Performing Arts / Books: July 11-17

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SOUND FAMILIAR?

Economist and author Michael D Yates visits Santa Fe to read from and sign his new book,

Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate

, a combined travelogue and exposé of the many new and wondrous forms of economic inequality in Bush's America. Yates and his wife, Karen, traveled on the cheap and got to know many members of the class known as the "working poor": immigrants, retirees laboring to survive, veterans and the newly "downsized."

5 pm Wednesday, July 11. Free. Garcia Street Books, 376 Garcia St., 986-0151

SPINY BEAUTIES

Horticulturist Michael Clark gives a talk all about cacti for outdoor planting. Did you know there are more than a dozen species of cacti that can grow outside in Santa Fe's wacky climate? Did you know that gardening with cacti is not only water wise but also provides a wide variety of low maintenance, year-round beauty? Clark fills in the well-drained details.

11 am Saturday, July 14. Free. Tropic of Capricorn, 86 Old Las Vegas Hwy., 983-2700

BE SAFE

Todd Haynes made a harrowing film called

Safe

, starring Julianne Moore, some years back. It told the story of a suburban housewife who suddenly finds her wellbeing deteriorating rapidly as a result of environmental illness. It's a haunting, unforgettable film. Dan Stih takes a less artsy and more practical approach, offering detailed information on how to make a sick house well (or create a healthy house from the beginning) in his book

Healthy Living Spaces: Top 10 Hazards Affecting Your Health

. Stih discusses the book and signs it.

2 pm Sunday, July 15. Free. JanetRuth's Organic Clothing, 66 E. San Francisco St., 983-4155

DANCEreturn to topAZLAN ON THE MOVE

Azlan White hosts a freeform dance party every Friday called "Dance Tribe." Find your tribe and gyrate accordingly.

8-10 pm Friday, July 13. $8-$12. Body, 333 Cordova Road, 986-0362

EVENTSreturn to topSTAY LITERATE

The Santa Fe Public Library sponsors a series of events connected to its summer reading program for kids. This week it's Terry Alvarez, the Gypsy Story Dancer, presenting a program of music, dance and stories.

10:30 am Wednesday, July 11. Free. Main Branch, 145 Washington Ave., 955-6783. 2 pm Wednesday, July 11. Free. Southside Branch, 6599 Jaguar Drive, 955-2828. 10:30 am Thursday, July 12. Free. La Farge Branch, 1730 Llano St., 955-4863

DEMOCRATS UNDER THE INFLUENCE

The political party animals of Drinking Liberally convene for their monthly meeting at a new location, the otherwise slightly Bohemian and usually fairly calm Il Vicino. Get a lift by getting lit with the left.

6:30-9 pm Thursday, July 12. Free. Il Vicino, 321 W. San Francisco St., 670-1060

LOOK DOWNWARD, ANGEL

How often do you think about your shoulders? If that question made you realize yours were up around your ears with a muscle tone like rebar, head to this yoga workshop called "The Shoulders: Gateway to the Heart," designed to "increase shoulder awareness."

2-6 pm Sunday, July 15. $65. Body, 333 Cordova Road, 986-0362

MUSICreturn to top

BUCOLIC GROOVES

St. John's College and KSFR 90.7 FM (soon to be 101.1 FM) presents a series of sunset concerts in the grassy and cool setting of the athletic fields in the foothills of the mountains. Affordable yet classy fare is available from Walter Burke Catering. This week, it's Ramon Bermudez and company, self-described as "Nuevo Santa Fe."

6-8 pm Wednesday, July 11. Free. St. John's College, 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, 984-6000

OPERA, SANTA FE STYLE

The 2007 season of The Santa Fe Opera features the usual five productions, ranging from Rameau to the American premiere of Tan Dun's acclaimed Tea: A Mirror of Soul. The Mozart this year is Così fan tutti, the Italian in the house is Puccini, with his tale of star-crossed lovers, La bohème (a better bet than Rent in a heart beat), the Teutonic installment is Richard Strauss' Daphne (which opens this week) and the silliness is supplied by Rameau's Platée, the tale of an ugly frog who intends to marry Jupiter. The cheap seats for the entire season are sold out, but standing room is still available; there's no bad sightline in the miraculous opera theater. The parking lot opens at 5:30 prior to performances to provide plenty of picnic and sunset time.

Così fan tutti:

9 pm Wednesday, July 11.

La bohème:

9 pm Friday, July 13.

