images albuquerque, nm: 2008

Addition & AbstractionRenowned architects bring modernism to tradition

WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWNCity remains lively when the moon comes out

SOAKING IT ALL INSpas gain in popularity — even for men

SPONSORED BY THE GREATER ALBUQUERQUE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2008 | IMAGESALBUQUERQUE.COM | VIDEO VIGNETTES

OF ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

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CONTENTS

FEATURES

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2008 EDITION | VOLUME 3

16 ADDITION AND ABSTRACTIONRenowned architects Prince and Predock add modernism to the region’s traditional architecture.

20 FROM PUEBLOS TO PAGODASFrom pueblos to pagodas, Albuquerque’s cultural institutions shine.

24 SOAKING IT ALL INAlbuquerque is quickly becoming home to a number of world-class destination spas.

28 ACT LIKE A KID AGAINAlbuquerque is a destination that children and adults can enjoy together.

32 THROUGH THE EYES OF ARTISTSThousands of artists make greater Albuquerque their home, a collective creative force that has put its mark on the region.

36 WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWNIt is a lively place when the sun shines, and it remains lively when the moon comes out.

59 LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTIONAlbuquerque is becoming a go-to city for television and fi lm production.

ON THE COVER Staff photoVotive XXXII by sculptor Ernest Shaw

ALBUQUERQUE IMAGESALBUQUERQUE .COM 3

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ALBUQUERQUE BUSINESS 40 Biz Briefs

43 Chamber Report

45 Economic Profi le

DEPARTMENTS

11 Almanac: a colorful sampling of Albuquerque culture

47 Portfolio: people, places and events that defi ne Albuquerque

52 Education

57 Health & Wellness

6 1 Sports & Recreation

63 Community Profi le: facts, stats and important numbers to know

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SEARCH OUR ARCHIVES Browse past issues of the magazine by year or search for specifi c articles by subject.

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OF ALBUQUERQUE

What’s Online More lists, links and tips for newcomers

IMAGESALBUQUERQUE.COM

VIDEO 1 INSIDE LOOK Join us on a virtual tour of Albuquerque through the lenses of our award-winning photographers at imagesalbuquerque.com.

VIDEO 2 OLD TOWN ALBUQUERQUETake a tour of the shops and streets of Old Town Albuquerque in our exclusive online video at imagesalbuquerque.com.

VIDEO 3 GLASS ARTIST SALVADOR EQUIHUAAlbuquerque glass artist Salvador Equihua demonstrates his technique in this exclusive online video at imagesalbuquerque.com.

GARDENING IN ALBUQUERQUEGardening in Albuquerque takes some work and planning. Variable conditions exist around the city, but embracing the high-desert environment and sticking with native plants is best. Find out more at imagesalbuquerque.com.

SPICING IT UP IN THE SOUTHWESTQuesadillas, enchiladas, tamales, fajitas – they’re just a few of the popular entrees synonymous with Southwestern cuisine. Get a taste at imagesalbuquerque.com.

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINEImages of Albuquerque is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is sponsored by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. In print and online, Images gives readers a taste of what makes Albuquerque tick – from business and education to sports, health care and the arts.

SENIOR EDITOR ANITA WADHWANI

COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS

ASSOCIATE EDITORS LISA BATTLES,

KIM MADLOM, BILL McMEEKIN

ASSISTANT EDITOR REBECCA DENTON

STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN, KEVIN LITWIN

DATABASE PROJECT MANAGER YANCEY TURTURICE

DATA MANAGERS RANETTA SMITH, KRISTY WISE

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT JESSY YANCEY

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAMELA COYLE,

RENEE ELDER, EMANUELLA GRINBERG,

MICHAELA JACKSON, ELLEN MARGULIES

EXECUTIVE INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER AMY NORMAND

SALES SUPPORT MANAGER SARA SARTIN

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS, TODD BENNETT,

ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, BRIAN McCORD

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ANNE WHITLOW

CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS

WEB DESIGN DIRECTOR SHAWN DANIEL

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS

ASST. PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN

PRE-PRESS COORDINATOR HAZEL RISNER

SENIOR PRODUCTION PROJECT MGR. TADARA SMITH

PRODUCTION PROJECT MGRS.

MELISSA HOOVER, JILL WYATT

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LAURA GALLAGHER,

KRIS SEXTON, VIKKI WILLIAMS

LEAD DESIGNER JANINE MARYLAND

GRAPHIC DESIGN JESSICA BRAGONIER,

ERICA HINES, ALISON HUNTER, LINDA MOREIRAS,

AMY NELSON, CANDICE SWEET

WEB PROJECT MANAGER ANDY HARTLEY

WEB DESIGN RYAN DUNLAP, CARL SCHULZ

COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN CORY MITCHELL

AD TRAFFIC MEGHANN CAREY, SARAH MILLER,

PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY

CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN

SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER

SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN

SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER

V.P./SALES HERB HARPER

V.P./SALES TODD POTTER

V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER

V.P./TRAVEL PUBLISHING SYBIL STEWART

V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS

MANAGING EDITOR/BUSINESS MAURICE FLIESS

MANAGING EDITOR/TRAVEL SUSAN CHAPPELL

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO

CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY

ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, RICHIE FITZPATRICK,

DIANA GUZMAN, MARIA McFARLAND, LISA OWENS

RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP

COMMUNITY PROMOTION DIRECTOR CINDY COMPERRY

DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH

IT SYSTEMS DIRECTOR MATT LOCKE

IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE

CUSTOM SALES SUPPORT PATTI CORNELIUS

SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS

SALES COORDINATOR JENNIFER ALEXANDER

OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM

RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP

C U S TO M M A G A Z I N E M E D I A

Images of Albuquerque is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of

Commerce and its member businesses.For advertising information or to direct questions

or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080

or by e-mail at [email protected].

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce115 Gold Ave. S.W. • Albuquerque, NM 87102

Phone: (505) 764-3700 • Fax: (505) 764-3714 E-mail: [email protected]

www.abqchamber.com

VISIT IMAGES OF ALBUQUERQUE ONLINE AT IMAGESALBUQUERQUE.COM

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Albuquerque & Rio Rancho’s #1 Top Producing Agent from 1986 through 2007.

6th in the Nation with Coldwell Banker for Having Sold the Most Homes!

Sandi Pressley has listed and sold more homes than any other agent in New Mexico,

helping over 7,750 families happily move during her 29-year career!

Sandi knows her city down to the finest details. Call for an “Everything You Wanted to Know

About Albuquerque and Rio Rancho Kit,” free with no obligation. Call today if

you’re thinking of relocating.

E-mail: [email protected]

Coldwell Banker Legacy (505) 293-3700

Toll-free (800) 879-4356Cell: (505) 263-2173

Website: www.SandiPressley.com

Sandi Pressley“A HouseSold Word”

Nobody knows the Albuquerque & Rio Rancho housing markets better than:

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MORE OF THE SAMEAnd that’s a good thing. Inside, you’ll fi nd the same award-winning photography and compelling content as in the printed magazine.

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Style PointsGive your eyes a treat by taking

a self-guided Albuquerque Art Deco

Tour, with a number of interesting

sites on exhibit.

Those sites include the lobby of

the Federal Building, a Firestone

Tire Center and the El Rey Theater.

A brochure that details each site is

available from the Art Deco Society

of New Mexico.

The art deco theme – or some call

it Pueblo deco – was derived when

cubist forms of traditional Pueblos

merged with Spanish Mission

architecture. The style also features

decorative motifs that were derived

from Navajo textiles and Zuni pottery.

Gnarly Ollies, DudesIt has a street course, half pipe and two bowls

where kids can execute ollies, kickflips, 50-50s, aciddrops and fakies.

Pardon?These are terms familiar to skateboarders and BMX

bikers, including those who use Los Altos Skate Park. The park is Albuquerque’s first-ever specifically constructed for skateboarders, in-line skaters and stunt bicyclists.

Admission is free to the skate park, and wearing a helmet is mandatory for anyone under 18 years of age.

Red Hot Chili RistrasChilies grow green, but many Albuquerque

residents like to see red.

That is why chili ristras can often be found

outside shops around the city. Storeowners

tie red chilies together and hang them to dry,

which turn the chilies into bright red bunches

that look like long strings – or ristras.

The custom of hanging the bright red ristras

has been occurring for hundreds of years

as a practical way of preserving chilies after

the growing season. Today, people

can simply freeze chilies to preserve them,

but the ristra tradition lives on.

Ristras can actually last up to two years

and remain perfectly edible.


Almanac

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Fast Facts Amazon.com founder Jeff

Bezos was born in Albuquerque.

The Rio Grande runs through Albuquerque and is known to Mexicans as the Rio Bravo.

Albuquerque remained a small town until the latter part of the 19th century and the arrival of the railroad.

The city sits at 5,314 feet above sea level, making it the highest metropolitan area on the American mainland.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernie Pyle called Albuquerque home, and his little white house with a picket fence is now a branch library filled with memorabilia from his days covering World War II.

SEE MORE ONLINE | For more Fast Facts about Albuquerque, visit imagesalbuquerque.com.

