Best of the West
Photos by Mike Stauffer, courtesy of New Mexico Dept. of Tourism
A detail of Santa Fe's famed adobe architecture
From venues to vistas, legendary artists to nonprofit organizations, we give you Santa Fe’s top treasures as chosen by our local citizenry
Yes, we love this place, and to celebrate the best of our small town, we thought we’d call upon our fellow citizens to find out just what makes Santa Fe so special to them. So we sent a simple question scattershot throughout the community: from artists (Forrest Moses and Tony Abetya included) to executives, and even a few celebrities (Randy Travis, Judge Reinhold, and Russell Means among them), we asked them to tell us their five favorite, locally based things that make Santa Fe the best of the West. We hope their picks remind you why you love this town, while inspiring you to explore some new territory this summer.
Owings Dewey Gallery “Here you can find the complete art history of Northern New Mexico, from the late 19th century well into modernism, with a refreshing blast of contemporary regionalists. The gallery is one of those mysterious vortices that draws many of the finest masterpieces and unexpected gems of our region’s history into its thresholds. I am never disappointed and always inspired by Nat Owings’ gallery. It’s also a great workout just climbing those stairs.” Pojoaque Pueblo’s Poeh Center “There you can take a labyrinthine tour through Pueblo history amidst works by Roxanne Swentzell. Plus, they have progressive and inspiring shows with many new and upcoming artists.” The Shed “The food is simply New Mexican, and there are few of these places left. Second: Mucho Gusto. Both are just plain good.” Downtown Subscription “A neighborhood tavern for movers and shakers of the Southwest, yet tranquil.” SITE Santa Fe “It may seem out of place to many who have defined what Santa Fe should be like, but there we have the opportunity to engage in a discourse of another world. Go there—and if you have any doubts about what you see, or hate it altogether, ask for one of their docent-led tours. I’ve done it; and I thought I knew everything.”—Tony Abeyta, artist
Video Library “The true filmophiles who work there take it personally if they don’t have what you’re trying to see.” Cafe San Estevan “Blue corn enchiladas … a religious experience.” Santa Fe Arts Inc. “Owner Paul Rose is possibly the nicest guy in town.” Zaplin-Lampert Gallery “Not only do they really care that their art finds a good home, they also make our community a great place to live.” Pat Narvaez “Santa Fe’s über-trainer and legendary lightning rod. He’s been struck by lightning numerous times, so don’t run too close to him on the trail.”
—Judge and Amy Reinhold, actor and producer
Santa Fe Opera’s audiences “I like to stand near the entrance gates on performance nights as the audience arrives. There is such a variety of ages; all manner of dress—everything from high school students on a first date and children in costume to college reunion groups. The buzz is truly infectious.” The landscape “From the Opera, when I look north, I see desert; east, pure Switzerland.” Harry’s Roadhouse “I escape there; it feels like Santa Fe.” Blue skies “I never tire of our brilliant blue skies, something I rarely saw during my childhood in England. Atalaya Mountain “Sunday morning hikes there.”
—Richard Gaddes, general director, The Santa Fe Opera
The Lannan Foundation “The writers they bring here are amazing.” Acequia Madre “Walking along it when the water is running.” The smell of freshly cut wood “at Rios Wood & Freight on Camino del Monte Sol.” Jack Loeffler “who’s done oral histories on so many potentially lost stories of the region.” “Breakfast at Tia Sophia’s.”
—Bob Martin, general manager, The Lensic Performing Arts Center
Yes, our dance scene! ”For a small community, we boast a tremendous variety: salsa, flamenco, belly dance, two-step, swing …” Silversmith Douglas Magnus “He pushes the envelope, incorporating non-traditional themes with traditional Western styling, all made locally, often with turquoise from his own mines. They’re the stuff Western rock ‘n’ roll dreams are made of.” Virgil Ortiz “He’s the most cutting-edge, modern Southwest designer around. And it never ceases to amaze me how many fashion designers are here—and they’re not doing broomstick skirts, either.” The Lensic “It’s the ultimate community commodity. Going there is like throwing a party—you always run into friends and family.” KBAC “Freed from Clear Channel, Radio Free Santa Fe resumes, and maintains its position as the premier community-oriented station in Santa Fe.”
—Chandler Liberty, fashion designer
Congressman Tom Udall “For being both an influential and a thoroughly good guy.”
