Jenny's View

Friends,

Our guests routinely ask us to decorate a guest room for a birthday, anniversary or other special event. Sometimes, we dig deep into our memories to locate a particular landmark or restaurant from only a photo taken 20 years ago. And more visitors than we can count stay at La Fonda because of our connection to Route 66, the atomic history of New Mexico or Georgia O’Keeffe.

To fulfill these requests, we rely on some stellar resources – our concierges. They coordinate our guests’ adventures - ready with almost encyclopedic insider information and the perfect advice. Each of them has both broad awareness of the unique sights in Santa Fe and special expertise in particular areas.

For example, Helen Pacheco is our shopper. Got a question about where to find the most authentic jewelry or specific kind of art? Helen’s the one to ask! John Felix is our “professor,” who will spend as much time as a guest wants regaling the rich history of our humble town.

For those with outdoor ambitions, Patricia Tapia is our adventurer. Whether it’s hiking the Dale Ball Trails, exploring Bandelier National Monument, venturing up Picacho Peak, biking around town, skiing or river rafting, odds are Patricia’s done it and can give reliable recommendations.

Each one of our concierges goes above and beyond to make sure each guest’s stay is perfect. So when we receive an email like this one from guest Tom Shaw, we just have to share it.

Tom and his wife stayed at La Fonda in March to attend a 3-day class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. He writes, “We first met Patricia when she greeted us at the concierge station on our floor. She greeted us and provided many good recommendations, including a walking route to the school. This is pretty much what I would expect from any conscientious, well-trained concierge. What happened over the next several days showed Patricia to be truly outstanding.

Our Head Chef/Instructor was French trained and discounted the use of black pepper. Being a BBQ cook, I like black pepper and the two of us bantered with each other over the first two days of class. Don’t ask me how, but I came up with the idea of getting a T-shirt done as an award for the Head Chef with the words, ‘Black Spice Matters.’

I stopped back at the concierge desk and Patricia was there. She suggested a coffee mug as an alternative. She had even sketched an awesome design, including a pepper shaker!!!! I was impressed. I told her if we could get that overnight, I was all in. She said she would do what she could to pull it off for me.

It was perfect!! She had even purchased a small pepper shaker to place into the mug used as the award. She did all this on her own time overnight. Quite amazing. The award that Patricia made for me was a big hit.

What more can I say? Many people view concierge duties as ‘a map and a smile.’ Only a select few take it to the next level, arising to any challenge. Patricia is one of those few.”

We think so too, Tom. We think so too.

Until next time,

Jenny

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Detours at La Fonda

A Santa Fe Merchant Since 1922

May is a time for all things fresh! Check out Detours new line of hand-painted, one-of-a-kind denim jackets.

Singular Couture Art to Wear creates locally made, artist inspired casual attire for the spring and summer – explore their latest collection at Detours.

And, don’t forget that Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12th. Detours makes shopping for Mom easy – explore our online gift collection and ship direct to her front door!

Designer jean jacket
Detours at La Fonda gift shop

A Bowl Of Fruit Sitting On Top Of A Wooden Table

Recipe for Adventure

Chilled Mango Soup

This chilled soup pairs perfectly with warm weather. It’s refreshing, cool, creamy and delicious! Yield: ½ Gallon

INGREDIENTS

  • 5 pounds mango, peeled and diced
  • 8 ounces carrot, small diced
  • 8 ounces celery, small diced
  • 4 ounces onion, small diced
  • 2 ounces vegetable oil
  • 16 ounces coconut milk
  • Fresh lime juice to taste
  • Salt and white pepper to taste

Garnish:

  • 1 avocado, small diced
  • 1 mango, small diced

METHOD

  • In a one-gallon sauce pot heat the oil, sauté the carrots, celery and onion until translucent
  • Add mango and coconut milk and bring to quick boil then turn off heat
  • Puree in blender and chill
  • Add seasonings to your taste
  • Serve cold in chilled bowls and garnish with diced mango and avocado

A Person Wearing A Hat

Live at La Fonda

The Pleasure Pilots

Authentic rhythm, rich vocals and soulful sensibility – The Pleasure Pilots have a faithful following at La Fiesta Lounge.  This local band infuses groove, funk and swing into our rich, local music scene.

