One of the city’s key assets is the historic KiMo Theatre, located in the heart of Downtown, on Central Avenue and Fifth Street. The storied pueblo-deco structure built in 1927 has seen more than 10,000 people file into its 650-seat theater in the past few months.
Oreste Bachechi, an Italian immigrant and merchant, was the visionary behind the theater. Isleta Pueblo Gov. Pablo Abeita won a contest to name it — KiMo is a combination of two Tiwa words meaning “mountain lion,” but the name is liberally interpreted as “king of its kind.” A large fire in the early 1960s nearly destroyed the stage and severely damaged adjacent areas at the front of the auditorium. Slated for destruction, the KiMo was saved in 1977 when Albuquerque’s citizens voted to purchase it.
The city’s Arts & Culture department — led by Shelle Sanchez for the past six years — oversees the KiMo. The department’s 400 employees also manage the ABQ BioPark, Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Library System, Albuquerque Museum, the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, South Broadway Cultural Center and Explora. Arts & Culture handles event permitting, special events in Old Town, the city’s Public Art program and One Albuquerque media.
During the pandemic, Sanchez said the KiMo took advantage of closures to do needed upgrades — seven new roofs, new HVAC systems (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), revamped dressing rooms, updated technology, a new stage floor and LED lighting, the installation of security shutters and window awnings, a new private event space and a backstage VIP area for performers, and a relocation of the box office.
City Desk ABQ asked Sanchez, previously a 12-year director of education at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, about the KiMo’s role in the Downtown corridor and the city at large. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
City Desk ABQ: The KiMo upgrades were something positive you could do during the pandemic?
Sanchez: We did a lot of deferred maintenance; a lot of cleaning. You really have to be super intentional in places like this when you do major projects because you only have little windows — maybe two or three days — between shows. All of a sudden, we had months. And we had some additional funding because we had salary savings. We had expenses we weren’t incurring because we weren’t doing some of the things we do every day. That was true across the departments. We used that money to just really dig in.
Otherwise, the pandemic really did a number on the theater.
Programming just got turned on its head. I mean, completely stopped. Theaters, the arts — we were the absolute last thing to come back. The arts lagged for a very long time, whereas other things like parks, libraries, and even museums bounced back pretty well in 2021. Even once we felt like we could offer a full season — all of your touring groups, touring bands, touring theater — they still had to ramp back up. You can’t just say: “We’ll start a tour tomorrow.” So that lagged a lot and then audiences lagged a lot in theaters. It was one of the last places people felt comfortable coming back to.
The KiMo was damaged on June 1, 2020, by a small group after a largely peaceful demonstration?
There were broken windows and an attempt to set it on fire. I think the KiMo could have been seen as a symbol, a landmark, as representative of the city. It has a presence in the community. It was pretty intense. I think it was $18,000 worth of damage. That night was very bad for Downtown.
What’s your take on Downtown since?
There were many challenges faced by vibrant restaurants and businesses that just couldn’t make it during the pandemic. It had an amplifying effect.
I think what was really hard about it was that we were feeling so much positive momentum.
There was momentum going; so much momentum and it really stopped. It was really like five steps backward. When things go empty, the things around them feel more empty. But I’m very excited about Downtown and I feel really good about what’s going on at the KiMo.
What’s been the goal with shows and programming?
In 2019 we began a shift toward more intentional programming. The focus has been fewer, but higher-quality events that resonate with the community. There have been fewer events at the theater due to staffing constraints, and we’ve said no to some events to prioritize better attendance. We have to be careful about overcommitting staff and resources and balance the number of events with the available staff.
It’s a very different approach to programming that, I will be honest, I don’t know that everybody’s on board with yet. Before, I think the tendency was just to say yes to anything, so we would have more events, but most had 20 to 60 people. To me, that’s not a good use of city resources and of staffing. To just say yes to everything, it sounds good in theory. We’d love to say yes to everything, but we would have to have three times as many people working here.
It means that although we have fewer events on the calendar than maybe we did in 2019, we have more people coming to the KiMo. Most events that we’re offering are anywhere from 80% full to sold out. That’s what we’ve seen so far this year and what we saw last year, too.
Some compare the KiMo to the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe.
I would call them sister cousins. I don’t know if they were built in the same year (the Lensic was built in 1931), but they’re definitely contemporaries. They were designed by the same architects (Boller Brothers). They both started out as movie theaters. They’ve both managed to weather all of the years and they’ve managed to evolve into really important cultural spaces.
Do you see the KiMo as a Downtown and city asset?
It’s interesting to me because I also live Downtown so I walk most days to work and pass by the KiMo a couple times a day. I would say 50% of the time when I pass by, there’s somebody taking a picture of it, getting a picture of the (historic) plaque. It’s a really important and beloved landmark for people who live here but also for visitors. This place is beautiful.
I know people always want more from the KiMo, and we’re going to keep trying to give more, but everything is a matter of investment. What do we want and how much do we want to put into it? How much do we want out of it? And then how do we weigh that with all the other things we have to do?
For more on the KiMo, click here.
Nonprofit journalism like this depends on readers like you. This story is supported by City Desk ABQ, a nonprofit newsroom project of Citizen Media Group supporting news and politics coverage that inspires readers to participate in local democracy. Become a supporter to keep City Desk free and support nonprofit, independent journalists covering politics and policy f0r New Mexico newsrooms.