By Tania Casselle for Hyatt Destinations magazine, published by HCP/Aboard, The Miami Herald Media Company’s custom publishing division.
I wrote and updated this annual 6,000 word travel section on Santa Fe and Albuquerque for 6 years, from the 2006 to the 2011 editions.
Read the 2011 Santa Fe and Albuquerque leisure guide. This year’s guide covered attractions, dining, shopping, and ballooning in Albuquerque. The 2010 edition also shone a spotlight on nightlife and film in New Mexico.
Through the Photographer’s Eye:
Interview with photographer Kitty Leaken
by Tania Casselle
You’ve probably already seen the work of photographer Kitty Leaken, in magazines and in books including Cooking with Cafe Pasqual’s and Cooking with Johnny Vee.
When publisher Gibbs Smith asked her if she had any other book ideas, Leaken most certainly did. The result is Contemporary Native American Artists, with photography by Leaken and words by Suzanne Deats. It’s a colorful slab of a book, showcasing 18 outstanding artists, and portraying the artists’ work, the artists at work, and sometimes the artists at play. On a first flick through, you register that the production is gorgeous and the photography vibrant and powerful. But unlike so many lavish coffee table books that become a part of the furniture after an initial read (at least in my house) this one draws you back, draws you deeper, revealing new layers in the intimate visual and written portraits.
→ Full Clip of interview with Kitty Leaken about the making of Contemporary Native American Artists. For Local Flavor magazine, August 2012.
From Dawn to Dusk: Ways to Spend the Day during Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
It’s Fiesta time! Out-of-towners join locals to sky-gaze as Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes off. But between the morning ascensions and evening events, you can take time out to enjoy the rest of the Duke City too. Here are our suggestions on how to spend your day, from a soak at Albuquerque Baths, to bike tours and winery tastings, or maybe meet Bobby the friendly ghost at the KiMo Theatre.
→ Full clip at Local Flavor magazine online, October 2012.
Taos School of Music Celebrates 50 Years
The mountains come alive with the sound of music again this summer when the Taos School of Music celebrates its 50th anniversary season, featuring the chamber music stars of today—and tomorrow.
Feature for New Mexico Magazine (June 2012) on the history and highlights of the Taos School of Music and the annual Chamber Music Festival featuring Jupiter String Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, American String Quartet, and Brentano String Quartet.
Sequins and bell bottoms – do we hear disco, baby? In color, there’s a new purple reign, and gray is still the cool neutral.
Trend-lovers with more dash than cash can find plenty of budget-stretching ways to spark up the wardrobe: get an immediate style injection with a pinch of pattern and texture.
Read the full story in PDF for Local Flavor, November 2011.
Santa Fe Spice
Santa Fe Style gurus gave us their fashion tips for the new season, and the jury is definitely in.
We’ve thrown away the concept of throw-away fashion in favor of a few wise buys to bring a new zing to the wardrobe. The big picture trend is for form-fitting silhouettes balanced with slouchy comfort, and it’s not tongue in chic to say that booties are kicking the catwalk.
Read the full story in PDF. Local Flavor, November 2011
Tough justice, hard fate
Book Review by Tania Casselle of
Then Came the Evening by Brian Hart
Vietnam veteran Bandy, believing his wife died in the fire that destroyed their cabin, goes crazy with rage and remorse and commits a crime that makes the reader gasp. Bandy, who’s also half-drunk at the time, ends up in jail but he was a damaged soul before the novel even opens. As we quickly learn, Iona isn’t dead after all. Pregnant with Bandy’s child, she left him for another man.
Read the full book review at High Country News.
The Stories We Believe:
Book review by Tania Casselle of
Madewell Brown by Rick Collignon
Madewell Brown is the fourth novel in Rick Collignon’s “Guadalupe” series, set in an imaginary village in northern New Mexico. But it reads as a stand-alone, even while spiraling back to explore the fate of a character introduced in Perdido, the second in the series. It’s bold that Collignon, as an Anglo, writes intimately not only about Hispanic culture but then adds in an African-American to stir his fictional plot.
Read the full book review at High Country News.
Good-enough mothers
Book review by Tania Casselle of
Wrecker by Summer Wood
In her second novel, Wrecker, New Mexico author Summer Wood draws on her personal experience as a foster parent. Wrecker is a bruiser of a boy who “seemed to need to feel his body collide with the physical world to know he existed.” He’s born and mostly raised outdoors in a story that is less about him than about the adults attempting to guide this troubled child through the wilderness of life.
Read the full book review at High Country News.
Unforgettable New Mexico Gifts by Tania Casselle
Give the gift of adventure or just try your hand at something new in 2011. If your holiday shopping list looks a bit same-old same-old, surprise your friends with a treat that won’t get re-gifted. Whether you want to make memories, try new skills, or just break out of a rut and have fun, here’s how to put the New in New Year.
Adventures in New Mexico to give as gifts, from balloon rides to Burns Night feasts and blacksmithing school, from snowkiting to scenic safari rides and speed skating. Don’t forget the circus classes. Read the full article Not an Easy Wrap to find adventure gifts out of the box.