Rhythm and blues piano, soulful vocals, and funk-style horns, the Pleasure Pilots bring audiences to their feet. Band leader David Phillips says the Pilots aim to recreate the ambiance of a late-1950s dance club, with a driving rhythm section and swinging horns. Phillips, who plays keyboards, is joined by Fred Spencer on guitar, Terry Bluhm on bass, Ray Griffin, Glenn Kostur and Lee Taylor on sax, Ryan Finn on trombone, and the renowned jazz musician Peter Amahl on drums.

Pleasure Pilots play at La Fiesta, where the locals gather, May 17 & 18.


It’s a Good Time To…

Mark your calendars for the biggest event of the month – the opening of the spectacular new exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art: Alexander Girard: A Designer's Universe (May 5-Oct. 27). Girard was one of the most influential interior and textile designers of the 20th century. This exhibition is the first major retrospective on Girard’s work, organized by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. It opens a door to his creative universe and shows his close relationships with contemporaries such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Andy Warhol, Rudi Gernreich, and many others. Featured are Girard’s designs in textiles, furniture, and sculptures, as well as numerous sketches, drawings, and collages never shown before.

And if you expected to hit the Museum of International Folk Art’s big Folk Art Flea in May, you need to wait a month. Celebrating the 10th year this year, the Flea is jumping to June 8.

A Group Of Stuffed Animals Sitting On Top Of A Table

Folk Art Flea

Get out on a tour focused on food, art or history! Santa Fe’s full of tours, including our volunteer docent led tours of the art and history of La Fonda. Check with the concierge for details of this complimentary, one-hour tour Wednesday through Saturday that will regale you with stories about Santa Fe, its history, Fred Harvey and the Harvey girls, the architecture and the beautiful art collection that graces the lobby, hallways and rooms in the hotel.

Turn your attention to the heavens with Starry Night at Pecos (May 4), a weather-dependent evening under the big Western sky at Pecos National Historical Park, only a short drive from town.

Take an even quicker drive to the Eldorado Arts and Crafts Association’s annual Eldorado Studio Tour (May 18-19). The Eldorado Studio Tour leads the pack of spring studio tours with the largest number of artist and artisan participants in New Mexico.

The next weekend, the Native Treasures art show and sale (May 25-26) brings over 200 invited artists to sell their work with proceeds benefitting the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. See jewelry, pottery, sculpture, fashion, carvings, basketry, beadwork and more.

If you’re planning a visit to Pride Santa Fe’s weeklong events (June 22-29) in this 50th anniversary year of the Stonewall Riots, book early! La Fonda’s got a great package deal that includes a 3-night stay, welcome drinks, breakfast at La Plazuela and discounts for the rodeo and rodeo school. La Fonda’s the perfect place to see the Pride Parade, too – it passes right by our doors, with activities and entertainment on the Plaza until the evening!

Outdoors Santa Fe
La Fonda hotel is located on the Santa Fe plaza

                                                                                                                                              


A Group Of Clouds In The Sky Over the desert

The Shops at La Fonda

Photogenesis

It’s the season to experience “Walking Rain” at Photogenesis.

This spectacular archival pigment print by Nicholas Trofimuk captures a truly unusual event. In New Mexico – if you’re lucky – you can witness “walking rain,” an instance when a rain funnel can be seen moving slowly along a horizon. This photograph was taken in the gorgeous Galisteo Basin, with the Ortiz Mountains visible in the lower portion of the photo. Two “walking rain” clouds were actually captured in a unique instant to document this amazing phenomenon. The print is available in a variety of sizes.

A Group Of Clouds In The Sky Over the desert

A Person Wearing A Black Shirt

Sense at La Fonda


For those about the "Lounge" come see the new and intimate apparel available exclusively at Sense at La Fonda!  Sense features comfortable, environmentally sustainable fabrics derived from beechwood.


Film & Performance 

The Lensic’s The Met Live in HD season continues with one of the most successful operas of the later decades of the 20th century, Dialogues des Carmélites (May 11). Great Art on Screen invites us into the impressionistic world of Claude Monet with Water Lilies of Monet: The Magic of Water and Light (June 3). And mark your calendars for Dinner at the Moulin Rouge, the Lensic’s annual on-stage benefit gala (June 15).

A Person Talking On A Cell Phone

The Jean Cocteau Cinema screens “The Gate: Dawn of the Bahá’í Faith,” a groundbreaking documentary that tells the dramatic, true story of the Prophet-Herald known as the Báb, His message and the origins of a new era in world religion. The film is followed by a Q&A (May 26).

