It is so nice to get outdoors occasionally when you live in an office with no windows. When we had the chance to visit A-Bee Honey & Farms , we made a beeline for the KNME Hummer and took a drive just south of Belen.

Albert Einstein said: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS looks at how the bee is faring in the Land of Enchantment, explores the mysterious “Colony Collapse Disorder,” and looks at why it might be that New Mexico isn’t as hard-hit as other states. Plus, Gene Grant and The Line panelists take on a further discussion of the controversial statue of Oñate in El Paso, Senator Barack Obama’s overseas trip, New Mexico Racing Commission’s last permit, and the Supreme Court’s possible re-thinking on the “Exclusionary Rule.”

NM inFOCUS: Ep 205 – Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder (Intro)

NM inFOCUS: Ep 205 – Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder (Bee Farm)

NM inFOCUS: Ep 205 – Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder (In Focus)

NM inFOCUS: Ep 205 – Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder (The Line)

This is a picture of the statue featured in the P.O.V. documentary “The Last Conquistador”. And, at the bottom right of the picture, you can see the artist who created the work, Mr. John Houser. The statue has created a lot of controversy in El Paso, where it is based, as well as throughout the Southwest. The reasons are many, but all revolve around The Last Conquistador himself, otherwise known as Don Juan de Oñate. For many people, Oñate is a visionary who helped bring many innovations to the “new” world. But to others he is a vicious tyrant and killer, who nearly wiped out the entire society of Acoma people here in New Mexico.

There is a lot written out there about Oñate, but I think the P.O.V. website has compiled a nice website with a lot of good resources, including a link to New Mexico history and a blog with viewer comments about the film. Here’s another website that also takes a multi-layered look at Don Juan de Oñate and his impact on our state.

Our goal in this show was to take the issues brought out in the movie, and begin a dialogue on those issues. That mission gave us the opportunity to do something a little different. So, on July 16th we held a screening for the film, and sent out invitations. We also put together a panel of folks with great insights and opinions. Here’s a list of the participants:

John J. Valadez – filmmaker, “The Last Conquistador”
Maurus Chino – Acoma Artist and Activist
Estevan Rael-Galvez – State Historian
Margaret Montoya – Law Professor/Leader, Cross-Cultural Discourse
Christine Zuni Cruz – Law Professor, Apellate Judge/Lecturer, Indigenous Issues

Our thanks to all of them for taking part in this valuable discussion, which lasted nearly two hours. Because of time, we were only able to televise portions of that discussion, but the web offers us the chance to share the entire event with you online.

Part 1

Stream videos at UstreamPart 2

Live video by UstreamPart 3

Streaming .TV shows by UstreamPart 4

Free video streaming by UstreamWe were especially thrilled to have one of the filmmakers here in town with us for the event. John J. Valadez has been making documentaries now for over 15 years. He took time out of his busy schedule to be with us, and he even sat down with Gene Grant for a quick interview.

Live Streaming by Ustream.TVFor those of you who missed the show, be sure to watch the re-broadcast, on Thursday, July 31, from 9-10pm. It follows the premiere of “The Last Conquistador” on KNME, which runs from 8-9pm. You can also watch the episode anytime on our website, along with any of our past episodes.

As always, thanks for watching!

Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer
Public Affairs Team