Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546515
NEW MEXICO: LAND OF ENCHANTMENT, UNSCRIPTED BY DARLENE DONLOE New Mexico runs on light, space, and centuries. In Santa Fe, adobe and art galleries frame high-desert air thick with piñon smoke and chile. Albuquerque stretches along the Rio Grande, where hot-air balloons crowd October skies and Route 66 still flick- ers with neon. South, Las Cruces anchors the Mesilla Valley, green with pecans beneath the rugged and steep Organ Mountains. Between them: white sands, ancient pueblos, turquoise skies, and a silence that hums. Here, Native, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures don't just coexist — they cook together. New Mexico doesn't ask for attention. It earns it. ALBUQUERQUE Albuquerque moves at the pace of the Rio Grande — steady, sunlit, one mile high between volcanic bluffs and the Sandias, whose pink alpenglow earned them "watermelon" from Spanish settlers. Native, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures sea- son a city that feels ancient and experi- mental. Start in Old Town's 1706 plaza: adobe shops, turqu- oise, chile ristras, and San Felipe de Neri Church. Ride the San- dia Peak Tram- way 10,378 feet for 1 1 , 0 0 0 - s q u a r e - m i l e views The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and National Hispanic Cultural Center trace millen- nia of culture through dance, bread, flamenco, and art. October's Balloon Fiesta launches 500+ balloons. Route 66 glows through Nob Hill. See 24,000 carvings at Petroglyph National Monu-ment and the ABQ BioPark on the riverfront. For meetings and events, the Albuquerque Convention Cen- ter offers 270,000 square feet — a 64,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall, 30 meeting rooms, and the 2,350-seat Kiva Auditorium — walkable to 1,200+ hotel rooms. The Univer-sity of New Mexico adds lecture halls and court- yards. With 310 days of sunshine and non- stop air service, Albuquerque delivers authentic flavor and space to gather. SANTA FE Santa Fe doesn't greet you. It absorbs you — 7,000 feet high and 400 years deep, with air that smells of possibility. The Plaza still anchors the nation's oldest capital, ringed by gal- leries, the Palace of the Governors, and Canyon Road's 100+ studios. Nearby, Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return bends reality, while the Santa Fe Opera frames arias against crimson sunsets. For gatherings, the Santa Fe Com- munity Convention Center off- ers 72,000 square feet of sleek, adobe-modern space downtown. And here, too, Black history endures: from early Black settlers on the Santa Fe Trail to the New Mexico Black History Organizing Com-mittee, which honors that legacy year-round with events, performances, and civic dialogue. For DEI (diversity, equity and inclu- sion) content and inclusive program- ming, look to the Black History Month Film Festival and the City's Office of Equity and Inclusion as planning part- ners. WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Tourism Santa Fe (800) 777-2489 LAS CRUCEC Las Cruces sprawls easy beneath the rugged and steep Organ Mountains, where pecan groves line the Rio Grande and Hatch chile per- fumes August. Tourists hike Dripping Springs, stroll Mesilla's 1850s plaza, and wander the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. Space history lives at nearby White Sands Missile Range. Black history runs deep in Las Cruces. The Buffalo Soldiers once patrolled Fort Selden just north, and today New Mexico State University's Black Programs celebrates that legacy with year-round cultural events. For those events, the Las Cruces Convention Center delivers 55,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space down- town. WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Visit Las Cruces (575) 541-2444 Visitlascruces.com • • • STATS • • • HOTEL ROOMS Albuquerque Marriott Hotel 411 The Clyde Hotel 382 Ramada Plaza by Wyndham 342 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Albuquerque 295 EXHIBITION FACILITIES Albuquerque Convention Center Total Meeting Space 270,000 sq. ft. Total Exhibit Space 167,562 sq. ft. Largest Ballroom 31,164 sq. ft. Meeting Rooms 27 WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Visit Albuquerque (800) 733-9918 Albuquerque Convention Center Atrium NEW MEXICO AREA GUIDES photo credit: Albuquerque C.C B M & T ••• September/October 2026 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 51