Santa Fe Playhouse offers up Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison, a powerful, 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about aging, memory, and artificial intelligence, set in the not-too-distant future (May 2-19). Over at Teatro Paraguas, New Mexico Actors Lab invites us into A Doll’s House, Part 2 (May 9-26). The hit of the 2017 Broadway season with eight Tony Award nominations, this comedic modern tale takes up where Ibsen left off and explores the rules of society and gender in our own time.

Santa Fe Public Schools, Performance Santa Fe and the Platinum Music Awards present the annual showcase of musical talent of student performers featuring 240 musicians, dancers, and artists - bands, choir, rock, world music ensemble, string orchestra, and more! Ode to Joy (May 9) supports music education in our schools and lets us cheer on these incredibly talented students.

Another accomplished group of students hits the stage for music, dance, theater, visual arts and spoken word in the New Mexico School for the Arts annual ArtSpring gala (May 17).

Santa Fe Classic Theater, in association with The Shakespeare Guild and the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, proudly presents the Shakespeare in the Garden production of Romeo and Juliet. This production will be performed in the beautiful Ojos y Manos Amphitheater in the Santa Fe Botanical Garden (May 31-June 9). Then No Man’s Land by Harold Pinter and staged by New Mexico Actors Lab makes us laugh with this mysterious, bleakly beautiful and very funny play (June 6-23).


Out & About

La Fonda’s 5th floor Bell Tower Bar opens mid-month! Whatever reason brings you to La Fonda on the Plaza, sip a cocktail while enjoying the picturesque mountain views, a light lunch or snack, perched high above the city with the best sunset view. Try the Bell Ringer margarita, our signature drink, and part of the Margarita Trail.

Clouds In The Sky

The Santa Fe Opera continues teasing its 2019 season (June 28-Aug. 24) with their Spotlight Series of talks with conductor Oliver Prezant at Collected Works Bookstore. Learn about The Pearl Fishers (May 5), Così Fan Tutte (May 17), Jenůfa (June 7) and The Thirteenth Child (June 14). Admission is free, but seating is limited.

If the singing of birds is more your speed, participate in the first Audubon Day at the Center for New Mexico Archaeology (May 4). The event includes a bunch of hands-on demonstrations and opportunities to learn about our feathered friends, and coincides with Birds: Spiritual Messengers of the Skies, an exhibition currently on view at the Center for New Mexico Archaeology, and celebrates the importance of our avian friends across the Southwest.

Last year’s Santa Fe Century road biking events were so successful from their new Santa Fe Community College start/finish, they’re doing it again (May 18-19). Started in 1985, the ride is one of the first century cycling events of the spring. Mountain bikers get off the pavement in the Big Mountain Enduro (May 25-26) a two-day backcountry race traversing upwards of 7000 feet of long rocky descents throughout the weekend. Racers can expect 3 stages per day on some of the most unique and raw terrain in New Mexico.

Make a note for this year’s Inter Planetary Festival (June 14-16) the annual free and open to the public event that combines an exploration of complexity science and technological innovation with a summer festival full of music, film, art, food, drinks, and more.

And grab your best guy or gal and head to Rodeo de Santa Fe when it returns (June 19-22) with a full line up of activities for all ages to celebrate its 70th year!


Music & Dance 

No tenors are needed when baritone Thomas Hampson and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni (Hampson’s son-in-law) take the stage. Two great voices. One incredible evening at the Lensic (May 2). Then two-time Grammy Award winners Mariachi Los Camperos come to town (May 4).

Mantra has gone mainstream, with Deva Premal and Miten on the leading edge of this global chant phenomenon for over 20 years, propelling the ancient healing power of mantra chanting into the 21st century. They’re traveling the globe with Nepalese bansuri maestro Manose and their international band, catch them at the Lensic (May 3).

The Santa Fe Symphony presents their season finale, Berlioz Festival, in honor of the 150 year anniversary of master composer Hector Berlioz's death (May 18-19). Then join Aspen Santa Fe Ballet for their annual student recitals (May 25-26) featuring 200-plus talented young dancers.

Performance Santa Fe rounds out their season in May with two events. First, Emerson Quartet, known for 40 years and more than 30 recordings that have won them nine Grammy awards (May 10). Then through the visionary mind of director Peter Sellars, 21 singers of the Los Angeles Master Chorale transform Renaissance composer Orlando di Lasso’s final work Lagrime di San Pietro into a powerful theatrical performance (May 31).

