Photographing the Border, Reflecting on New Mexican Colonialism, Protecting Forests Against Wildfires

This week on New Mexico in Focus, an inside look at the faces and stories behind our crisis on the U.S./Mexico border. Correspondent Laura Paskus sits down with Albuquerque Journal photographer Roberto Rosales, who for years has used his camera to shine a light on the personal stories of people who are crossing into the United States seeking safety and economic opportunity.

The award-winning Our Land series returns this month, as we travel to the Carson National Forest to learn about a unique, community-based approach to managing the forest and protecting against wildfires. The Cerro Negro National Forest Council relies on historic, cultural examples like acequia management and applies it to forest management.

This week, we also offer up some additional tidbits from prior interviews that there wasn’t enough time to include in the show. Up first is a look back at a career in pictures, with newly retired Albuquerque Journal photo editor Dean Hanson. Next up is a discussion on why peaceful protests are still such an effective force for change, especially in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement. And lastly, we share some extra thoughts from Arizona State University Assistant Professor Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez on New Mexico’s difficult history of Spanish Colonialism. Fonseca-Chávez grew up in rural New Mexico and discusses how what she learned – and didn’t learn – as a child helped to shape her field of study as an adult.

Host: Gene Grant

Segments:
Photojournalist Roberto Rosales on Covering the Border
Correspondent: Laura Paskus
Guest: Roberto Rosales, Albuquerque Journal photographer

Dean Hanson on a Career in Photos
Correspondent: Matt Grubs
Guest: Dean Hanson, photojournalist

Our Land: Cerro Negro Forest Council
Correspondent: Laura Paskus
Guests: J.R. Logan, Cerro Negro Forest Council Secretary/Treasurer
Richard Cordova, Cerro Negro Forest Council Leñero
David Fermin Arguello, Cerro Negro Forest Council member
Art Montoya, Cerro Negro Forest Council Mayordomo

The Power of Peaceful Protests
Correspondent: Russell Contreras
Guest: Rachel Kleinfeld, Ph.D., senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Realities of New Mexico’s History of Colonialism
Correspondent: Russell Contreras Guest:
Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, assistant professor of Hispanic and Indigenous studies, Arizona State University