—Elspeth Bobbs, gardener extraordinaire
Linda Durham “Because she championed contemporary New Mexico artists long before anyone else did and then stuck with it, through thick and thin, paving the way for numerous other art dealers to follow—making Santa Fe one of the largest art markets in the world.” Lorin Parrish “She’s been a leader of alternative healing for nearly 30 years, running one of the country’s premier schools, New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts, right here in Santa Fe, along with BODY.” John Gaw Meem “He’s the architect who created the ‘new’ Old Santa Fe Style, and who enthusiastically catalogued and fused a huge vocabulary of architectural details from the region into an integrated expression of that style.” L.D. Burke “He’s created some of the more recent ‘regionally relevant’ architecture, including the Pink Church and the Nunnery on Pacheco.” Carpinteros “At the risk of sounding self-serving, we’ve been preserving an important part of Nothern New Mexico’s heritage for over 40 years. The furniture is still made in Santa Fe using methods and tools from the early 1600s, in a unique style that resulted from the early settlers living in isolation with indigenous people.”
—Kurt Faust, Tierra Concepts and Carpinteros (formerly Taos Furniture)
Best cigars “Santa Fe Cigar Co.: best selection, friendliest service, amazingly aromatic walk-in humidor.” Best wine store “La Casa Sena Wine Shop: small and filled with an astonishing variety of intriguing wines from around the world.” Best spot for an after-dinner drink “Staab House at La Posada hotel: atmospheric and intimate, complete with a fireplace.” Best local brewery “Second Street: delicious beers, great food, the best fish and chips in the Southwest.” Best breakfast “Tecolote Café: excellent Southwestern-style fare, and the most delicious piñon pancakes anywhere.”
—John Grimes, director, IAIA Museum
BODY spa and Ten Thousand Waves “Because the staff is excellent, the ambiance soothing and relaxing, and the variety of services is terrific.” Other picks: “Santacafé; Geronimo; La Montañita Co-op, Pharmaca, Vitamin Cottage (because they support local businesses in organic food and herbal remedies), and The Lensic (because it provides the community with a splendid array of cultural events and talent, including the annual Short Story Festival).”
—Marsha Mason, actress, organic farmer
Nicolai Fechin “He was from Russia but fell in love with Northern New Mexico and painted absolutely beautiful portraits and landscapes in his own unique, dynamic style that truly captured the vibrancy of the people and place. Historic Pueblo pottery “Some of the most beautiful artistic objects ever to be created in the region; iconic—because of their unique and compelling aesthetic contributions to a distinctly ‘Western’ sensibility, but more significantly, because Pueblo pottery is steeped in traditions that were, and still are, clearly intertwined at the crossroads of culture, history, and the popular imagination of the American West.” Wilson Hurley “His large canvases truly capture the amazing landscape that we are so fortunate to know.” Glenna Goodacre “We are lucky to have this sculptor of international recognition living and working here. These two [Hurley and Goodacre] are contemporary giants of Nothern New Mexico artists.” Ann and John Marion “For their tremendous contribution to the arts, and especially for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.”
—Nedra Matteucci, Nedra Matteucci Galleries
Heart Gallery “For the very first event, launched here by Diane Granito of the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department, Diane asked Randy to play for the kids. It’s wonderful work they’re doing. Being around these kids, your heart really goes out to them.” Local artists “especially those who made building our house here such a joy, including Rich Olean, Edwina McBride, Elliot Hampton, L.D. Burke, and Max Anderson.”
—Randy and Elizabeth Travis, musician and manager
St. John’s College “Their public seminars provide an opportunity to read the great books of life with tutors who love the subject matter, and with fellow students who enjoy reading as much as or more than you do.” Dale Ball Trails “Wonderful,easily accessible.” La Choza “The red and green chile and fudge sauce takeouts: the tastes are incomparable, and you can have them in your own refrigerator.” Marty Sanchez golf course and complex “a wonderful public course and athletic fields well used by Santa Feans.”
—Owen Lopez, executive director, McCune Foundation
Farnsworth Finishes “Shannon is the best faux painter in this town. Her eye for color is outstanding, and she has an endless toolbox of ideas and techniques.” Other bests: “Jackalope, Santa Fe Greenhouses, International Pond Supply, and Recollections in the Railyard—for fun antiques. They always have something new and funky.”
