time to go. This is my last Terrell’s Tune-up. After more than 32 years at The New Mexican, I’m officially retiring as of Nov. 22.
Random Acts
All aglow: Lantern Launch
Glowing paper lanterns light up the sky (weather permitting) during the annual Lantern Launch, a family-friendly event at Towa Golf Club hosted by the Pueblo of Pojoaque, 3 p.m-9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27.
Random Acts
Sing like an Egyptian: "Akhnaten"
Phelim McDermott’s spectacular new production of Akhnaten by Philip Glass can be seen in Santa Fe via the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcast series 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, and 6 p.m. Dec. 7, at the Lensic.
Random Acts
A question of faith: Handel’s "Messiah"
Guillermo Figueroa leads the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and four vocal soloists in a performance of Handel's Messiah at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, and 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
CCA Cinematheque and Screening Room
Star Codes
Star Codes, Nov. 22-28
The sun enters celebratory Sagittarius this morning. From now until the winter solstice, we are inundated with holiday feasts and way-too-honest conversations around the dinner table.
What is almost certainly the most famous single piece of Renaissance choral music is also one of the least-often performed. It’s Thomas Tallis’ religious motet, “Spem in alium.”
Movie Review
Scorsese’s muted mafia movie : "The Irishman"
With its obsession with process and how-it-all-went-down chronology, The Irishman is tiresome, at times even dull in its pointless arguments and profane ego trips. But that leaves viewers confronting how movies — especially Martin Scorsese’s — have shaped our most disquieting desires.
Theater Grottesco presents Different at the Swan Theater; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 1 (no show on Thanksgiving).
CHILE PAGES
Movie show times
Culinary Arts
- Culinary paths to follow: New books for at-home chefs
- We came, we ate, we wrote about it
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Amuse-BoucheThe wisdom of elders: Steakhouse secrets, hot off the coals
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Amuse-BoucheBowled over: Mampuku Ramen
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Amuse-BoucheHearty Central American fare, with coffee to boot: Sagche's Coffee House
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Tasty MorselsTasty morsels, Nov. 1
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Just Drink ItJust drink it: The Mandarin blossom cosmopolitan at Jinja
- As authentic as it gets: 100 traditional New Mexico recipes
- Short takes: A snapshot of recent reviews
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Amuse-BoucheA taste for change: Santacafé
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Amuse-boucheBelly up: Bar foods for all-time noshing
- Short Takes: A snapshot of recent reviews
- La dolce vita: Sassella Restaurant
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Amuse-BoucheFeed your (balloon) fiesta
- Tasty Morsels