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The Abiquiu News is brought to you by Carol and Brian Bondy
Image Courtesy of Mario Manzo
See More of Mario's Work online
Image Courtesy of Mario Manzo
See More of Mario's Work online
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September 26, 2025
In GratitudeThis year’s El Rito Arts Festival includes exciting newcomers, tour favoritesThe El Rito Art Association’s biggest event of the year is this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28, 10am-5pm. Returning to the fall by popular demand, this year’s festival has expanded to more than 20 artists at stops throughout El Rito. Among the newcomers:
Returning favorites include art photographer David Michael Kennedy, painters Lucia Vinograd and Shawn Demarest, and the El Rito Library, with quilts and “Death by Chocolate.” El Farolito will serve its award-winning food and display art. San Juan Nepomuceno, one of the finest examples of historical New Mexican churches, will be open for visitors, as will the Santa Fe Raptor Center. Stop 1 on the tour is the Community Mercado, held at the beautiful El Rito campus of Northern New Mexico College. It will feature 20 local artisans, including students from NNMC’s Heritage Arts Program in Rio Grande weaving, Spanish colonial woodworking and traditional retablo painting. There will be a pottery workshop, music by Ruben Dominguez, and food provided by Rio Arriba County 4-H Clubs and sponsored by El Rito’s own Zenitram Industries. Partial funding for the event was granted by the Rio Arriba County Lodgers’ Tax. The first El Rito Studio Tour took place in 1986 and has continued every year since. In 2016, the El Rito Art Association (ERAA) was formed to support and grow the vibrant El Rito arts community by offering art education in local schools and arts-related activities throughout the year. The ERAA has sponsored classes in traditional micaceous pottery, paper clay, tin-stamping, children’s mask making and earlier this year, a 3-week printmaking workshop on the NNMC campus. Currently, it hosts a free weekly open pottery studio and is collaborating with the college to host continuing education classes in the arts. David Michael KennedyA big thank you goes out to David Michael Kennedy for renewing his artist sponsorship.
David Michael Kennedy’s vast body of work includes iconic portraits of musicians, actors and artists such as Bob Dylan, Debbie Harry and Willie Nelson. In 1986, he moved to New Mexico and began to focus on his fine art photography, concentrating on the Southwest landscape and the people who live there. Through hard-won relationships developed over time, Kennedy was granted permission to photograph American Indian Ceremonial Dancers. Kennedy’s images are materialized through the traditional analog technique of platinum/palladium printing. He teaches private landscape, portrait and platinum/palladium darkroom to students who come from all over the world to study with him. His work is held in both private and museum collections including The National Portrait Gallery, The Smithsonian, New Mexico Museum of Art and The Harwood Museum. Visit David at the El Rito Studio Tour Stop # 15 Call to schedule a visit to his Studio / Gallery in El Rito 505-660-3312or visit online Visit David Michael Ten Years of the Bloom Blog, 255 Species IdentifiedA big gratitude goes out to Marilyn Phillips. Be sure to check out Marilyn's Website Wildflowers of the Southern Rocky Mountains and familiarize yourself what's blooming here on your hikes or in your own backyards.
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News and Features
Scope, number of troops still being determined, guard leader says
New Mexico’s National Guard Adjutant General announced Monday that guardsmen will soon be deployed to Española, a town of roughly 10,000 people in Northern New Mexico whose leaders recently asked for state help dealing with a crime, drug and housing crisis.
Umami – you’ve probably seen the word enough times to have some idea what it means. But for this interview, I wanted to dig a bit deeper: did you know that it has been officially recognized as the fifth taste, distinct from sweet, salty, sour, and bitter?
Florence Jaramillo, “Mrs. J”, beloved owner of Rancho de Chimayó
Restaurante, passed away on the morning of September 22, 2025 at her home in Chimayo, New Mexico. She was 94.
New Mexico’s congressional delegation is demanding the Trump administration exclude the state from efforts to rescind federal protections for roadless areas in national forests, citing economic and safety concerns.
Job and population growth fueling the shortage
SANTA FE – New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday announced new satellite data showing New Mexico’s methane rules cut oil and gas facility emissions in the Permian Basin by half compared to neighboring Texas.