Wow, That’s a Big PowwowThe 25th annual Gathering of Nations Powwow took place

in April 2008, with most of the events occurring at the

University of New Mexico Arena. The festivities included an

Indian traders market, live musical entertainment, authentic

cooking and the crowning of Miss Indian World.

The Powwow attracts more than 3,000 American Indian

dancers and singers to Albuquerque each year, representing

500 tribes from the United States and Canada. The dancers

and singers compete against each other during the April

weekend in an effort to further promote American Indian

culture and traditions. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEREK MATHEWS

Open Since A.D. 1300Now that’s an old pueblo.

Sandia Pueblo has been in existence at its present site since

A.D. 1300, and today it owns and operates many ultramodern resort

facilities. They include the Sandia Casino for gambling, and the Sandia

Lake Recreation Area that offers fishing, picnicking and nature trails.

The pueblo is also home to the Bien Mur Indian Market Center,

where tourists can purchase American Indian arts and crafts.

The Sandia Pueblo resort also houses an 18-hole golf course, a spa

and fitness center, and a rooftop restaurant.


Almanac

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25

40

85

14

279

337

47 55

6

Albuquerque

Los Alamos

Santa Fe

Los Lunas

Belen

Rio Rancho

Moriarty

BERNALILLO

Albuquerque | At A GlancePOPULATION (2006 ESTIMATE)Albuquerque: 504,949, Bernalillo County: 615,099

LOCATIONAlbuquerque is in north central New Mexico,

nestled between the towering Sandia

Mountains and the Rio Grande Valley.

It is 60 miles southwest of Santa Fe,

the capital city.

BEGINNINGSAlbuquerque was founded as Alburquerque

in 1706 (the first “r” was later dropped), but

the community was not incorporated until 1891.

It is named in honor of a Spanish leader –

the 10th Duke of Albuquerque. The word

Albuquerque comes from the Latin words

“albus” and “quercus,” meaning white ash.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONGreater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce

115 Gold Ave. S.W.

Albuquerque, NM 87102

Phone: (505) 764-3700, Fax: (505) 764-3714

www.abqchamber.com

SEE VIDEO ONLINE | Take a virtual tour of Albuquerque at imagesalbuquerque.com, courtesy of our award-winning photographers.

Albuquerque

Take Note, Salsa FansDrum roll, please. The annual Salsa Under

the Stars concert series is held each summer

at the Albuquerque Museum Amphitheater

near Old Town.

The series is organized by the New Mexico

Jazz Workshop, a nonprofit group dedicated

to the promotion of jazz and its offshoots.

The NMJW organizes the concerts and assembles

programs each year to bring some of the best

names in jazz, blues and salsa to Albuquerque.

Past performers at Salsa Under the Stars have

included Calle 66, Café Mocha, Grupo La Guira,

Son Como Son and Charanga del Valle.

Have a BiscochitoA state cookie? Sure enough, New Mexico has one.

The biscochito was declared the

official cookie

of New Mexico in 1989, and the

flat sugar dessert treat with

a hint of anise has been the

area’s favorite for hundreds

of years. Its origin is primarily

Spanish, but American Indian

and Mexican cultures have also

influenced it.

The shortbread cookie can also

be flavored with cinnamon, and

there are approximately 30

biscochitos to the pound.

Besides being an everyday

treat, they are traditionally

served throughout the year during

fiestas, weddings and Christmas.


Almanac

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C hristopher Mead lives in a home designed by one internationally known architect based in Albuquerque. He has an office in a building designed by another.

As dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico, Mead is in a unique position to evaluate the work of two of the region’s living treasures – architects Bart Prince and Antoine Predock.

“Bart’s architecture is so much the experience of being in the building and moving through the building,” Mead says. “Antoine is really interested in how to represent the world around us.”

Both do residential and commercial work, though

STORY BY PAMELA COYLEPHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN McCORD

Architects

Christopher Mead’s “floating” home in northeast Albuquerque was designed by contemporary architect Bart Prince.

Call AlbuquerqueRENOWNED ARCHITECTS PRINCE AND PREDOCK ADD MODERNISM TO REGION’S TRADITIONS

16 IMAGESALBUQUERQUE .COM ALBUQUERQUE

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Home



Above: Bart Prince is known for his unique, modern designs – here is one view of his home in northeast Albuquerque. Right: The new architecture academic building at the University of New Mexico was designed by Antoine Predock.

Prince is best known for unusual contemporary homes, including many in the region, and approaches each site as a problem to be solved. Mead’s home, for example, is on a long, narrow lot and floats above the land like a fish, or even a ship. Predock, who received the coveted American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for 2006, takes on large projects – the $285 million ballpark for the San Diego Padres, the National Place Museum in Taiwan, the Tacoma Art Museum and Austin City Hall. Locally, he also is the architect behind the 78,000-square-foot town center at Mesa del Sol, which broke ground in January 2007. The $11 million building is scheduled for occupancy in October 2008.

Mesa del Sol struggled to find the right architect for the massive development, a “new urbanism project” that will cover 20 square miles of land, include 37,500 homes and 18 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space.

Chris Anderson, director of commercial development, was familiar with Predock’s work and approached him. What emerged was a striking design with a huge, curved exterior that incorporates the pattern of bones Predock found while walking the site.

“He saw the building rising like an artifact out of the desert, like it was always there,” Anderson says. “The stucco color is a bone color, and he spent a lot of time on getting the color just right.”

Predock is not a native, through he did get his architecture

degree from UNM. He worked in New York and then San Francisco, but the openness of New Mexico drew him back.

“You come here and the landscape here is so incredibly powerful, so beautiful and sublime, the air is so dry to you can see 100 miles,” Mead says. “He responded very powerfully to that landscape. He has made a career trying to translate what that landscape looks like into architecture.”

This vision is apparent in the UNM’s new architecture school, which opened in January 2008. The façade along Central Avenue, for example, is like a great mountain with a canyon split through it.

“It is meditation on mountains and mesas and canyons,” Mead says.

Creators such as Predock and Prince have thrived in Albuquerque.

For Prince, the site and the client determine the solution. His ideas gestate and when he’s ready, he knows. “I work from the inside out,” Prince says. “People always say to me, ‘Is there something that you always wanted to do?’”

“I say, ‘The next thing I do.’”That individualistic approach firmly puts Prince in an

American architectural tradition dating to the mid-19th century that includes Frank Lloyd Wright, Mead says.

“This is a place you can do things and experiment. You can do things differently,” Mead says. “This is a place that is not going to put you into a box.”



Celebrating a

Rich,


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W hen Synthia Lin arrived in Albuquerque from Taiwan in 1975, she could walk the streets

of Old Town without seeing another Asian person.

Thirty years later, Lin says the prevalence of ethnic grocery stores and Asian restaurants is just one more reason for Albuquerque’s reputation as one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States.

“The Asian community is definitely a lot more noticeable now,” says Lin, who runs the Chinese Culture Center with her husband. “I don’t feel separate from the rest of the group.”

Though Albuquerque has retained

FROM PUEBLOS TO PAGODAS, ALBUQUERQUE’S CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS SHINE

STORY BY EMANUELLA GRINBERGPHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN McCORD

Synthia Lin, along with her husband, Sifu Lin, operate Albuquerque’s Chinese Culture Center. Left: The pagoda-shaped cultural center offers lessons in feng shui and celebrations of the Chinese New Year.

TapestryEthnic



Sky City, Acoma Pueblo was built on top of a 357-foot sandstone mesa 60 miles west of Albuquerque. Right: Elaborate Chinese New Year dragons are on display at the Chinese Culture Center.

much of the influence of its predominant cultural groups – American Indians, Hispanics and Anglos – a recent census indicates that 71 ethnic groups live here. A rich cultural tapestry is represented in its architecture, cultural institutions and restaurants.

Ever since the first American Indians settled in the Rio Grande Valley, Albuquerque’s geographic diversity and agreeable climate have attracted artists, agriculturalists and scientists from around the world.

“Albuquerque’s vibrant community offers many opportunities for ethnic groups to take part in the cultural life of the city,” says Jan Dodson Barnhart, Albuquerque Historical Society president.

Lin’s husband, Sifu Lin, opened the Chinese Culture Center as a martial arts school in 1974. Since then, the center has expanded into a pagoda-shaped facility where visitors can celebrate Chinese New Year or learn about the philosophy of feng shui.

“We like to represent a positive attitude for people looking at what the

Chinese culture has to offer,” Lin says.New Mexico’s history in the modern

era began around A.D. 1000, when the first American Indian tribe settled permanently in the Rio Grande Valley. The arrival of the first Spanish explorers in 1540 and the establishment of the town of Albuquerque in 1706 infused the American Indian culture with Spanish traditions, giving birth to what is known today as pueblo culture.

Today, New Mexico is home to 19 American Indian pueblo communities within driving distance from Albuquerque. For those interested in learning about the pueblo societies, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque brings to life traditions of the past and present.

After New Mexico became a United States territory in 1851, an influx of Anglo settlers ushered in the industrialized era. The gold rush and the construction of the railroad brought immigrants from China, Japan and elsewhere to Albuquerque.

Albuquerque’s colonial past and its proximity to Mexico have made it a hub

for Hispanic culture. In 2000, the National Hispanic Cultural Center opened as a venue where visitors can visit a museum featuring works by prominent Hispanic artists, take tango classes or watch the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra perform.

