Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 264 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
November 3, 2013
www.rdrnews.com
SUNDAY
Day of the Dead Roswell marks holiday with celebration and reflection
TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell celebrated Day of the Dead this weekend with activities both whimsical and somber. The Roswell Public Library hosted a Day of the Dead craft day Saturday while the Roswell Fine Arts League Gallery installed an altar to artists who passed away over the past year. The altar was installed last week at the co-op gallery and will be taken down during the coming days. Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos in Spanish, is a Mexican holiday coinciding with the Catholic holidays All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. The purpose of
the holiday is to remember and celebrate the lives of the deceased. The library event included an altar with pictures of deceased authors, most of whom died in the past year. Elmore Leonard, Vince Flynn, Robert Parker and Beatrix Potter were remembered. About 60 adults and children participated in numerous skeletonthemed crafts in keeping with the aesthetic of the festival. They checked out library books about the holiday and learned about traditions associated with it. Deanne Dekle, librarian for the children’s section, helped organize the event. She said face painting was the most popular activity. Children and adults had their faces painted to look
like skeletons. “I think the kids just got a kick out of it. I mean, who doesn’t like face painting?” Dekle said. The altar at the gallery had a more solemn tone, with pictures of deceased members of the Fine Arts League displayed. Painter Richard Cibak and photographers Paul Ashby and Michael van Rae were honored. The altar contained paper marigolds, candles to warm the three men, a glass of water to refresh them, oil paints to reflect their work as artists and a wooden water melon, according to Nancy Phillips, a potter and league member. She said the wooden See DEAD, Page A3
Balloons and blue sky
Mark Wilson Photos
Above: “Dia De Los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) Altar featured at the Roswell Fine Arts League and Gallery. It is viewable today, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Left: From left, Phoebe Bonham, Sorcha Sweeney and Debra Thomas celebrate Day of the Dead on All Souls Day at the Roswell Public Library, Saturday.
Showcase gives indie filmmakers exposure AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
Hot air balloons inflate and begin to take flight in the early hours during the Balloons & Bluegrass festival in Artesia, Saturday.
It was hard to miss the frozen stone statue of a Weeping Angel—actually a person in costume—or the large TARDIS standing amid unnatural fog. It was even harder to miss people clamoring in and out of the blue police box, feigning fear of the angel, all for the sake of pictures. But the Doctor Who marathon and 50th anniversary celebration were only part of the festivities. The more prominent focus was showcasing local films, as the New Mexico Film Series and Sci-Fi Fest took place for the majority of Saturday at the Roswell Convention Center. Nine winners of the New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase have been traveling around the state and their
Amy Vogelsang Photo
A Weeping Angel blocks the entrance to Dr. Who’s TARDIS at the New Mexico Film Series and Sci-Fi Fest, Saturday.
third stop was here in Roswell. One judge for each category watched all the films to choose the winners, but the original 35 or so films were shown in a theatre in Santa Fe, which gave
the filmmakers a chance to see their movies in a dif ferent atmosphere besides YouTube, said outreach programs coordinator, Dirk Norris, who See SHOWCASE, Page A2
Hernandez paints his dreams into reality United Way
TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
622-4150 of Chaves County
Collected
$173,459 Goal
$525,000
33%
Of Goal Collected
Courtesy Photo
Oscar L. Hernandez paints in the studio he briefly rented in Roswell.
Oscar L. Hernandez, 31, said that three years ago, when he decided to live entirely off his art, people laughed in his face. They said that without
artistic training or connections, a career in art wasn’t feasible. “I had a lot of people say you’re not gonna make it,” the Roswell resident said. “I wanted to try it. I had to try it or I’ll never know.” What started as an
experiment has bloomed into a successful career as a painter. Work by Hernandez will be displayed at the State Land Office Commissioner’s Gallery in Santa Fe for the month of November. Lear ning his work would be displayed was “almost like a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Before he began supSee HERNANDEZ, Page A3
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TODAY’S FORECAST
• Anna Mae Chambers • Victoria Sedillo Jaffe • Lorna Frances Bucklew
• Romelio Montoya Sanchez
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B8
• James Aguilar
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CLASSIFIEDS ..........D1 COMICS .................C4 ENTERTAINMENT .....D6 FEATURE ................C3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8 VISTAS...................C1