Thursday, April 2, 2020 |

Smoke Signals shutters on Taos Plaza

Courtesy photoDean Johnson plays a traditional flute at his gallery Smoke Signals, on Taos Plaza.

Amid the current COVID-19 crisis, Taos Plaza resembles the quiet cobblestone center of a dusty ole sagebrush town. Smoke Signals, one of the few beacons of commerce still available to the dwindling number of visitors, reluctantly opened its doors for a few hours to conduct this interview.

Music in the time of corona: An opportunity for musicians to focus, record, grow

Kanizzle (Joshua Cunningham) and Beat Kitty, captured in easier times, stay connected in lockdown

Like musicians everywhere, those in Taos find themselves suddenly unemployed and at home. Here's what they're doing with themselves:

A time to make art: 'We can start a renaissance'

file photo: Maye Torres was born in Taos in 1960. Her father was a rural science educator and the family lived in El Salvador, Ecuador and Bolivia, where Torres was exposed to the lives of the Incan, Mayan and Aztec people, their art and concepts, as well as Old Spanish and European cultures. During the past 30 years, she has worked as a professional artist, and her art continues to be an exploration of global ideas from science to politics, mythology to social media and cosmology to human emotion.

There's long been talk of an art renaissance in Taos. It seems counterintuitive when isolation is the mantra, and everything is closed. Taos artist Máye Torres said she thinks the time is ripe.

Isolation as springboard for creativity

It was inevitable: the smell of Purell would always remind her of the winter of 2020. Maybe that will be the first line of my novel about life during the great coronavirus pandemic.

Stargazer, March 26-April 1

The moon in Gemini early next week has wide-ranging and different implications for each sign. Read further to see what this moon means for you:

Calling all Taos County creatives!

Bear Marcus aka emcee B3ar. Courtesy Bear Marcus

We at Tempo know how frustrating it must be for our creative community at this time. Gigs and performances have been cancelled, the theaters are dark and no one likes to create in a vacuum. Of course we live in a digital age, and Instagram is already abuzz with virtual performances, and now we too are offering local talent a unique opportunity to get your work to a larger audience, via our online site.

How Covid-19 is affecting arts and entertainment in Taos

Update, Wednesday, March 18: The Taos art colony will steadfastly continue through lockdown, and the galleries who show the work of many of the talented artists who live here are prepared to keep their doors open to continue bringing some beauty and meaning into these dark days. Others are more wary.

Taos County adds five new coronavirus cases

Town of Taos cancels all summer events

Suspect killed by police in Ranchos de Taos identified as Española man

UPDATE:>> Tally: 363 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico; 6 fatalities

New Mexico records second death related to COVID-19

TEMPO CALENDAR

Tempo's Taos Talent 2020

Calling all Taos County creatives!

Lonesome John

Violinist Rachel Penn sent us this one:

Weight Of The World

Peggy Nes shares a reflective and timely piece:

Steerhorns On My Subaru

A bit of levity from Bob Aldo:

Cosmic Hop

A funky, trippy cool instrumental submitted by Laguna Menta:

Sheltering In

Tenney Whedon Walsh shares some music she wrote for these times:

Pastels

Margaret Nes sent this in, combining some of her artwork and piano music:

White Buffalo

Rachel Penn shares a clip from Taos Inn:

Tempo Arts

A time to make art: 'We can start a renaissance'

There's long been talk of an art renaissance in Taos. It seems counterintuitive when isolation is the mantra, and everything is closed. Taos artist Máye Torres said she thinks the time is ripe.

Courtesy photo'To the Sky' - oil on canvas by Norlynne Coar

Beneath the stillness, life: how lockdown affects Taos artists

How self-imposed quarantine affects artists is something Tempo was wondering last week: how they're dealing with the self-imposed solitude and how different that solitude is from their normal creative space.

Courtesy photoCallejon Road by Greg Moon

Spring equinox: Taos Historic District galleries meet uncertainty with love

Easter and Passover are part of ancient Spring Equinox rites celebrating the spectacle of rebirth, renewal, divinity of the radiant dawn and all that brings joy and blessings. To honor this annual new beginning, Kit Carson Road galleries are planning (tentatively as of press time) to offer music, refreshment and open doors from 4 to 7:30 p.m. this Saturday (March 21).