The Hispanic culture has even inspired local Anglos like Shawn “El Gringo” Kiehne, a singer-songwriter who has embraced the popular Mexican genre of norteno music.

Growing up on his family’s ranch outside of Albuquerque in Los Lomas, Kiehne, who is of German descent, says he developed an appreciation for the Spanish language from Mexican ranch hands.

“If you know Spanish or English, you can pretty much go anywhere in the world and communicate with almost anyone,” says Kiehne, who is embarking on a nationwide tour in 2008 after releasing his first album with the major Hispanic recording label Univision. “To appreciate another culture opens doors to new worlds.”




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A salt scrub then a lavender oil massage, topped off with a paraffin pedicure. Might as well get an oatmeal mask

facial while you’re at it.Aah, spas.Albuquerque is quickly becoming

home to a number of world-class destination spas, where pampering and rejuvenation are the operative words.

“Everyone these days is looking for a little peace and tranquility in their busy lives, and spas supply a little relief,” says Janell Loving, public relations and marketing director at Betty’s Bath & Day Spa. “They are places where people

STORY BY KEVIN LITWIN

Betty’s Bath & Day Spa provides an intimate spa atmosphere. Left: The

spectacular hot tub at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa

It All InSoaking

SPAS GAIN POPULARITY IN ALBUQUERQUE



The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa’s Southwestern-designed interiors provide a luxurious and serene getaway. Left: Outside, the spa’s stunning views and striking architecture attract visitors from across the country.

can decompress and relax, as well as get their bodies into alignment.”

The spa at Betty’s offers massages, facials, full-body treatments, saunas, and private and communal hot tubs.

“We are a soak and relaxation spa that provides customers with amazing treatments in a truly tranquil setting,” Loving says. “I think one of our advantages is accessibility, meaning that customers can preview all of our treatments at our Bettysbath.com Web site. They can also purchase instant gift certificates and e-mail them to whomever they want.”

Loving says the most popular treatment for men visiting Betty’s is a 90-minute deep tissue, muscle relaxation massage that allows all body tension to be relieved. It sells for $115.

“For women, our divine head-to-toe package and our rejuvenation package are both two-hour treatments that sell for $155 each,” she says. “Those two treatments can include an herbal wrap,

warm-oil scalp treatment and a foot treatment.”

Meanwhile, other local relaxation destinations in Albuquerque include La Bella Spa & Salon, which has two locations within the city; and the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, which has earned several accolades in recent times. Those tributes include being named Among the World’s Best Places to Stay on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2008 Gold List.

“Massages, wraps and scrubs are what we specialize in, and the aromas we use are very earthy,” says Joe Herman, director of the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa. “Those aromas strike a nice balance that appeals to both men and women.”

The Tamaya spa is built on a 500-acre American Indian reservation, and Herman says the tribal culture is built into the resort.

“Our most popular treatment is a drumming method where massage

therapists cup their hands and use a drumming motion to relieve stress on a customer’s body,” he says. “Small bags of f laxseed dipped in piñon oil are in the therapists’ hands, and the rhythmic drumming breaks up lactic acids. The treatment ends with an aromatic body salt scrub with blue corn f lour, anasazi Aztec beans and pumpkin seeds that are all grown in the Albuquerque area.”

And as for Albuquerque itself, Herman believes spas are becoming especially popular in this city because the natural scenery tends to make people think about things on a more primal level.

“Our surroundings make people think of things that are more important than just their everyday routine,” he says. “Residents appreciate what is around them, causing them to reflect and realize what their true needs are. Living life to the fullest is why spas in Albuquerque are getting more popular every day.”



Act Like a

KidCITY IS FULL OF KID-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A KID TO LOVE CITY IS FULL OF KID-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A KID TO LOVE


699 F3 Act like a Kid Again.indd 28 5/23/08 2:26:00 PM

At the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, children can explore the world of Jurassic giants.B

RIA

N M

CC

OR

D

W ith more than 300 days of sunshine a year and a variety of museums, parks and

outdoor activities, Albuquerque is a destination that children and adults can enjoy together.

“Albuquerque offers families a tre-mendous array of affordable cultural and educational activities,” says Tania Armenta, vice president of Tourism and Communications with the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The wonderful climate allows families to visit indoor attractions, but also to spend time outdoors.”

For a $2.50 admission fee at the American International Rattlesnake Museum, children can test their bravery by holding pythons and tortoises while their parents view exhibits of beer bottles named after rattlesnakes.

For 18 years, museum director Bob Myers has hosted hundreds of school groups and families, as well as Hollywood stars like Richard Gere, who visited the museum during film shoots in Albuquerque.

“Kids have a natural fascination,

Again STORY BY EMANUELLA GRINBERG



STA

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a wide-eyed curiosity, with reptiles,” Myers says.

The Rio Grande Zoo in the Albuquerque Biological Park offers close encounters with bigger and furrier animals, such as kangaroos and camels.

A narrow gauge passenger train connects the zoo with Tingley Beach, an aquarium and a botanic garden, where children can walk among butterf lies and visit the award-winning Rio Grande Heritage Farm. A ticket for all the attractions plus the train costs $5 for children under 13.

Children with inquisitive minds won’t want to miss the Explora, a hands-on science discovery center, or the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, home of rare dinosaur exhibits and the state-of-the-art Lodestar planetarium.

“Families can come and spend the whole day traveling from the dawn of time to outer space all in one museum,” says Tim Aydelott, public relations manager for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. “You can see the whole history of dinosaurs, grab something to eat in our café and then take in a show in the planetarium.”

Since establishing itself as the biggest natural history museum between Houston and Los Angeles, the museum opened an exhibit in 2007 highlighting Albuquerque’s history as the birthplace of the personal computer revolution.

Funded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft in Albuquerque,

STARTUP follows the development of personal computers using interactive exhibits.

In 2008, the museum also plans to open the Triassic Hall, where children can look at fossils under microscopes to learn about the dinosaurs’ predecessors.

Of course, no trip to the hot air balloon capital of the world would be complete without visiting the Balloon Museum at the Balloon Fiesta Park, home of the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Families can learn about the history of ballooning before booking a ride with one of several local operators in the area, weather permitting.

For families who prefer to stay closer to the ground, the Paseo del Bosque Bike Trail provides 16 miles of paved bike paths alongside the Rio Grande. For a more rugged experience, take the Sandia Peak Tramway to access 30 miles of mountain trails, but be sure to check ahead to make sure your littlest hikers are up to the task.

At the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, New Mexico’s rich American Indian culture comes alive inside a replica of an adobe pueblo home. On weekends, volunteers perform traditional Native American dances and demonstrate how to make bread in an outdoor oven.

“Families get to experience life in the pueblos as it was hundreds of years ago,” says museum director Brian Vallo. “In many communities, that way of life has not changed very much.”

Most exhibits at Explora are interactive and designed with the pint-sized museum-goer in mind. Above: Tucked among the galleries in Old Town, the

quirky American International Rattlesnake Museum has 34 species of snakes. BR

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P ainter Rachel Popowcer grew up in New Jersey and Atlanta, came to Albuquerque to get her MFA at the University of

New Mexico and never left. Salvador Marquez Equihua, a Chicago native who makes glass and metal sculptures, spent time in Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and Seattle – the latter two glass-making meccas – was attracted by this region’s blending of cultures.

And artist Marietta Patricia Leis had lived in Los Angeles for 20 years, deciding in the early 1980s that she needed more space, physically as well as mentally, to work out her ideas.

They are three among thousands of artists who make greater Albuquerque their home, a collective creative force that has put its mark on the region.

The arts are an economic force, too. An August 2007 study by the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research concluded that arts and cultural industries generate $1.2 billion in annual revenues, $413 million in wages, and 19,500 jobs in Albuquerque and the county.

Estimating the number of local working artists is near impossible, but it numbers in the thousands, says Cricket Apple, executive director of the

LIGHT, SPACE AND FREEDOM DRAW ARTISTS TO ALBUQUERQUE

STORY BY PAMELA COYLEPHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN McCORD

Artist Marietta Patricia Leis draws, paints and sculpts at her home studio in Sandia Park. Right: Relate by artist Rachel Popowcer, who says her paintings have become progressively more abstract since she moved to Albuquerque.

Through the

ArtistsEyes


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SEE MORE ONLINE | Watch Albuquerque glass artist Salvador Equihua at work in our exclusive online video at imagesalbuquerque.com.



Left: Salvador Equihua creates glasswork used in large and small applications such as doors, windows, skylights and table lamps. Above: Equihua, an L.A. transplant, says he was drawn to Albuquerque’s open space and cultural mix.

Albuquerque Arts Alliance. And more are calling Albuquerque home all the time.

“One of the reasons why artists are drawn to the Southwest is the vibrancy of the light,” Apple says.

The blending of cultures, along with the skies and open spaces, attracted Equihua, whose heritage is both European and Mexican.

A self-taught glass worker since age 15, he says Albuquerque has been host to the largest and most creative period of his career, which has spanned four decades. Equihua’s L.A. friends joked that he’d “go Southwest” and turn to more traditional regional art forms.

Not so. He’s done some Southwest-inspired pieces, but his collective body of work is firmly contemporary.

