Articles written by Russell Contreras
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 66
New Mexico tribe transforms old casino into movie studio
TESUQUE PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — A small northern New Mexico Native American tribe has opened a movie studio in a former casino that it hopes will lure big productions. The Tesuque Pueblo recently converted the building near Santa Fe into a movie studio...
Legendary DJs use shows to ease virus exile among Latinos
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A woman who identified herself Rachel from San Ysidro, California, called in the syndicated "The Art Laboe Connection Show" last month with a message for Alex "the Wizard." "Babe, I want you to know I love you more than the...
Small free libraries offering solace amid virus shutdowns
Christine Gale Reynolds worked at the public library in Yosemite National Park before it closed in March when California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued shutdown orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus. So, she filled the back of her car with donated...
GOP US Senate hopeful unveils ad, doesn't mention Trump
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — Former television weatherman and Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Ronchetti released a new ad with uplifting messages but doesn't mention President Donald Trump by name. The ad uses footage of the raising of the American...
Sand Creek Massacre site demands we confront racial violence
EADS, Colo. (AP) — The site sits hundreds of miles from any major city. There are no statues to admire, no gift shops to buy postcards, and no cheery activities for the kids. To get there, one must drive through hours of farm and dirt roads amid...
'Black in Space' looks at final frontier of civil rights
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — In 1959, Ronald Erwin McNair walked into a South Carolina library. The 9-year-old aspiring astronaut wanted to check out a calculus book, but a librarian threatened to call the police if he didn't leave. McNair was black....
Film probes history of Native Americans in the US military
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Before Chuck Boers joined the U.S. Army, the Lipan Apache member was given his family's eagle feathers. The feathers had been carried by his great-great-great-grandfather on his rifle when he was an Apache scout. They also...
Book tries to show how US democracy hurt Native Americans
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new book by a noted historian attempts to show how expanding American democracy hurt Native Americans in the early days of the nation and how tribes viewed the young United States as an entity seeking to erase them from...
Strangers come for miles to mourn El Paso shooting victim
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Thousands of strangers came to say goodbye to a woman who was killed a mass shooting in El Paso after hearing her longtime companion had few family members left. Antonio Basco had told reporters he felt alone in planning the...
New AMC drama follows Japanese American internment horror
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The second season of an AMC-TV drama series follows the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and a number of bizarre deaths haunting a community. "The Terror: Infamy" is set to premiere Monday and stars...
Mass shootings have Latinos worried about being targets
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — When Michelle Otero arrived at an art show featuring Mexican-American women, the first thing she did was scan the room. Two exits. One security guard. Then she thought to herself: If a shooter bursts in, how do my husband...
El Paso, with deep Mexican American past, rallies amid pain
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The massacre that killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso struck a city that has long been the cradle of Mexican American culture and immigration and suffered through bloody episodes of racial violence in the past. The white...
A history of racism is woven into the US presidency
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — When President Donald Trump drew widespread condemnation for describing a majority-black congressional district as a "rat and rodent infested mess" and for tweets targeting four Democratic congresswomen of color, it was...
Ebony and Jet photo archive sale sparks relief, anxiety
The sale of the photo archive of Ebony and Jet magazines chronicling African American history is generating relief among some who worried the historic images may be lost. But it's also causing some to mourn since the images, including photos of...
Mexican Americans faced racial terror from 1910-1920
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Twenty years ago, a knock on the door opened the past for Arlinda Valencia. A relative had come to pay his respects on the death of Valencia's father. He then revealed a shocking secret: The family was descended from...
Facebook invests in renewables with Texas solar project
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Facebook is building a massive solar farm in West Texas that's believed to be one of the largest solar projects in the nation and the social media giant's first direct investment in renewable energy. Boston-based renewable...
AP Explains: Militias have patrolled US border for decades
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An armed group in New Mexico whose leader faces federal firearms possession charges drew national attention last month for detaining asylum-seeking Central American families near the U.S.-Mexico border. It's not the first...
Ex-spy Valerie Plame eyes run for Congress in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Former CIA operative, author and activist Valerie Plame said Friday she is considering a 2020 run for an open U.S. congressional seat in New Mexico. Plame told The Associated Press she is spending time with residents and...
New Mexico honors Dolores Huerta as birthplace sits vacant
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Dolores Huerta, the Mexican-American social activist who formed a farmworkers union with Cesar Chavez, was honored by state lawmakers Wednesday, some of whom vowed to work to save her birthplace that now sits abandoned. The...
Police: Teen charged after gunshot at New Mexico high school
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A 16-year-old student suspected of opening fire inside a high school in suburban Albuquerque was charged Thursday with attempting to commit murder and carrying a deadly weapon on school grounds, police said. The shooting,...
Documentary puts new attention on R. Kelly sex allegations
R. Kelly, one of the top-selling recording artists of all time, has been dogged for years by allegations of sexual misconduct involving women and underage girls — accusations he and his attorneys have long denied. But an Illinois prosecutor's plea...
Border town invaded by Pancho Villa rejecting talk of troops
COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) — A small New Mexico border town once attacked by Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa is rejecting talk of a wall and troops while embracing its legacy to draw tourists. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has cited Villa's 1916...
Republican not conceding US House race as results certified
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A key county certified results Tuesday of a closely watched U.S. House race in southern New Mexico showing Democrat Xochitl Torres Small defeating Republican Yvette Herrell. But Herrell is refusing to concede and is...
Democrat Haaland keeping money edge in US House race
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Democrat Debra Haaland is maintaining her fundraising edge over her Republican and Libertarian opponents for an open U.S. House seat in central New Mexico. According to new Federal Election Commission filings, the Laguna Pu...
AP Explains: How US birthright citizenship emerged, endured
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants to end a constitutional right that automatically grants citizenship to any baby born in the United States. Trump, in an interview with "Axios on HBO," said his goal is halting...