SFR Picks

Bi-sickles and abortions, jazz and letters

Ride Your Bi-Sickle

"We're both just a little bit crazy," photographer Erin Azouz says of herself and partner Mehedi van Hattum with a laugh. Together, the couple traveled by bike from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to the northernmost regions of Peru over a period of 14 months, and now they share tales from the road and stunning photos at an event this week at Travel Bug Coffee Shop.

"I'm a photographer and I've always just wanted to drop everything and travel the world with my camera," Azouz continues, "and Mehedi is an avid cyclist who always wanted to travel the world by bicycle." The sojourn was partially crowd-funded and sponsored in part by clean energy startup BioLite.

All in all, Azouz and van Hattum would trek over 6,000 miles across 10 countries, amassing thousands of photographs. They'd have continued another 9,000 miles to Patagonia, too, but the untimely death of Azouz' grandmother brought them back to the states early. "And we really had about 60 dollars in our bank account, but hopefully we'll pick it up again," Azouz says. "We made it a little more than halfway."

If Azouz gets her way, the trip will continue with additional sponsorships rather than crowdfunding, and she envisions a book and exhibition down the road. But the main takeaway, she says, were the daily epiphanies. "I was very much like, 'Who am I? What am I? How do I push past my boundaries?'" she explains. "But I really look at the journey like, this is a journey everyone is on—and you may not be riding a bike in Latin America—and everyone gets to a place in their journey where they're going to question things. But it doesn't matter how big or small your dream is, you absolutely can make it happen."

Get pumped up for your own dreams with Azouz and van Hattum this Saturday during their hour-long slideshow and discussion. "We're adaptable, human beings," Azouz adds. "Anything we want to accomplish, we can." Did we mention she learned Spanish on the trip? Yup. (Alex De Vore)

Erin Azouz and Mehedi van Hattum: Bicycling South America:
5 pm Saturday Jan. 27. Free.
Travel Bug Coffee Shop,
839 Paseo de Peralta,
992-0418

The Time is NOW

Activist fatigue. It's real. We know. We have it something fierce. But take comfort: This event is not a march; you can stand mostly still. On Jan. 22, 1973—that's 45 years ago—the Supreme Court decided the landmark Roe v. Wade case, protecting women's right to safe and legal abortion. That victory runs the risk of erosion every day, so show your support for a woman's right to choose when Santa Fe NOW presents this event with keynote speaker Debra Haaland (Laguna), a candidate for US Congress. Plus, there will be cake—for all your sheetcaking needs. (Charlotte Jusinski)

Anniversary Celebration of Roe v. Wade:
1:30 pm Wednesday Jan. 24. Free.
State Capitol Rotunda,
490 Old Santa Fe Trail,
986-4614.

Good For What Ails You

Where once stood nothing for many a year stands now the stylish (and late-night) bar-restaurant-venue, Tonic. With its speakeasy-like ambiance and upscale drinks list, live jazz becomes an obvious move. Enter local musical mainstays Loren Bienvenu (formerly of stellar indie band The Room Outside) on drums, Michael Burt Jr. on bass and Tom Rheam on piano and trumpet. We're talking some of Santa Fe's finest and a decidedly classy way to while away the hours with whiskey and smooth jazzy stylings. We've been told people like these things. (ADV)

Tonic House Jazz Trio: 
9:30 pm Friday Jan. 26. Free.
Tonic, 103 E Water St.,
982-1189.

High Wattage

British philosopher-speaker Alan Watts may be best known as the foremost interpreter and shepherd of Zen Buddhism and Eastern wisdom to the Western world, but we haven't always had the most intimate understanding of the man himself. This may change, however, thanks to a new book of his personal letters curated by his daughters, Joan and Ann Watts. The Collected Letters of Alan Watts is a glorious compendium of correspondence between Watts and those close to him; get acquainted at an upcoming reading with his granddaughter Myra Krien (herself founder of lccal Pomegranate Studios and Mosaic Dance Company). "I'm hoping to inspire people and share [his work] with younger people," Krien tells SFR. "I think he's so accessible, so funny and engaging—he was very reassuring, and I think we need that right now." (ADV)

The Collected Letters of Alan Watts Reading with Myra Krien:
6:30 pm Tuesday Jan. 30. Free.
Collected Works Coffeehouse and Bookstore,
202 Galisteo St.,
988-4226.

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