Located in a basement, right beneath West San Francisco Street in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, lies The Matador bar & lounge, (The Matador, 116 W San Francisco St, 984-5050). It’s easy to miss the cement stairs that lead you below unless there’s a bartender on shift, and then you’ll be sure to hear music blaring up through the stairwell. The staff at the Matador is a group of uniquely diverse individuals and each one provides something for just about everyone. Some of them are experts in culinary arts and could teach you how to properly butcher your own pig, while others can offer mechanical advice on how to build a motorcycle. An added bonus is the varying musical preferences from the bar that range from outlaw country to funk and soul, which brings in a wide range of customers. The Matador is great place to grab a drink and take a break from Santa Fe, all while being taken back to that bar that reminds you of home. It’s a little divey, but isn’t that what makes it feel like our...

Papercut artist and SFUAD professor Valerie Rangel discusses her work.

SFUAD and Santa Fe offer plenty of choices for Halloween. Here are a few picks. For extensive Halloween calendar listings, check out this round-up from SantaFe.com and these choices from The Santa Fe Reporter. October 31 “Break the Piñata”  Celebrate Halloween with the Photography Department by breaking a big scary piñata on the Marion Courtyard. Feel free to come in costume. 5 pm Trick or Treat If you want to feel like a kid again, trick or treating is always a good option. SFUAD offers a campus-wide Trick or Treat at various departments from noon to 1 pm. If you prefer to do it off campus, consider Canyon Road, where, from 4 to 6 pm, some galleries like Canyon Road Contemporary Art or Gallery 822 will have their doors open. Needless to say, being in a costume is essential.  Movie Night! What is a Halloween night without a touch of horror movies? For those who don’t want to leave the campus, The Screen will play the original Nightmare on Elm Street at 10.30 pm. The Lensic Performing Arts Center will screen the classic The Man Who Fell to Earth at 7 pm. And The Jean Cocteau Cinema offers the Vincent Price thriller House of Wax at 6:30 pm as a special benefit for The Santa Fe Film Festival, with a costume contest and Mistress of Ceremonies Victoria Price. The Jean Cocteau also will screen The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the late show at 11 pm, and throughout the weekend (costumes also welcome for Rocky Horror!) November 1-2 Once Halloween ends, the Mexican tradition marking “Dia de Muertos” (Day of the Dead) begins. Gerard’s House will offer a celebration and memorializing event from 4-6:30 pm featuring performances by Wise Fool and The Santa Fe Symphony, with...

SFUAD Film major Sara Esparsa talks about the differences between Victoria, Spain and Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with some of her favorite aspects of Santa Fe. In the end she says, “Santa Fe is a great opportunity to be yourself and to create...