On Wednesday, two scientific instruments developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory launched into space aboard a NASA spacecraft that will explore and chart the boundaries of the heliosphere — the bubble surrounding the sun and planets inflated by solar wind — and study how it interacts with the galactic neighborhood beyond.
Where the world just doesn't fit
My social media algorithms have been targeting me lately. Not in the usual ways, either. There are, in fact, strangely few ads for new Lego products and dog trainers and those jiggly weights for rock-solid abdominals.
Found in meadows, disturbed areas
Seen blooming in September in Abiquiu
I’ve written about Starlink before, and I know a lot of folks aren’t happy with E.M. However, as I’ve said, if you knew the CEO of all the companies you bought from, you probably wouldn't. So, all I can say is that Starlink provided us with the fastest, most trouble free, reliable internet service we’ve ever had.
Previous News and Features
You're Invited to a Public Meeting on the NM 554 El Rito Bridge Replacement ProjectThe NMDOT invites you to attend an in-person public meeting to discuss the NM 554 El Rito Bridge Replacement Project in El Rito, Rio Arriba County, NM. We are planning to replace the aging bridge on NM Highway 554 that crosses El Rito Creek at the northern edge of El Rito. The existing bridge is in poor condition and will be replaced to enhance safety, maintain long-term access, and meet current engineering standards.
Join us to view the proposed bridge design, learn about traffic and access impacts during construction, and ask questions and share your input with the project team. Your feedback matters and will help guide the final design. MEETING DETAILSDATE: Thursday, October 2, 2025 TIME: Starts at 6:00 PM MT LOCATION: El Rito Public Library 182 Placitas Rd, State Rd 215 El Rito, NM 87530 The meeting will include a brief presentation followed by a Q&A session. How to Share Comments & Questions We encourage you to provide your feedback on the NM 554 El Rito Bridge Replacement Project. Comments and questions can be submitted in any of the following ways: COMMENT PERIOD DEADLINE: November 2, 2025BY MAIL: Attn: Julie Kutz, NM 554 El Rito Bridge Replacement Project Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc 6501 Americas Parkway NE, Suite 200 Albuquerque, NM 87110 BY EMAIL: jkutz@geo-logic.com ONLINE: See comment form
At Presbyterian Española Hospital, we’re determined to help you stay healthy this flu season. On Saturday, October 4, we will be hosting a free community drive-thru flu shot clinic in the hospital parking lot at 1010 Spruce St. The clinic will be from 9 a.m. to noon for adults 18 years and older.
To help make your visit as smooth and comfortable as possible, please read and follow these guidelines:
To find out more information about which vaccines are right for you and your family, visit our vaccination resources page at phs.org/vaccines. To find out more about free flu shots in your area, visit us on the web at phs.org/events. We Get Letters
Do you have a story to tell, a history to share?Whether you have been here ten years or your family hundreds of years, you have a story to tell about your connection to Abiquiu. Email us
If you have a story to tell, send it in. If you want, interview your friend, relative, teacher, co-worker. If you think it would be interesting, I bet other people would too. Give it a try and send something in to us. Carol Bondy Scene Around AbiquiúSend us your local images! Send to AbiquiuNewsImages@gmail.com. Please send images under 1mb. My inbox will thank you. ~Carol
Art, Music, Film, and BooksVisit our Arts sponsor page
Visit abiquiustudiotour.org for more information.
The Locals’ Picks Book List
Zach Hively Casa Urraca Press has created a place for locals in our area to recommend books to each other, and a place to find book suggestions with a personal touch.
Have a book to recommend? Send it to Zach at casaurracaltd@gmail.com – title, author, and the reason you suggest it.
The full Locals’ Picks list is available to view here on Bookshop. A purchase from Casa Urraca's link helps support independent bookstores. Abiquiu’s Casa Urraca Press earns a commission from every shopping trip that starts with the above Bookshop link—you can shop the entire Bookshop site in addition to the locals' picks. Plus, a percentage of every book (at least 10%) goes straight to independent bookstores. This is an opportunity to support small businesses with the same convenience as large online retailers. Local Library NewsEl Pueblo de Abiquiú Library & Cultural Center
The group meets the last Tuesday of each month at the Abiquiu Library. Books are recommended by the members. All are welcome to join. Please call Analinda 927-6220 if you have questions.
El Rito Library
Looking for lodging near Abiquiú?