AMP Concerts opens May in Santa Fe with The Church (May 1), performing their signature album Starfish in its entirety, along with a selection of other gems from the band's career, which now spans an incredible 38 years. Then catch The Felice Brothers (June 14) with guest Johnathan Rice.

Paradiso has two shows in May: Triplane with their original free jazz (May 4) and Ornetc’s jazz and improvisation (May 11). Over at Gig, they kick off the month with post-bop piano when Aaron Goldberg Trio plays (May 1). What The What, a trio of well-traveled Santa Fe natives plays (May 3) followed by Wood Belly, winner of the 2018 Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition (May 16). Portuguese/Canadian multi-instrumentalist, Awna Teixeira, one half of highly-esteemed and internationally acclaimed Canadian band Po'Girl, comes to Santa Fe solo (June 5).

Meow Wolf’s eclectic line up starts May with Michael Menert and ExMag (May 3), Charlesthefirst (May 4), The Marias, (May 5), Health (May 6), Dizzy Wright (May 7), Wild Belle (May 8), Girlpool (May 10), Lady Lamb (May 11), and Shy Girls (May 14). The month continues with Lucius (May 15), CloZee (May 16), Dirtwire (May 17), Back to the 80s Prom (May 18), Wallows (May 19), Wild Reeds (May 20), TOPS (May 21), Monolink (May 23), Kayla Scintilla with Eve Olution (May 24), and Inner Wave (May 25).

A Close Up Of A Man

Charlesthefirst


At the Museums

A cross selection of artworks acquired by the New Mexico Museum of Art over the past five years opens their new exhibition Bringing Together (May 4-Nov. 3). Recent gifts include two glass collections, contemporary artwork, the finalization of the Lucy Lippard gift and several significant paintings. Explore the breadth and depth of the Museum of Art’s most recent additions.

A Group Of People Walking In Front Of A Building

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture hosts a new event: the Living Treasures Artist Celebration on Museum Hill (May 24). Guests are invited to meet the 2019 Living Treasures artist award recipients, Diego and Mateo Romero, and meet and mingle with past years’ illustrious Living Treasures artists. Enjoy contemporary indigenous cuisine, Native music and entertainment, and a live and silent auction.

Hear from School for Advanced Research’s Eric and Barbara Dobkin Native Artist fellow, Meghann O’Brien, about her current work (May 16). A Haida/Kwakwaka’wakw weaver, O’Brien is interested in reconciling the perceived divide between male dominated totem and mask carving and that of weaving and textiles often deemed “women’s work.” O’Brien has been creating an intricately woven necklace in the Chilkat tradition, depicting the Haida Dogfish Mother. The evening will conclude with a visit to the Dubin Studio to see O’Brien’s work.

Currents New Media Festival (June 7-23) lights up El Museo Cultural in the Railyard for two weeks of cutting-edge art installations from national and international emerging and established video and new media artists. Let the weirdness and wonder abound!


Speakers

Painter and scientist Albert Henry Munsell studied how light and pigments work, and how people see color. Join Dale Kronkright, Head of Conservation of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum for an exploration of Georgia O’Keeffe’s use of light and color at Breakfast with O’Keeffe (May 1).

Lannan Foundation presents Sebastian Barry, novelist, poet, and playwright, joined by Daniel Mendelsohn, author, critic, and essayist and columnist for Harper’s (May 1). Barry is a novelist, poet, and playwright known for his novel Days without End, and The Secret Scripture, named Novel of the Year by the Irish Book Awards. Mendelsohn also is an author, critic, essayist and columnist for Harper’s.

School for Advanced Research’s Annual President’s Lecture: Minds in the Net: The Journey from Page to Screen features New York Times best-selling author Nicholas Carr exploring the development of the internet and the role it has played in shaping how we think, work, and live (May 23). Carr’s work often examines the impact of technologies, including smartphones, computers, and tablets on our cognitive abilities and the potential troubles that arise from the expanded use of the internet. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the category of nonfiction for his recent book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Carr’s 2008 book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google, explores the cultural significance and the potential economic consequences of expanding use of internet-based cloud computing.

Nicholas G. Carr Wearing Glasses And Smiling At The Camera

Nicholas Carr


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