By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For an academic year, the galleries of the University of New Mexico Art Museum (UNMAM) looked different. Instead of exhibitions, the spaces became working areas filled with artwork, museum staff and students. Now, after a year spent behind the scenes, the galleries are open to visitors again. The UNM […]
Sara Atencio-Gonzales
Sara Atencio Gonazales is a features reporter for nm.news and The Paper. She is a native of Albuquerque.
Posted in+Arts & Culture
3 Questions: Eddie Tafoya at TEDxABQ
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For writer, professor and comedian Eddie Tafoya, getting things wrong might just be part of getting somewhere worthwhile. At TEDxABQ 2026: Reframe, Tafoya will take on a lifetime of mistakes, setbacks and doing things the hard way to make the case that our imperfections might be exactly what the […]
Posted inNM.news
Santa Fe’s Teatro Paraguas brings a piece of New Mexico history to Albuquerque stages with Esperanza
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – A pivotal chapter of New Mexico labor history is taking the stage again as Santa Fe’s Teatro Paraguas brings Esperanza to Albuquerque this month. Santa Fe’s Teatro Paraguas will stage Esperanza, an original play with music by playwright Carlos Morton, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) from Aug. […]
Posted inAlbuquerque
3 Questions: Bryan Konefsky with Basement Films and Experiments in Cinema
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For more than two decades, filmmaker and educator Bryan Konefsky has been bringing experimental filmmakers from around the world to Albuquerque through Experiments in Cinema, the defiantly noncompetitive experimental film festival he founded in 2005. What began as a single-night event has grown into an international gathering devoted not […]
Posted in+Arts & Culture
Art Battle Albuquerque pits artists against one another to crown the best in Burque
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – Paintbrushes, blank canvases and a ticking clock come together as Art Battle makes its Albuquerque debut this weekend. Art Battle Albuquerque brings 12 artists together for a live painting competition Sunday, Aug. 16, at Valle De Luna Event Center. Artists have just 20 minutes to transform blank canvases into […]
Posted inAlbuquerque
3 Questions: Nancy Arenas of Red & Green VegFest
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. — For more than a decade, Red & Green VegFest Albuquerque has brought together New Mexicans curious about plant-based living, animal advocacy and healthier ways of living. Organized by Sprouting Compassion, the festival returns for its 11th year with the theme “Get Your Groove On, Eat Plants, Love Animals!” and […]
Posted in+Arts & Culture
Placitas’ Anne Hillerman, ABQ Museum’s Andres Connors among those honored with Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – Best-selling author Anne Hillerman is joining some of New Mexico’s most celebrated artists as a recipient of the 2026 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, an honor she says left her both surprised and deeply grateful. “Oh my gosh, I was thrilled, and I guess humbled is the […]
Posted inAlbuquerque
Vortex Theater premieres ‘They Must Be Women Now’ for 50th anniversary season
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – The Vortex Theatre is preparing to raise the curtain on the world premiere of They Must Be Women Now, a new play by Nedra Pezold Roberts that explores family, identity and the forces that shape women’s lives across generations. The production, directed by RayRey Griego, opens Aug. 14 as […]
Posted inAlbuquerque
Nob Hill’s Guild Cinema Celebrates 60 years on Route 66
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – For six decades, the Guild Cinema has offered Albuquerque moviegoers something they cannot always find at a multiplex. From independent and foreign films to documentaries, cult classics and local productions, the Nob Hill theater has become a destination for audiences looking for a different kind of movie experience. Now, […]
Posted inAlbuquerque
Albuquerque-based Horizon Review gets lit
By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – Some art exists only for a moment. A stage performance ends, a gallery exhibit comes down and a reading concludes. For Leah Livingston, editor-in-chief of Horizon Review, those creative moments deserve a life beyond the stage or gallery. That belief inspired the creation of the Albuquerque-based literary and fine […]