EventsPlease remember, events will go in for a maximum of three Fridays before the event. Send text, word or publisher file and a separate image, please keep images below 1 mb and send to info@abiquiunews.com. Vertical PDFs or JPGs will be edited for space. Send by Wednesday Noon for inclusion in that Friday's News.
Join us for Archaeology Fair at Ghost Ranch on Saturday, September 27th, 2025, from 10 am until 3 pm. Last year we partnered with the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division and more than a dozen state, federal, and private archaeological organizations to bring Archaeology Day to the public at the Center for New Mexico Archaeology.
This year we are teaming up with the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division to hold the event at Ghost Ranch, located at 280 Private Drive 1708, Highway US 84, Abiquiu, New Mexico 87510. Join us at this historic and picturesque destination for a day of activities and learning. Ghost Ranch will be free and open to the public from 9 am until 5 pm on Saturday the 27th; day use fees will be waived and both the museums and hiking will be free. Planned activities include: • Atlatl throwing in the clover field • Pinch pots • Sherd drawing/coloring • Flintknapping • Lithic artifacts • Ceramic artifacts • Historic artifacts • Bone tools • Yucca fiber Participants include: • Historic Preservation Division (HPD) staff • Ghost Ranch staff • New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies (OAS) • New Mexico State Parks • United States Army Corps of Engineers • Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) • Department of Cultural Affairs' (DCA) Wonders on Wheels It is highly recommended that all Archaeology Fair participants bring their own water and snacks. 
Note - Date Change The Free Film Screening of Thinking Like Water is now October 3
Come join us on Saturday, October 4th for our annual FREE Open House! From 10am until 3pm, we will be here at NMWC with Ambassador Animals for you to meet, pumpkins for you to paint, and games and activities for all ages.
This year, we're also offering a special ticketed program during the Open House: an animal tracking workshop with Ann Hunkins, an Internationally Certified Specialist Tracker. Registered attendees will be able to explore the NMWC campus with Ann, discovering all sorts of tracks and signs of wildlife! Tickets for this workshop are $30 per person, and space is limited. Registration for the workshop starts tomorrow, September 18th, so keep an eye on our social media tomorrow morning for the link to register! The Open House will be free to the public from 10am-3pm on October 4th, right here at NMWC: 19 Wheat Street, Española, NM 87532. The ticketed workshop begins at 10:30 at the same location. We hope to see you there, and be ready to register for the workshop tomorrow morning! Community Café
Join us if you have heart, commitment and willingness to support our local community.
Next Meeting Thursday, October 9 DATE: Second Thursday of every month TIME: 6:00 pm LOCATION: Rural Events Center Contact: abiquiucommunitycafe@gmail.com VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to help at the Farmers Market, both early and late shifts. Every Tuesday: Set up and take down 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm and Parking and closing: 5:00 - 6:00 pm Please email Jen Harrington to confirm: JanetMHarrington@gmail.com Announcements and Classes
NEW Classes at Dancing in the Desert
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GuthrieThis 2-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix is 52 lbs of gentle, wagging-tail love. Since December 2024, Guthrie has patiently waited across shelters and fosters—but he still greets everyone with hope and kindness. Great with people and other dogs, he’s a once-in-a-lifetime companion.
The catch? Allergies. They developed in a previous environment, but back in New Mexico, with the desert and mountains under his paws, his allergies are now under control and he’s on the mend. Guthrie deserves a family under these skies. If you can manage his allergy meds and give him a forever home—or a foster-to-adopt chance—apply on our website. Our vets can share more about his history for those ready to meet this special boy. 
CheddahCheddah Bob: the big cheese. Yes, his name is Cheddah Bob, and yes, he’s basically a cat-shaped wedge of pure joy. At 10 years old, this buff tabby loaf has a belly built for maximum cuddles and a cute shortstack tail (which draws extra attention to how ample muffintop).
Cheddah Bob doesn’t just sit on laps—he claims them. His purr is a full-on symphony, and his love of all breathing creatures is extra. Vaccinated, neutered, microchipped, and 100% committed to living his best life in YOUR home. Adopt Cheddah Bob… because somewhere between a nap and a head scratch, he’s plotting to be the funniest, fluffiest love you’ll ever have. www.espanolahumane.org 
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