Daphne:

9 pm Saturday, July 14. $53-$170. Santa Fe Opera, Opera Drive in Tesuque, 986-5900

GIVING VOICE

The Santa Fe Desert Chorale continues its 25th anniversary season with three varied programs this week. The first, titled "Brothers, Sing On!" features the male members of the chorale and offers a program of folk music from around the world, as well as a new work by Judith Cloud, Words from an Artist's Palette. Equal opportunity for women is on offer with "There is Sweet Music," featuring compositions by Hildegaard of Bingen, Stravinsky and Holst, as well as Celtic mouth music (basically, a vocal imitation of traditional Celtic instruments such as pipes and fiddles). The entire chorale presents a Gregorian Mass as well.

Brothers, Sing On!: 8 pm Friday, July 13. $20-$50. Loretto Chapel, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail. Gregorian Mass: 10 am Sunday, July 15. Free. St. Francis Cathedral, 213 Cathedral Place. There is Sweet Music: 8 pm Tuesday, July 17. $20-$50. Loretto Chapel, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail; tickets and more info: 988-2282

MALIA MUSIC

Emerging singing sensation Tina Malia enchants the savage locals with inspirational lyrics, thumping rhythms and a generally sunny world-music vibe.

8 pm Saturday, July 14. $15-$20. Body, 333 Cordova Road, 986-0362

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NOT JUST TAN DUN

The world-renowned Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival celebrates year 35 with the usual widely varying programs performed by top-flight musicians, and launches with a program of compositions by artistic director Mark Neikrug and classic composers Schumann, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. A noon concert features Beethoven, Britten, Astor Piazzolla and Santa Fe's new hero of 21st century music, Tan Dun.

Neikrug et al: 6 pm Sunday-Monday, July 15-16. $70-$82.  Noon concert: Noon Tuesday, July 17. $10-$15. St. Francis Auditorium at 107 W. Palace Ave., 982-1890

GHOST OF TAN DUN

Acushla Bastible directs a production of Ghost Opera by Tan Dun, with the Del Sol String Quartet and pipa player Wu Man. Tan Dun's music got a workout earlier this year at Santa Fe New Music's Music and Water Festival, and his opera Tea: A Mirror of Soul receives its American premiere at the Santa Fe Opera this season. Ghost Opera is a five-movement work for string quartet

and pipa, including orchestrations for water, metal, stone and paper.

7 pm Tuesday, July 17. $10-$30. Lensic, 211 W. San Francisco St., 988-1234

THEATERreturn to top

PLAYERS OF FORTUNE

Theater Grottesco offers it's new production, the original collaborative piece Fortune: The Rise and Fall of a Small Fortune Cookie Factory. A family-owned fortune cookie factory on the brink of bankruptcy hires a destitute novelist to be its new fortune writer. His pithy creations lead to fame and…fortune. The venue, the long-abandoned Healy Matthews building on Cerrillos Road, provides for a unique setting, the perfect complement to the ever-surprising Theater Grottesco approach. The production is a must-see and offers a performance of seamless variety and inspired craft. Post-show discussions with the cast are slated for Wednesday and Sunday performances; guest commentators will be on hand after Thursday performances.

8 pm Wednesday-Thursday, July 11-12. 5 pm Saturday-Sunday, July 14-15. 8 pm Tuesday, July 17. $10-$25; pay what you wish Tuesdays. Through July 29. Healy Matthews Building, 515 Cerrillos Road, 474-8400

MADRID MINES MELODRAMA

It's back. The Madrid Melodrama, this year a fun-filled sing-along with the wacky title, Bloodlines, or Hanged in Their Own Family Tree, continues a unique local tradition.

3 pm Saturday-Sunday, July 14-15. $5-$12. The Engine House Theater, State Highway 14, Madrid, 438-3780

NO ORDINARY JOE

For the 25th consecutive year, Joe Hayes tells stories. Hayes has a distinctive bilingual approach (Spanish and English) and specializes in Southwestern tales from Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures. The outdoor setting (weather permitting) in the cool evening makes for the perfect backdrop to Hayes' mesmerizing tales.

7 pm Saturday-Sunday, July 14-15. Free. Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 704 Camino Lejo, 982-4636

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THE ARTEMES SHOW

Song, dance, stand-up comedy and monologues as well as spectacle all come in one package: Artemes. Artemes' show at the Lensic more than two years ago sold out, and his brand of dynamic performance, which he calls "Cabaret Theater," makes for a wild ride (see

).

8 pm Saturday, July 14. $25. Armory for the Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, 795-1187

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