—Catherine Clemens, landscape architect, Clemens & Associates
Maria Martinez “Her pottery reignited traditional arts in New Mexico and personally inspired my wife, Eleanor, as an artist.” Stewart Udall “He’s someone who has served New Mexico and the United States selflessly and inspirationally for a lifetime.” John Gaw Meem “Beyond his work as an architect, he was instrumental in bringing St. John’s College to Santa Fe, and donated most of the land on which the college stands. Bobcat Bite “Their green chile cheeseburgers.”
—Michael Peters, president, St. John’s College
Photo-eye “Over the years, owner Rixon Reed has added numerous facets, including online auctions and galleries, a photographers’ forum, and the Booklist. What good fortune to have a national resource in our own backyard.” Ecco Espresso & Gelato “my favorite workday indulgence.” Peter Sarkisian’s video sculpture Gathering Series (Cocktail Pieces) “With more than 23,000 artworks in the museum collection to choose from, this is a hard call. But lately, I find myself thinking a lot about this work, in which the viewer overhears snippets of conversations while seeing video projections in martini glasses. It’s one of the many gems in the museum’s contemporary collection— a sculpture served with a twist.”
—Laura Addison, curator of contemporary art, New Mexico Museum of Art
The landscape “The Great Basin meets the Rocky Mountains, meets the Great Plains, meets the Chihuahuan Desert, bringing together unparalleled diversity and culture. How much better could it get?” Ron and Millie Coss “Two fantastic educators and liberal thinkers.” Museum of New Mexico “Putting New Mexico’s history, arts, and culture on the map.” Alamosa Canyon “If you haven’t been there, it’s the coolest spot in the state.” The Santa Fe River “The historic and cultural heart of the community.”
—Mayor David Coss
Allan Houser “He was a remarkable man and sculptor, an artistic giant without equal. To walk through the Allan Houser Compound and sculpture garden is a constant thrill.” Historian Marc Simmons “He is the preeminent chronicler of our city and state.” Indian Market “There are a lot of other Indian art shows, but none top this one.” Museums “El Rancho de las Golondrinas in the early morning: the show of light on adobe is hard to beat anywhere; and the Girard Collection at the Museum of International Folk Art.”
—John Berkenfield, director, El Rancho de las Golondrinas
Peter Hurd “He captures the exquisite light of the Southwest in individual human moments, and his own independence is what the Old West was about—the rebellious son from the East striking out on his own in the open freedom of the West.” Jim White “A lonesome drunken cowboy turned bat-guano miner and the first to explore the depths of Carlsbad Caverns, with kerosene lanterns and rope ladders. Only Billy the Kid’s mythology is more homegrown.” D.H. Lawrence ”This genius young novelist, whose own celebration of the natural world meshed perfectly with the pantheism of the Pueblo Indians.” Mark Knohl ”the state’s incredible photographer.”
—Steve Elmore, Steve Elmore Indian Art
“The rich cultural diversity, including the liveliness of the visual and performing arts community. The singular architectural style distinct from anywhere else in the country. The constant interplay between the scientific and artistic worlds that’s unique to our area.
The clarity of the light and the openness of the sky. The unconventional nature of this town and its citizens.”
—George G. King, director, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Philanthropy “Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Foundation is a homegrown industry that champions American Indian culture.” Political spirit “We have the best constitution in the nation, from Catron County to Rio Arriba and all parts in between and around.” Lifestyle “The Latino and American Indian attitude: we have time for everything, with no helter- skelter so prevelant in cities today.” Santa Fe cuisine “Unsurpassed. I’ve lived in San Francisco and New York and I’ve never had any better!” Natural beauty “From the Rocky Mountains to the Chihuahuan Desert, the Rio Grande to the Plains—we have it all in New Mexico.”
—Russell Means, actor, activist
Santa Fe itself “With an elevation that affords good dry air, seasons well defined, a mountain for skiing, hiking, or just sitting by a stream, a diverse landscape in every direction. The character of the town produces its own character—in architecture, art, and our mix of peoples, the music, the sounds, the writing. We become grounded here in a place that speaks of honesty, integrity, community, and compassion. … There are too many people giving their time and money and energy to add to the mix that is the spirit of Santa Fe; I will not qualify them. I am simply honored and grateful to have seen and felt the spirit of the place so long ago and to know where I belong and to live among them.”
—Forrest Moses, artist