“Sometimes when you are in a place and bombarded by a certain kind of art, you want the opposite or to find your own voice,” Equihua says.

Popowcer works exclusively on wood panels, using a burnt wood technique for texture and building up thin layers

of paint to create color shifts. Before moving to Albuquerque, she always used pictures, symbols and images in her pieces. Her work has changed in a city that she says “gives you space to do your work.”

“My work gets bigger and expansive and more abstract,” says Popowcer, who also teaches at UNM and Central New Mexico Community College.

Leis, who draws, paints and sculpts, found what she sought.

“It was time to leave, time to find a little more space to work out ideas and concerns,” she says. “I felt L.A. was getting commercialized, and I needed an environment where I could grow as an artist.”

Her work has changed, but Leis says delineating the effects of the environment and her own evolution as an artist is tough.

“This place is a powerful place, and it affects all of us who live here,” Leis says. “There is a certain rawness in New Mexico, and I think it keeps us alert.”

Arts Festival Is No. 1 in the Southwest

Three times a year, the Rio

Grande Arts and Crafts

Festivals bring artists, tourists

and attention to Albuquerque.

The biggest show, in October,

has been held during the same

time as the city’s annual Balloon

Fiesta since its start in 1989

and is now ranked 27th in the

country, based on sales and

the quality of the art, says

founder and director Ruth Gore.

“That makes us the No. 1

show in the Southwest,”

she says.

In 2008, the 20th Annual

Balloon Fiesta Show will draw

250 artists and craftspeople

to a football field-sized tent

at the corner of Interstate

25 and Paseo del Norte for

two weekends, Oct. 3-5 and

Oct. 10-12. About 80,000

people attend each year.

“It has gotten better and

better and better,” says Dana

McDaniel, a jewelry artist based

in Corrales.

McDaniel, who travels to

other art festivals, gauges them

in part by promotion efforts and

says Rio Grande is top notch.

Gore started the festivals

because she wanted

a job that would give her

more time with her two young

children and give her a place

to show her own work.

“I thought it would be really

fun to put one on.”

She’s still at it.

The two other shows – one in

March and a holiday show – are

held at the EXPO New Mexico

Fairgrounds. One new twist –

the 2008 holiday show moves

from the first weekend in

December to Thanksgiving

weekend, Nov. 28-30.

– Pamela Coyle



When theSun


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I t is a lively place when the sun shines, and it remains lively when the moon comes out.

Albuquerque has a variety of evening-out destinations where residents and visitors can do a bit of howling at night – from hip bars and clubs to the symphony and theater. For instance, those who like gambling and full-production shows can visit the Sandia Resort & Casino or the Isleta Casino & Resort. Or for a classic change of pace, there are the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra or theatrical per-formances at the KiMo Theater.

And, oh, yes. There are plenty of quality restaurants that offer happy hours for mingling, and interesting entrées for dining.

“Downtown is exciting these days, with a lot of happening places and something for everyone – no matter what age you are,” says Heath Shepard, general manager of One Up Restaurant & Lounge (formerly known as Carom Club). “We offer an upscale menu and attract a lot of professionals who are ages 28 and up. What makes us really unique is that One Up is just like our name says – we are on the second floor of a building at Third and Central, with

STORY BY KEVIN LITWIN

The Sandia Resort & Casino features 110,000 square feet of action, including blackjack, roulette, craps and 1,700 slot machines.

Goes Down‘ENERGETIC’ CAN DESCRIBE ALBUQUERQUE’S NIGHTLIFE

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giant picture windows for customers to watch what is occurring on the busy streets below.”

One Up is open until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on Saturdays, and continues to build a strong reputation for fine food. Two of its more popular dinner specialties are Albuquerque turkey and salmon rellenos.

“With the rellenos, we take a huge chunk of fresh sterling salmon and stuff it with cheese and chopped green chilies, then bake it so that it’s not greasy like fried rellenos,” Shepard says. “It is topped with a cream sauce and pine

nuts that give it a New Mexico flair.”Other top nighttime eateries and

cocktail destinations throughout Albuquerque include the Elephant Bar & Restaurant, Flying Star Café, O’Neill’s Irish Pub and the Whisque Mesquite Grill & Bar.

“I think Albuquerque at night makes a person’s senses come alive because the evenings seem to bring out an artsy and upscale crowd – one that appreciates the interesting and exciting,” says Heather Thomas, marketing director with the Whisque Mesquite Grill & Bar. “That’s why I like where I work. We are a top-

flight eatery that offers mesquite-fired steaks, ribs and fish, plus we have floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire east side of our building. It provides one of the best views of Albuquerque and the Sandia mountain range, especially when everything is lit up at night. It’s incredible stuff.”

The Whisque also has an elevated oval-shaped bar, an indoor crushed glass fireplace that emits sparkling light, and a 2,800-square-foot patio.

“We aren’t a corporate restaurant, so our chefs have a lot of freedom to experiment with different fusion



V.A.S.T. performs at The Launchpad, a popular Albuquerque club. Bottom

left: The restored KiMo Theatre Bottom right: Flying Star Café

dishes – we have a very forward-thinking dining staff,” Thomas says. “It’s just another reason why nightlife in this city is getting more vibrant all the time. It is all about atmosphere and quality product, which makes a unique city such as Albuquerque so special.”

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VIRTUAL HAS ITS VIRTUESOffice Alternatives opened in March

2005 in the Journal Center area and doubled its space in 2006, a clear sign that managing partner Deb Austin was onto something. She had launched the first company in New Mexico to offer “virtual” office services along with executive suites.

Packages start at less than $100 a month that provide clients with a mailing address, package delivery, telephone receptionist services, use of common areas, wireless Internet, and discounts for offices and conference rooms. Companies – often independent accountants, lawyers, financial planners, insurance agents and local reps for national firms – rent separate offices without the overhead.

Firms that need an office only once or twice a month can get it. Conference and meeting rooms are available for rent by the hour or the day.

The facility is at the northern gateway to the city, along the North Interstate 25 corridor. A big focus in 2008, Austin says, is targeting midsize companies that want to hold meetings and strategy sessions off-site because “those meetings

are so much more productive.”For more information, check out

www.officealternatives.com.

LETTING THE SUN SHINESolar power is hot, but once a family

or business decides to turn the switch, buying the panels is only the first step. How do you mount them?

That’s where UniRac comes in. Founded in 1997 by John Liebendorfer in a garage, the Albuquerque company designs and makes mounting structures for solar, or “photo voltaic,” systems. The gear supports solar collection grids on a roof, a few modules on a pole or a field full of potential megawatts.

The company has grown by more than 50 percent since its inception, expanding and relocating four times, and has plans to expand domestically and internationally, according to company spokeswoman Lori Aizer-Bryenton. It employs more than 70 people. UniRac’s clients are distributors, installers and integrators that work for the single consumer or a large commercial venture. To make sure the systems stay intact, the company does rigorous testing, Aizer-Bryenton says.

“We perform static load testing – which simulates real-life situations where loads are placed on our rail and its connections.” Product lines include SolarMount and SunFrame.

For more information, check out www.unirac.com or call (505) 242-6411.

CONCRETE DETAILSCastillo Ready Mix is not a concrete

company. It did start out that way, in 1984, but the company now fabricates specialized concrete structures. It makes what people need; if they ask, owner and founder Leonard Castillo figures out how to do it.

Cattle guards were the first step in the evolution. The client was so proud of them; a nearby county got word and ordered up some of its own. Then Castillo made them for the state of New Mexico. He’s also sold cattle guards in California, Arizona, Texas and Colorado.

The next call was for Jersey barriers, because the nearest other source for a local customer was Texas.

“We are into the wall barrier business,” Castillo says.

Whenever the phone rings, the

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Office Alternatives offers everything but the overhead, providing clients with an office, receptionist and technology.


Business | Biz Briefs

699 Business.indd 40 5/23/08 2:25:00 PM

company’s fabrications expand. Castillo has made retaining walls for overpasses, decorative sound walls along busy interstates and concrete arches for bridges. For one contract, the company shipped 200 semi loads of fabricated pieces to Arkansas.

A more recent addition is specialized concrete enclosures for explosives testing. Castillo is old-school; the company doesn’t have a Web site; he doesn’t even have business cards.

“We’ve don’t advertise,” he says. “It’s all word of mouth.”

For more information, call Castillo at (505) 864-4215

CLEAN ROOMSBRYCON Construction started in

1990 in Rio Rancho with five employ-ees and f lew under the radar for years because it built high-tech “clean rooms” for only one client. Several years ago, the company reconfigured and expanded beyond clean rooms to general construction.

BRYCON specializes in more complicated projects that often involve building or remodeling occupied spaces, such as a recent hospital job, says Charlotte Lane, director of marketing and business development.

“They still had to have ambulances get in and doctors treat patients,” Lane says. “That was a complicated project.”

Complicated is BRYCON’s forte. It renovated the University of New Mexico’s biology building, built in 1952, with state-of-the-art labs, high purity piping for gases and acid-resistant finishes on work surfaces. The company has renovated or expanded at least seven kidney dialysis centers, working around patient hours, which often start at 6 a.m. and don’t end until 10 p.m.

Growth had been steady; the company now has 500 employees. Unlike many construction firms, BRYCON keeps its electricians, plumbers, HVAC specialists and architects on staff, Lane says. It does not subcontract the specialized work.

