Spotlight: South Broadway Cultural Center
Located on Broadway just north of Avenida César Chávez, the South Broadway Cultural Center has served as a community hub for art, music, dance, theater, film, and more since its opening in 1994. The center also offers a library and an event center, which can be rented for a variety of uses.
Currently on display in the gallery is Mal Aire, an exhibition curated by SBCC gallery curator and artist Augustine Romero and UNM Honors College associate professor Myrriah Gómez. Gómez is also the author of Nuclear Nuévo Mexico: Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos. The exhibit features the works of 19 local artists, including Noé Barnett, Eric Garcia, and Paloma Nava, and it explores the idea of “bad air” in literal and symbolic ways. The exhibition is free and will be on display through Saturday, Oct. 19; gallery hours are 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday. Upcoming events include a belly dance show, a Hawaiian music concert, and the 8th Annual Chinese American Film Festival. For details, visit the SBCC events page.
5 Things To Do in October
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Get your hats and gloves ready for those chilly fall mornings we all love so much, when the changing trees become as colorful as the sky above!
Still the world’s largest gathering to celebrate hot air balloons, the Balloon Fiesta returns in its 52nd year with the usual favorites—plus spectacular aerial performances by Team Fastrax Skydiving and a delightful drone show sure to please the whole family. This year, the fiesta—which runs Oct. 5 through Oct. 13—will feature 16 new special shapes, including seven from Brazil and one from right here in the shape of Zozobra. General admission tickets are $15; children under 12 are free. On Monday, Oct. 7, admission for all New Mexicans with valid ID is free. For schedule details, tickets, and more info, visit balloonfiesta.com.
Tortuga Art Space
Like death and taxes, rejection finds us all, one way or another. On Saturday, Oct. 5, from noon until 4:00 PM, face—and even celebrate!—rejection at the Tortuga Art Space at 901 Edith SE. Fifty New Mexican artists, including Maewyn Padilla, Jess Merritt, and Shaelyn Moody, will share their favorite works previously denied success. The exhibition is hosted by the Remarque Print Workshop and is free to attend.
Dark Red Film Festival
The perfect way to ease into Halloween, the Dark Red Film Festival spans three nights: Oct. 25, 26, and 27. Check out the Espooky Mercado, the free kick-off event at 4:00 pm that Friday at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. This arts and crafts market features all sorts of treats for the horror-inclined. A red carpet event takes place immediately after in the same location, with film screenings at the Roy E. Disney Center for Performing Arts: Bank of America Theatre. Then, visit The Guild theater in Nob Hill for a final day of screen screams sure to make you shiver. Tickets are $15 for a block of short film screenings, $35 for a day pass, and $75 for a VIP festival pass until Oct. 18. Students with a valid ID can get tickets for free. Find additional details on the festival’s Facebook page.
What Does the Constitution Mean to You?
For some additional political dialogue prompts this election season, watch Heidi Schreck’s seemingly timeless play What the Constitution Means to Me (directed by Leslee Richards) at the Vortex Theatre, starting Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 PM and running through Sunday, Nov. 3. The play, which debuted in 2017, explores issues related to women’s rights, immigration, citizenship, safety, and more, and it has earned awards from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, the Obie Awards, and the Off-Broadway Alliance Awards. Constitution was also a 2019 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama and earned a nomination for Best Play at the Tony Awards that same year, among several other nominations. General admission tickets are $24; SAG/AFTRA members can purchase them for $14. A pay-what-you-can show is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2:00 PM.
Play Ball at the IPCC
Through Oct. 27, visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center for Pueblo Baseball: Stitching Our Community Together, a celebration of baseball as it relates to 19 Pueblo communities. The exhibition explores the creation of two Pueblo baseball divisions and “serves as an introduction to the ways that Pueblo Baseball shapes Pueblo identities and reflects Pueblo value systems to all audiences.”