Courtesy photo A recent Paseo festival installation, Taos.

The Paseo Project wants you to go away

The Paseo Project is pleased to announce PPAIR: The Paseo Project Artist-in-Residence program. This opportunity, new for 2020, supports sending Taos-based artists on a fully-funded residency program to develop their work. For 2020, The Paseo Project is offering a one-month artist residency at the world-renowned Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson, Vermont.

Photograph by Zoe Zimmerman'Woodsman''It is a special thing that Mother Nature gave me this job. My job is about her, Mother Nature or God. I get to share a piece of the mountain for her.' - Frank 'Sarge' Martinez

Zoe Zimmerman's works in progress

Zoë Zimmerman is an acclaimed art photographer who has lived in Taos since she was seven years old. Born in New York City and raised on the south side of Taos, she has received renown internationally as a fine art photographer since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1986.

Music in the time of corona: An opportunity for musicians to focus, record, grow

Like musicians everywhere, those in Taos find themselves suddenly unemployed and at home. Here's what they're doing with themselves:

Courtesy photoJulie Greer plans to pair up with fellow singer-songwriter Jennifer Peterson to make digital magic during lockdown.

Keeping music alive online

It's a different world than last week, and by the time you read these words, more will have changed as we take active steps to ward off the common threat of a microscopic virus, and the isolation that comes with it.

Smoke Signals shutters on Taos Plaza

Photo by William SarokinJanie Romer in her favorite 'lockdown look,' outside her cabin in Taos Canyon.

Lockdown looks: Get up, get dressed, get going

'Tortilla Soup from scratch, chiffon and kitten heels' was the post from a friend who's found a way to have fun while in "lockdown." Another emphasized her absolute need for lipstick to be ready for her day.

Stargazer, March 26-April 1

The moon in Gemini early next week has wide-ranging and different implications for each sign. Read further to see what this moon means for you:

Photo by Juanisidro ConchaBison Star Naturals is located north of the entrance to Taos Pueblo

Rising Bison Star

People could say it sure sounds like a great Indian name. But, the owners and operators of Bison Star Naturals don't want you to see them, as just another Native-owned business.

How Covid-19 is affecting arts and entertainment in Taos

Food for thought, not fear

The main uncertainty regarding the coronavirus outbreak for Taos is how big it will get, and how fast. The Centers for Disease Control says that “many people in the United States will at some point, either this year or next, get exposed to this virus.” Tempo asked a few food purveyors, restaurants and coffee shops how they are handling customers and customer service at this time.

Isolation as springboard for creativity

It was inevitable: the smell of Purell would always remind her of the winter of 2020. Maybe that will be the first line of my novel about life during the great coronavirus pandemic.

Elizabeth BurnsTwo of the books in print by Taos publishers of Twice 5 Miles.

Teaching the stuff nobody teaches you

Along with a zombie apocalypse and being abducted by aliens, one of the top fears people have is public speaking, even actors. The ability to deliver an effective speech or sales pitch and to read from a novel in a way that engages an audience are believed to be talents one is born with.

Courtesy photoLevi Romero came to poetry in a roundabout way, as a listener: 'I think that was the key to things, developing an ear for language and the musicality that exists in language and the ways stories are told.'

New Mexico's first poet laureate: Levi Romero depicts 'the loco to the sublime'

Levi Romero says he used to be a closet poet. Being a poet and a young Chicano male did not seem to go together. That is, until he recognized how much language and the love of stories lay at the heart of both his culture and the art of poetry.

Streaming now: ‘Escape at Dannemora’

It had to happen. Both movie theaters in Taos have closed for the time being in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The Taos Center for the Arts has closed both its Stables Gallery and …

Todd Christensen, the New Mexico Film Office director, in the field.

'Swing the door open wider:' New fund encourages indigenous filmmakers

Taos Pueblo filmmakers interested in developing their media-arts projects are eligible to receive funding through the newly established Senator John Pinto Memorial Filmmakers Fund. Individual Native filmmakers can use funds toward any aspect of production. This can include, film, TV, video games or audio visual projects.

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