For more information, check out www.brycon.com.

KEEPING A CLOSE EYEMonitron LLC makes equipment you

can’t see but will monitor your every

step. It fulfills big contracts for U.S. government agencies but is committed to hiring small local subcontractors in the Albuquerque area.

Daniel Natal, president and chief executive officer, started the company in his garage 15 years ago. Today, Monitron, which makes and designs ground sensors, has nine employees and is growing at 30 percent a year.

The sensors are buried underground and transmit information up to 500 miles away. Lockheed has taken Monitron’s equipment into Afghanistan;

the Department of Homeland Security is another client, says Allen Nickelson, the company’s vice president and chief operating officer.

Natal fiercely believes in tapping the region’s small businesses.

“Dan knows what it is like to be in those shoes,” Nickelson says. “The end result is if I need 40 seismic units, (the local) company will have them to me tomorrow. These people take very good care of us and we try to take care of them.”

– Pamela Coyle


699 Business.indd 41 5/23/08 2:25:03 PM

… the voice of real estate property rights, information, statistics and Southwest Multiple Listing Service …

Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS®

Covering Central New Mexico:Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval, Torrance, parts of Socorro and Santa Fe

1635 University Blvd. N.E. • Albuquerque, NM 87102 • (505) 842-1433www.abqrealtors.com

Bigger …

Better …

and Growing

(formerly, Albuquerque Metropolitan Board of REALTORS®)

699 Business.indd 42 5/23/08 2:25:04 PM

Just Call It Q-Town Now BRANDING CAMPAIGN MAKES ALBUQUERQUE ALL ABOUT THE Q

T he Q is everywhere.Any Albuquerque city vehicle

stamped with a Q signals it uses alternative fuel – and in March 2006 the mayor mandated that all new city vehicles be green. In May 2007, Albuquerque sponsored the Q Jam Music Festival and Environmental Sustainability Fair, with high-profile performers such as Jonny Lang and Joan Osborne.

Private businesses are jumping on the Q train, too.

The q-Staff theatre was on the front end. Artistic Director Richard van Shouwen said deciding on a name for a theater company is much like creating a performance. “It ends up feeling like a quest,” he says.

The group pondered “quest” and “query” and “decided the Q itself carried the idea of the question more than any of the words did,” according to van Shouwen.

It didn’t hurt that Albuquerque has two q’s.

When the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town opened its high-end bar, it was dubbed Q Bar. It’s got 5,000 square feet with a piano lounge, wine, media and billiards rooms, plus spots for private conversation. There’s ABQ Studios and a big neon Q in the signage for ABQ Uptown, a new lifestyle center with apartments and shops.

Mayor Martin Chavez likes it and hopes others jump aboard.

“It started coming from different directions, and it was a nice fit,” he says. “It just emerged.”

Q is a “great, simple, nice, short way of referring to Albuquerque,” the mayor says.

The moniker also is a nice nod to the city’s heritage – in the Spanish pro-nunciation, the q’s are very prominent.

“The Q is fun and radiates Albuquerque’s energetic and diverse culture,” says Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. “It’s been exciting to see

each group’s take on the ‘Q’.”Debbie Johnson, CEO of Rick Johnson

& Co., an ad firm working with the city, thinks of the Q as a unibrand. But it won’t have a standard brand manual.

“It has to be so f lexible and so variable and so evolutionary,” she says. “The mayor wants everyone to Q in their own way.”

The Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau highlights the letter in its logo and publications. A biweekly arts and entertainment publication, Local iQ, launched in 2006, aimed at readers 24 and up.

As with all brands, the Q has its detractors, including avid bloggers. Anti-Q T-shirts even showed up on the street, a development Johnson takes as a form of compliment. After all, the idea is f lexibility.

“My sense is that people are embracing it,” the mayor says. “Folks are welcome to use it or not.”

– Pamela Coyle

The Q-Bar is one of the local businesses to start using the “Q” while the city’s older nickname, “Duke City,” fades.

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ALBUQUERQUE

TRANSPORTATION

Airport

Albuquerque

International Sunport

(505) 244-7700

Highways

Albuquerque lies at the

intersection of two major

interstates, I-40 and I-25.

Albuquerque is a registered

U.S. Port of Entry with its own

customs facility, enabling

freight cargo to be shipped

directly and duty paid locally.

Rail

BNSF Railway

(800) 795-2673

SUPERLATIVES

Albuquerque is one of

Amercia’s 50 Hottest Cities,

according to Expansion Management, January 2006

and February 2007.

American Style Magazine

placed Albuquerque second

in its 2007 list of Top 25 Arts

Destinations, mid-size cities.

Albuquerque ranks fourth

on the list of Best American

Cities for Making Movies,

according to MovieMaker magazine, 2007.

Business Facilities ranks

Albuquerque ninth on its Most

Educated Workforce list, 2007.

Commercial real estate giant

Sperry Van Ness named

Albuquerque as a Top 10

Retail Investment Market

in 2007.

Albuquerque ranked 19th

on the Inc. Magazine 2007

list of Top Mid-size Cities

for Doing Business and

29th on the magazine’s

2007 list of 100 Hottest

Cities for Entrepreneurs.

Hispanic Magazine ranked

Albuquerque as the third-best

city in the nation for Hispanics

in July 2006.

USA Today picked

Albuquerque as one of its six

travel destinations to watch

for in 2006.

Albuquerque is rated as the

13th Fittest City in the Nation,

according to Men’s Fitness,

January 2006

Citing the city’s world-class

resorts, the Albuquerque

International Balloon Fiesta,

the Indian Pueblo Cultural

Center and Old Town, Orbitz

“Insider Staff Picks” predicts

Albuquerque will be one of

five outstanding locations

that should be on everyone’s

must-see list in the five years

to come.

GENERAL LABOR STATISTICS

Labor Force (December

2006), 406,700

Unemployment Rate

(January 2007), 3.7%

Median Age, 35.9

Median Household Income

(2005), $45,246

Average Hourly Manufacturing

Wage (December 2006), 15.43

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce115 Gold Ave. S.W., Ste. 201


Phone: (505) 764-3700

Fax: (505) 764-3714

www.abqchamber.com

Sources:www.abq.org www.abqchamber.com

BUSINESS CLIMATEThe Albuquerque metro area accounts for nearly half of

all the economic activity in the state of New Mexico.

The Albuquerque area is known for its high-tech,

government, film and aviation industries.

27.8 percent of the workforce

is between the ages of 25-44.

Albuquerque ranks among the

top 25 largest metros.

23 percent of adults have

at least a bachelor’s degree.

Source: Metro New Mexico Development Alliance,

New Mexico Department of Labor, Economic

Research & Analysis Bureau


Business | Economic Profile

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The King of Its KindAFTER 80 YEARS, THE ORNATE KIMO THEATRE STILL DRAWS A FULL HOUSE

E laborate picture palaces were all the rage in the 1920s – the more

exotic, the better. Movie houses fashioned after Greek temples, Chinese pavilions and Moorish mosques sprang up all over the country.

Not to be outdone, Albuquerque entrepreneur Oreste Bachechi built a one-of-a-kind theater in 1927 that remains one of the city’s most beloved cultural icons to this day.

The stunning, recently restored KiMo Theatre is the only Pueblo Deco theater in the world, says Craig Rivera, manager of the community events division of the Cultural Services Department. “Its architectural style combines art deco with Southwest and Hispanic inf luences for this mind-boggling example of a very short-lived architectural style. It is beautiful,” he says. “The KiMo is a work of art.”

Indeed, visitors come from around the world to see the proscenium adorned with American Indian symbols and the cow skull sconces with their red, glowing eyes. Murals by Carl Von Hassler depicting the fabled “Seven Cities of Cibola” grace the walls of the mezzanine, and ornate tiles, wrought aluminum door handles and hand-carved banisters can be seen throughout the theater.

“There is so much artwork to see, and the symbols are very ornate,” Rivera says. “You will never see another place like this.”

The premier “picture palace” of its day, the KiMo still functions as a performing arts venue, supporting local artists, as well as national and international events. Gloria Swanson, Ginger Rogers, Mickey Rooney, George Winston and Rodney Crowell are just a few of the great performers who have graced the KiMo’s stage.

Opera Southwest, a locally based opera company, and the New Mexico Young Actors are among local artists who use the venue.

“I’m really proud to be associated with the KiMo,” Rivera says. “It’s a link to our past and a legacy to future generations.” Art deco flourishes commingle with Southwestern style in the KiMo’s lobby.

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Hot Deals. Cool Cars. Fast Service.

Free neighborhood pick-up service • Unlimited mileage available Honor auto club, senior discounts and insurance replacement rates

Extended hours at participating locations • Monthly and extended-rental rates One-way rentals available • Economy through luxury cars, SUVs and minivans

Insurance company direct billing available

Albuquerque West Side: 10131 Coors Rd. NW Ste. H8 • (505) 898-6811Albuquerque Midtown: 3501 Pan American Frwy. NE • (505) 344-7196Albuquerque North/Northeast: 2500 San Mateo Blvd. NE • (505) 830-6953Albuquerque Int’l APO: 3400 University Blvd. • (505) 247-2576Santa Fe: 1946 Cerrillos • (505) 984-1596

For Reservations Nationwide: (800) 527-0700 www.budget.com

The 300-year-old San Felipe de Neri Church stands in the heart of Old Town.

