“Rancho Pancho” (The Arts Are Alive in “Duke City”)

Albuquerque is committed to the arts. Not just as in “a-good-idea” committed but as in “put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is” committed. The president of the Newcomers Club revealed in an introductory presentation that a one-percent fee is charged on all new construction projects to support the arts. There is a lot of public art. My first introduction to the city’s art commitment occurred when I flew into Albuquerque’s Sunport. In the rental-car pavilion, soaring, open, wood-beam ceilings of vigas and latillas echo the historic design of southwestern homes. Airport walkways flow around free-standing sculpture. Large-scale, Indian-design clay pots line the main entrance avenue. Travelers are welcomed, surrounded and nurtured with beauty. Appreciation of art lines the freeways where etched retaining walls in earth tones mimic the Sandia Mountains bordering Albuquerque on the east and include the vast New Mexico skies. Turquoise trim accents overpasses. Xeriscaped medians use multicolored stones for designs that meander and flow like the Rio Grande. Undulating rows of desert plants form intricate patterns pleasing to the eye. The intersection of the two interstate freeways, I-40 and I-25, or “the big I,” is flanked by monumental abstract sculptures.

The Roy E. Disney Center for the Performing Arts, part of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, was built in 2004 with his philanthropic support. It houses three theatres and has won architectural awards. It is located in the heart of Albuquerque along the banks of the Rio Grande in the historic neighborhood of Barelas, occupied by Spanish and Mexican families for centuries. Traditionally a farming community, it is crisscrossed by irrigation ditches linked to the Rio Grande. Some of the adobe homes in the area are 400 years old. Originally settled because of its proximity to a natural ford in the Rio Grande and the Camino Real, the 1,000-mile trail south to Mexico City, the neighborhood has undergone a recent energetic revival spurred by downtown revitalization and the arrival of the prestigious National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Built on the scale of L.A.’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with high, vaulted ceilings, wide halls and an open courtyard of flowing fountains and planters, it lacks only the traffic congestion, driving time, parking challenges and ticket costs of theater attendance in L.A. Recently I attended “Rancho Pancho” at the center, a play by Gregg Barrios, focused on the turbulent relationship between Tennessee Williams and his lover, Pancho Rodriguez. Creative set design, a “wall” of empty blue, green, and brown alcohol bottles artistically lighted, spoke volumes about their booze-drenched lifestyle while summering on Nantucket Island. It was a high-quality production in an intimate venue (97-seat theatre) - a big play with a small cast of four actors. Synchronistically, I met one of the performers socializing at church after a Realtor friend previously, and unsuccessfully, suggested we see the performance. Mindful of the “coincidence,” I knew I had to go. I’m so glad we did. What a glorious experience. For me, theater doesn’t get much better than that. And the ticket cost? $15.00 – just one of the reasons the arts are alive and well in “Duke City.”

Blurbs from the Burque:

• McDonald's featured item: McChicken Bueno - green chile


• Drive-thru service: Starbucks, Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors, Panda Express (yes!)