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Hot Time in the Old Town

O ld Town Albuquerque has been the hub of community life for

centuries. The American Indian farming community expanded into a bustling crossroads for North American trade when Spanish settlers founded the city in 1706 .

Today, Old Town still revolves around its original central plaza, thanks to local preservation efforts. Its historic heritage has fused with contemporary elements to make Old Town the quintessence of local culture.

“Old Town is the oldest part of the city,” says Stella Naranjo, past president of the Old Town Merchants Association. “It has retained a lot of its culture, and there are still people living here that are descendants of the original settlers.”

Art galleries, boutiques and restaurants now populate the mixed-use neighborhood.

“Lots of older residences have been converted to galleries, and many shops have little brick patios and brick walkways. You get a taste of the architecture,” Naranjo says. “And some of these galleries feature world-renowned artists.”

Nowhere is the art and architecture of Old Town more apparent than in the San Felipe de Neri Church, the focal point of the community. Built in the Pueblo-style of the 1700s, the church, which includes a museum, features a paint technique that makes the interior wood look like marble – a time-intensive lost art, Naranjo says.

Traditional Old Town buildings have tin roofs, beautiful fireplaces and thick walls made of adobe or terron – slabs of clay cut from the banks of the Rio Grande.

The Old Town Walking Tour is a must-see for out-of-towners, and Old Town’s perpetual appeal makes it a favorite local haunt.

“Old Town gives people an oppor-tunity to taste of the past.” Naranjo says.

SEE MORE ONLINE | Take a stroll through the shops and streets of Old Town in our exclusive online video at imagesalbuquerque.com.



Up, Up and AwayMexico’s food, wine and culture.

A 2006 study estimated that Fiesta attendees spend nearly $120 million in Albuquerque each year – a huge boon to the city’s economy.

And while area businesses enjoy the economic boost, virtually everyone enjoys the Wells Fargo Special Shape Rodeo – a launch of imaginatively shaped balloons.

“Wells Fargo has a rich history of more than 20 years as one of the largest corporate balloon programs

in the United States,” says Greg Winegardner, regional president. “Our pilots enjoy traveling throughout New Mexico with the Wells Fargo balloons to entertain the public, our customers and our employees.”

“When you see a balloon shaped like the cow that jumped over the moon, or the Wells Fargo stagecoach, or Mr. Sunny Skies – the sun wearing a pair of sunglasses – or two bees holding hands ascending into the sky,” Smith says, “it really brings the kid out in you.”

I f you come to Albuquerque in October, be prepared for a whole lot of hot air –

and for the unforgettable sight of hundreds of brilliant balloons floating through the desert sky. The 37th edition of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, by far the largest balloon event in the world, takes place Oct. 4-12, 2008.

The early dawn spectacle of 700 giant, colorful balloons ascending en masse defies description, says Paul R. Smith, executive director of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. “Regardless of how well or how much we explain, people just won’t believe it until they come and see it,” he says. “Kodak actually told us that [the Balloon Fiesta] is the most photographed event in the world.”

Held every year since 1972, the nine-day festival has become so renowned that, according to Smith, no matter where in the country or even the world you go, when you say you’re from Albuquerque, people respond, “Oh yeah, the balloons!”

“It’s nice to be well-known for something people love,” Smith says.

In fact, people love it so much that attendance has grown to a whopping 900,000 spectators who converge on the 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park to walk among the balloons and witness festival events, as well as sample New

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is, hands-down, the largest balloon event in the world.

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Exceptional academics with traditional values

Early childhood and Montessori classes for

three and four year olds

Kindergarten through 5th grade

A family community

3020 Morris St. NE(505) 298-7626

www.sunset-mesa.com

Sunset Mesa Schools

The View From the Top

Louis Abruzzo, president of Sandia Peak Ski and Tramway, first rode

what is still the world’s longest passenger aerial tram as a boy in 1966 – the year the tram opened. Since then, he’s gone up and down the mountain hundreds of times.

Now, when he rides up with “first-timers” and hears their awe-stricken gasps as the swaying tramcar crosses the cable towers, he remembers, “This is really something.”

One of Albuquerque’s best-known tourist attractions, the Sandia Peak Tramway ascends 4,000 vertical feet during its 15-minute, 2.7-mile odyssey.

“You go through four distinct climactic zones between the bottom of the mountain and the top,” Abruzzo says. “It’s always about 15 to 20 degrees cooler on top of the mountain than down in the city. In the summer, there are all kinds of wildflowers, and you can get away from the heat. In the

winter, people go skiing, and it’s like you’ve gone to another planet.”

On the way, granite spires jut up from the mountainside where deer, bears and bobcats range and hawks and golden eagles soar overhead. At the 10,378-foot summit, stunning 360-degree views sweep more than 100 miles in every direction.

And the mountain itself is a geological wonder. Composed entirely of granite except for a 100-foot lime-stone cap at the top, the mountain lacks the transitional layers usually found between the two rock types. Hikers and bicyclists traversing the mountaintop’s 26 miles of trails can see fossils in the limestone.

“Once people have made it to the top, they can spend an hour, or half a day,” Abruzzo says.

Or even stay for dinner. High Finance, a steak-and-seafood restaurant, is located at the top of the tram. Now that’s a dining room with a view. The restaurant also serves lunch.

In its 42 years of operation, the handicapped-accessible tram has hauled 8.8 million passengers to the top of Sandia Peak – and back again.

The Sandia Peak Ski and Tramway offers sweeping views of Albuquerque from 10,000 feet.

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Portfolio


The Petroglyph National Monument dominates the city’s western horizon.

Message Carved in Stone

The Petroglyph National Monument honors a landscape shaped in

prehistoric times by erupting volcanoes and molten lava – a landscape still revered by the descendants of ancient peoples who carved their marks into the basalt boulders volcanoes left behind.

“The park is not just the story of a few images,” says Diane Souder, chief of interpretation and outreach at Petroglyph National Monument, “but a 7,000-acre monument with volcanoes, petroglyphs, the 17-mile-long escarp-ment, wildlife – it’s more complex than just the images.

“The Pueblo people see the petroglyphs as the center of a bowl formed by the Sandia Mountains to the east and the volcanic cones to the west. To them, it is very important that the petroglyphs are spiritually connected to the rest of the landscape.”

With an estimated 25,000 images, the park contains the largest con-centration of petroglyphs in any urban area, Souder says. The images are powerful cultural symbols that represent the religions and social structures of surrounding tribes – some dating as far back as 500 A.D.

Etched into the oxidized black surface of the basalt boulders – what scientists call “desert varnish” – the light gray images of animals, human figures, crosses and other symbols stand out in stark contrast.

Park visitors can also see the volcanic cones up close.

At the Las Imagenes Visitor Center, which houses interpretive exhibits and a bookstore, park staff provides maps and information about special programs. More than 150,000 people visit the park each year, Souder says. “Those five volcanic cones on the horizon create Albuquerque’s distinctive silhouette,” she adds. “Albuquerque residents are very lucky to have a national park in their own backyard.”

– Stories by Carol Cowan



If you see bank president Pat Dee leaving the office in the middle of a workday, don’t assume he is

breaking for a power lunch or a quick round of golf.

Instead, Dee is likely on his way to a kindergarten classroom, where he works as a volunteer for Albuquerque Reads.

“Some kids come to school not even knowing the letters in their own name,” says Dee, who has been a reading tutor for the past five years. “From a per-sonal standpoint, it has been extremely rewarding seeing the progress these kids can make toward learning how to read.”

More than 600 volunteers – including many members of the local business community – participate in the innovative

reading program that was started by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce in 2003.

“The chamber obviously has an interest in education, and we’ve been involved in some kind of educational reform activity for a number of years,” says Michael Gaylor, who serves as the chamber’s vice president for leadership and Albuquerque Reads.

“Albuquerque Reads isn’t just a literacy program, it’s the gateway to the future for these children,” says Don Chalmers, Chamber Chairman of the Board and president of Don Chalmers Ford. “Many of us take for granted our ability to read and the opportunities that the ability affords us. What we need

to realize is that for a good number of these kids, this is their chance at a future on an equal playing field with their peers.”

Modeled loosely on a program in Columbus, Ohio, Albuquerque Reads addresses the needs of 220 students at Atrisco, Wherry and Bel-Air elementary schools. The goal of the program is to level the playing field between children who come to kindergarten with basic pre-reading skills and those who do not.

“Few are reading at that point, but some students know the sounds the letters make,” says Dee, president and COO of First Community Bank. “In most cases, we are starting from scratch.

Going Back to KindergartenALBUQUERQUE READS GIVES STRUGGLING STUDENTS A NEEDED BOOST

Albuquerque Reads brings tutors from the business community into kindergarten classrooms three times a week.


Education

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YMCA of Central New Mexico

H.B. & Lucille Horn Family YMCA4901 Indian School NE

Albuquerque, NM 87110(505) 265-6971

McLeod Mountainside Family YMCA12500 Comanche NE

Albuquerque, NM 87111(505) 292-2298

Rio Rancho/Sandoval County Family YMCA

2701 The American Rd. NERio Rancho, NM 87124

(505) 922-1681

Santa Fe Family YMCA6600 Valentine WaySanta Fe, NM 87507(505) 424-8077

Westside Family YMCA4701 Montano NWAlbuquerque, NM 87120(505) 899-8417

Camp Shaver22900 Hwy. 4Jemez Springs, NM 87025(505) 265-6971

Branches

www.ymcacnm.org

A Non-Profit OrganizationWe build strong kids, strong families, strong communities.

Adult Fitness

Family Programs

Youth Sports & Swim Team

Summer Day Camp

Swim Instruction for All Ages

Resident Camp

Teen Center

Senior Adult Programs

Before & After-School Care

Newly Renovated Facility

Albuquerque Reads has helped raise reading levels among kindergarteners at three schools.

Usually, by the end of the year, they are able to read some basic, simple books at least.”

Each child enrolled in Albuquerque Reads is tutored three times a week.

“We read to the child, then have the child read to us – back and forth,” Gaylor says. “The idea is ultimately for the child to be reading to us.”

Teachers pick out books for the reading sessions based on each student’s ability level. A portion of the volunteer’s visit is spent working on writing and phonetic skills.

The tutoring sessions are structured specifically to “support the work of the teachers,” Gaylor adds.

“It is an integrated program; it’s not like we’re just going in and reading to the kids. It mirrors what is happening in the classroom. As a result, the outcomes are very favorable.”

Gaylor cites statistics to back that up:In 2002-03, only 5 percent of students

entered kindergarten with basic pre-reading skills, and 38 percent ended the year reading at or above grade level – “which really means being prepared to go into first grade,” Gaylor says.

In 2003-04, the year that Albuquerque Reads was launched, another 5 percent entered kindergarten equipped with pre-reading skills, yet 80 percent were ready for first grade by the following spring.

“Those statistics have held and are the same at all three schools,” Gaylor says.

– Renee Elder



Super jocks aren’t the only

ones in the spotlight in Jamie

Williams’ gym classes.

That’s because Williams leads

students in “new P.E.,” where

a variety of skills are taught

and cooperation is the name

of the game.

“It’s a transition from ‘old P.E.,’

which centered on athletes and

team sports,” says Williams,

a veteran educator who teaches

at MacArthur Elementary School.

“We emphasize individual skills

and health-and-wellness related

programming. Everybody is given

a chance, not just the select few

who stand out.”

The embarrassment of being

picked last for dodgeball

or kickball is a thing of a past

at this school.

“We still do have balls and jump

ropes and hula hoops, but many of

our activities are cooperative and

team-building, like the parachute,”

Williams says.

Parachute games involve groups

of students working together to lift

Making Gym Fun Again ‘NEW P.E.’ BRINGS EVERYONE INTO THE FITNESS MOVEMENT

a large swath of nylon fabric

as others run underneath.

Such games help youngsters

learn turn-taking and sharing

while developing muscles in all

parts of the body, Williams says.

At MacArthur Elementary,

250 students from kindergarten

through grade five participate in

25 minutes of P.E. each school day.

“We’re one of the only schools

in the area that still has P.E.

every day,” Williams adds.

Most days, Williams keeps

the focus on physical activities,

ranging from yoga postures

to upper body workouts using

stretchy nylon bands. At least

once a week, he turns attention

to health-and-wellness education.

“We have a computer station

where kids can learn about things

like the various muscle groups,” he

says. “I might teach a class about

the food pyramid and what a

balanced meal looks like.”

Williams notes that studies show

students who receive regular

fitness instruction perform better

academically, as well as lead

healthier lives.

In 2007, Williams’ achievements

were recognized statewide when

he was named Teacher of the

Year by the New Mexico

Association for Physical

Education, Recreation and Dance.

“I was very proud to be given

the award,” he says.

But Williams, who studied

physical education at the

University of New Mexico, has an

even bigger credit to his name.

“Our kids love to come to P.E.,”

he says.

– Renee Elder

MacArthur Elementary School teacher Jamie Williams was named P.E. Teacher of the Year.

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Education


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It has a long name, and a long list of services it can provide.

The official name for a new cancer center currently under construction in Albuquerque is the Comprehensive Cancer Treatment and Clinical Research Facility at the University of New Mexico. The $92 million, five-story facility is scheduled to open in February 2009 on the UNM campus.

“That long name is how we are referring to the facility right now, but we might change it simply to the UNM Cancer Center before it opens,” says Leann Holt, director of marketing and communications for the cancer center. “The UNM Cancer Center is how most people are referring to it anyway, but we still have the official name in place for the time being.”

Even though the new hospital’s name is in question, its list of services is not. The center will be able to treat anyone in New Mexico who has cancer.

“It includes all cancers from the brain to the toes – that’s a good way to

put it,” Holt says. “We will not turn anyone away. It will be a state-of-the-art facility that can give all New Mexicans the cancer care they deserve.”

The UNM campus has actually been home to an existing two-story cancer clinic that opened in the 1970s, but a new building has been needed for several years.

“The clinic was designed to see about 100 cancer patients each day, but we are currently seeing 350 patients daily,” Holt says. “We are bursting at the seams, so the new building can’t get here fast enough.”

The new facility will be designated as a National Cancer Institute, making it the only hospital in the state to hold that distinction.

“The NCI designation allows us to network with the best cancer institutes in the nation, including M.D. Anderson, Sloan-Kettering and the Mayo Clinic,” Holt says. “So if anything rare or unusual comes up that UNM physicians have a question about, we have access to

the best cancer minds in the country.”Besides clinical treatment, the UNM

facility will also be a research facility. The staff will be made up of 110 researchers to go along with the 65 doctors who head up teams in every cancer specialty.

“The new building will have everything under one roof, including four radiation units that will provide tomotherapy treatments,” Holt says. “Tomotherapy delivers very precise dosages of radiation that result in fewer treatments and less side effects for patients.”

Several of the center’s architectural amenities will feature American Indian/southwestern themes, including walls painted in the colors of traditional native healing plants.

“We want to offer treatment for the spirit as well as the body,” Holt says. “That is what New Mexicans are comfortable with, so that is exactly what we are going to do.”

– Kevin Litwin

UNM Cancer Center’s 195,000-square-foot, $92 million facility is slated to open in February 2009.

From the Brain to the ToesNEW UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO CENTER WILL TREAT ALL CANCERS


Health & Wellness

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699 Arts.indd 58 5/23/08 2:24:53 PM

In Albuquerque, the sun is shining at least 70 percent of the time in any given month. (Lights)

In New Mexico, economic and community development officials have set their sights on becoming a major force in the movie industry, offering a package of financial incentives second to none, drawing major players from Hollywood. (Camera)

And with the completion in April 2007 of a $74 million studio complex boasting 132,000 square feet of studio space, Albuquerque is already becoming a go-to city for television and film production. (Action)

It’s a combination of factors that’s bringing smiles to the faces of industry titans looking for fresh playing grounds while it provide a huge economic boost to the city and local businesses.

Think 12,000-plus area hotel reservations in four months. Think $287,000 in car rentals. Think tripling your lumber business to supply crews constantly building and tearing down movie and TV sets.

“There are 401 stages in L.A.; all the major studios and production companies are there, so it will always and forever be the seat of power. That’s the mecca of film and television, but the incentives here are especially unique and very lucrative for productions,” says Nick Smerigan, chief operating officer of Albuquerque Studios.

Boasting six sound stages – four of them at 24,000 square

feet and two at 18,000 square feet – Albuquerque Studios was the site of four major productions in its first year: AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” a dark TV comedy about a former chemistry teacher who starts making crystal meth; “In Plain Sight,” a USA Network series about a U.S. Marshal whose job it is to get people relocated in the federal witness protection program; Game, a futuristic thriller starring Gerard Butler about a show that pits prison convicts against one another in a militaristic contest; and The Spirit, a Frank Miller adaptation of Will Eisner’s comic book by the same name that will feature stars including Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes, among others.

Smerigan is excited to see the industry take off so quickly. He says he’s thrilled with the way Albuquerque has embraced its burgeoning new business and is already envisioning the countless economic opportunities that await.

“That’s the kind of community you want to build and the kind of economic growth you want to see,” Smerigan says.

Now, when the high-pressure grind of competition in L.A. seems too big an obstacle, industry bigs are starting to turn to this New Mexico city, just an hour and 25 minutes away.

“If a production is thinking of leaving L.A., we get a call,” Smerigan says. “I’ve done this my whole life. This totally took me by surprise; I did not expect it to explode like it did.” – Ellen Margulies

Lights, Camera, ActionFILM INDUSTRY SETS UP SHOP IN AN ACCOMMODATING ALBUQUERQUE

Central New Mexico Community College is capitalizing on the film industry by offering a degree in film production.

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Arts & Culture

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Looking for ways to save money

on gas and help the environment?

The EPA wants to share some

smart driving tips that could give

you more miles per gallon of gas

and reduce air pollution. Tips

like making sure your tires are

properly infl ated and replacing

your air fi lter regularly. And

where possible, accelerate and

brake slowly. Be aware of your

speed ... did you know that for

every 5 miles you go over 65 mph,

you’re spending about 20 cents

more per gallon of gas? If you’re

shopping for a new car, choose

the cleanest, most effi cient

vehicle that meets your needs. If

we each adopt just one of these

tips, we’d get more miles for our

money and it would be a little

easier to smell the fl owers. For

more tips and to compare cleaner,

more effi cient vehicles, visit

www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.

Save Money. Smell the Flowers.

Great Rates & Service Right

In Your Neighborhood!

Free local pick-up service • Unlimited mileage • Auto repair replacement rates • Direct billing to insurance companies Association club discounts • Monthly & mini-lease rates

Open seven days a week • Luxury vehicles, SUVs & minivans Child-safety seat rentals • Roadside assistance

Albuquerque Hilton Hotel: 1901 University Blvd. NE • (505) 884-6807

Albuquerque Int’l Airport: 3400 University Blvd. SE • (505) 842-4080

Albuquerque North/Northeast: 4770 Montgomery NE • (505) 830-2803

Santa Fe Airport: 121 Aviation Dr. • (505) 471-5892

For reservations nationwide, call (800) 831-2847 or visit www.avis.com

CCRG is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation


Sports & Recreation

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E veryone knows New Mexico as the Land of Enchantment, but the state’s nickname could just

as easily be the Land of Really Fantastic Outdoor Recreation.

In and around Albuquerque, a city that boasts more than 300 days of sunshine in an average year, playing outside isn’t just a nice idea – it’s almost wrong not to. Skiers, hikers, cyclists and adventurers exult in the region’s inviting terrain, which includes snowy mountains, solitary wilderness and a collapsed volcano in the Jemez Valley.

“New Mexico has an incredible amount of backcountry skiing and camp ing opportunities that would take a lifetime to discover,” says Duwayne Ordonez, outdoor recreation manager for

the Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department.

One of the most popular features of the ski community is the Sandia Peak Ski and Tramway, the country’s longest single span tram. Riders start in the desert at an elevation of 5,000 feet and travel up the side of the Sandia Mountains to a wooded forest at 10,000 feet. Once at the top, some ski back down, some go for a hike and some just stay and enjoy the view from the High Finance restaurant. Most days, the snow-capped peaks of Mount Taylor, 90 miles away, are plainly visible.

“The tram gives you a wonderful view of Albuquerque and beyond,” Ordonez says.

For the more ambitious, those who’d

This Is No FaçadeTHE GREAT OUTDOORS IS A WELL-KEPT SECRET IN THIS ‘ANTI-RESORT’ TOWN

The Sandia Mountain ski slopes are just minutes from downtown.

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prefer to get their heart rate up with the altitude, there is a bicycle path to Sandia Crest. The path, a curvy climb more 3,000 feet up the mountainside, was ranked by Bicycling magazine as one of America’s top 10 secret bicycle climbs.

In addition to the standard-issue mountain sports, natives and visitors to the city can enjoy fishing, golf, caving and hot air balloon rides. The city also maintains a 30,000-acre Open Space network. Indeed, nowhere in the city is farther than 15 minutes from an Open Space area, according to James Sattler, who manages the Open Space program.

For all Albuquerque has to offer, it’s relatively low-key in terms of tourism. Residents call the town “anti-resort” because there are rarely long lines, and everything from the restaurants to the ski lodges is authentic. For many, though, the greatest draw is the feeling of isolation in nature that is so easy to find in the state of fewer than 2 million.

“Solitude is only a doorstep away,” Ordonez says. “The density doesn’t warrant a resort lifestyle.”

He jokes that many people don’t seek out New Mexico as a destination because they don’t realize that the state is not a part of Mexico.

“We are a hidden treasure in the tourist industry,” he says, “and the average New Mexican would like to keep it that way.”

– Michaela Jackson


Sports & Recreation

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ALBUQUERQUE

EDUCATION

Public Schools

Albuquerque Public Schools

880-3700, ww2.aps.edu

Albuquerque Public Schools

is one of the largest public

school systems in the nation,

with more than 87,000

students. Because of its

size, the Albuquerque Public

School system is divided

into a cluster system based

on 11 high schools and the

elementary and middle

schools that feed them.

There is a 12th cluster that

includes 10 alternative schools.

Higher Education

Albuquerque Technical

Vocational Institute, 224-3000

New Mexico State

University, 883-3235

New Mexico Tech, 366-2530

University of New Mexico

277-0111

BUSINESS CLIMATE

In May 2007, Forbes magazine

named Albuquerque one of

the Best Places for Business

and Careers. According to

Forbes, Albuquerque has

the lowest business cost in

the country. This factor, along

with an educated population

and rising household incomes,

helped boost Albuquerque

to the No. 6 spot for business

and careers.

Albuquerque ranks No. 10

among communities with

the highest concentration

of brainpower, according to

an analysis of Census Bureau

data done by Bizjournals.com

in 2006.

In a 2006 study conducted by

Worldwide ERC and Primacy

Relocation, Albuquerque

ranked eighth among the best

cities for relocating families.

In June 2006, Kiplinger’s

ranked Albuquerque third

on its list of “50 smart

places to live in the country.”

The ranking is based on

average home prices,

cost of living, quality of life

and access to health care.

ATTRACTIONS

Albuquerque Aquarium

764-6200

Albuquerque Museum

of Art & History 243-7255

or (800) 659-8331

Anderson-Abruzzo

Albuquerque International

Balloon Museum, 768-6020

American International

Rattlesnake Museum

242-6569

Explora Science Center

224-8300

KiMo Theatre, 768-3522

Indian Pueblo

Cultural Center, 843-7270

Lodestar Astronomy Center

841-5955 or 841-5960

Maxwell Museum

of Anthropology, 277-4405

National Atomic Museum

247-1437

National Hispanic

Cultural Center of

New Mexico, 246-2261

New Mexico Museum

of Natural History

and Science, 841-2800

Old Town, 243-3215

www.albuquerqueoldtown.com

Rio Grande

Botanical Garden

764-6200

Rio Grande Zoo

764-6200

South Broadway

Cultural Center

848-1320

Tamarind Institute

277-3901

Tingley Beach

764-6200

Tinkertown

281-5233

Turquoise Museum

247-8650

Unser Racing Museum

341-1776

SNAPSHOTAlbuquerque is a city of contrasts. Nestled between the Sandia

Mountains and the Rio Grande Valley, the city has breathtaking

landscapes, a rich cultural heritage and the vibrant energy of a

fast-growing urban area.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce115 Gold Ave. S.W., Ste. 201


Phone: 764-3700

Fax: 764-3714

www.abqchamber.com

Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau20 First Plaza N.W., Ste. 601


Phone: (800) 284-2282

www.itsatrip.org

Sources:www.abq.org www.abqchamber.com www.itsatrip.org www.cabq.gov

The area code for Albuquerque is 505 . IMAGESALBUQUERQUE .COM 63

Community Profile


African American Chamber of Commerce www.aaccnm.com

Albuquerque Academy www.aa.edu

American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico www.aiccnm.com

Aviswww.avis.com

Bosque School www.bosqueschool.org

Budget Rent A Car System Inc. www.budget.com

Charter Bank www.charterco.com

Citi Cardswww.careers.citicards.com

City of Albuquerque www.cabq.gov

Construction Reporter www.constructionreporter.com

Dave’s Custom Hauling www.davescustomhauling.com

Eastern Hills Christian Academy www.easternhillsca.com

Escuela Del Sol Montessori www.escueladelsol.org

Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtorswww.ambr.org

Heritage Hotels & Resorts Inc. www.hhandr.com

Inn At Paradise www.innatparadise.com

Lovelace Health Plan www.lovelacehealthplan.com

Manzano Day School www.manzanodayschool.org

Mariposawww.mariposa-nm.com

New Horizons Computer Learning Centers www.newhorizons.com

New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union www.nmefcu.org

Sandi Pressley Inc. www.sandipressley.com

Sandia Prep www.sandiaprep.org

Scott Patrick Inc. www.scottpatrickhomes.com

St. Pius X Catholic High School www.saintpiusx.com

Stillbrooke Homes www.stillbrooke.com

Sunset Mesa Schools Inc. www.sunset-mesa.com

Tempur-Pedic www.tempurpedic.com

University of New Mexico – College of Center for the Arts www.unm.edu/~fi nearts/ifdm

UNM Hospitals http://hospitals.unm.edu

Wayland Baptist University www.wbu.edu/albuquerque

Wells Fargohttp://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/8576-57670-3408-0

YMCA of Central New Mexico www.ymcacnm.org

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The Inn at Paradise10035 Country Club Ln. • Albuquerque, NM 87114(505) 898-6161 or (800) 938-6161 • Fax: (505) [email protected] • www.innatparadise.com

We would like to invite you to experience living New Mexico-style … a blend of people, food, art, history, wildlife and culture all spaced between the sunrise and sunset of the great Southwest.

The Inn at Paradise sits atop the West Mesa overlooking the Rio Grande Valley and the majestic Sandia Mountains. There is no better place to relax and enjoy your next holiday than in the Land of Enchantment.

Located on the first tee of the Desert Green Golf Club, you can experience golf course living at its finest. Whether you are on an executive retreat with your company, having a competitive tournament with your family and friends, or taking a romantic holiday with that special someone, the Inn is a great getaway.

The Inn at Paradise

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