2 westword.com WESTWORD MAY 18-24, 2023 | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 13 THE SALMON MAN Duffy Fanganello runs a true Denver original on Colfax. BY MOLLY MARTIN 4 A SHOT IN THE DARK Victims sue after being caught in DPD crossfi re at let-out last July. BY CATIE CHESHIRE 10 LIFE IN PLASTIC Control Group Productions examines climate change through a queer lens in Strange Natures. BY TONI TRESCA 17 PICKIN’ PARTY Leftover Salmon celebrates its roots with star collaborators on a new album. BY NICK HUTCHINSON 4 News 10 Culture 14 Cafe 17 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 20 24 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 24 ASK A STONER ......................................... 26 VOLUME 46 NUMBER 38 MAY 18-24, 2023 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. Le News Editor Chris Perez Culture Editor Emily Ferguson Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Bennito L. 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Periodicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $50 yearly. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For retail or classifi ed advertising, call: 303-296-7744 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] “THE WHITE STUFF,” BENJAMIN NEUFELD, MAY 11 W H I T E M A K E S R I G H T If Saira Rao wants to get rid of the Second Amendment, she should make sure that her opponents don’t get rid of the Nineteenth. Joe Katz Denver Thanks for the very defi nition and picture of Useful Idiots! Doug Stephens Littleton Women can’t even get on the same page to repeal the Dodd decision. Sam Hedrick Allison, Colorado Here’s a reality check for Saira Rao and her dreams of abolishing guns in America. After ten years of progressive “common-sense” gun control, gun homicides in Colorado have more than doubled (106 in 2013, 275 in 2022) and the bloodbath continues. Her solution? Let’s double down on what’s not working. There’s already a comprehensive ban on guns…of those belonging to violent felons and repeat offenders; start by taking their guns. Denver is currently experiencing one of the worst crime waves in the nation, and nowhere does Rao mention violent crime or what’s driving it — gangs and drug traffi cking. One of the fastest-growing demographics of fi rst- time gun owners are liberal women. Why? To protect themselves against criminals. If Rao is sincere in demonstrating that society doesn’t need guns, she can begin with this: Demand that the governor ban all armed private se- curity, to include off-duty cops. I’m sure rich white progressives will be happy with that bit of gun reform. Mario Acevedo Denver “HEART AND SOUL,” BENNITO L. KELTY, MAY 11 P O R Q U É L A A L M A ? In my childhood, we only knew a few words of Spanish, and the same went for all of our friends. But as the years went by, my mother- in-law only spoke Spanish, so in order for me to understand her, I learned a lot of words — but I never taught my kids, and they only know a few words. I understand Spanish very well; I can watch the Mexican movies and I can listen to Mexican music, and I understand the beauty of it all, but I don’t speak it. It’s very sad. Such a beautiful language. Angelina Romero Denver My grandparents were immigrants and my folks were fi rst-generation born in the USA. Their native tongue was not spoken anywhere except in the house, because they didn’t want their children to be known as non-Americans. They were Swedish and Finnish, and they lived in Minnesota. This story is not just about Spanish-speaking people. Charlie Johnson Denver So sad but true...my parents spoke Spanish but never to us, so we never learned to speak Spanish. Probably because it wasn’t allowed! Edna Gonzales Littleton This story is a rough overview of West- side/La Alma. Key players in the La Alma Park story were brothers Phil and Vic de- Leon, who had active participation in the rehabilitation of the park, sports programs and community leadership, as well as the music scene. We all can agree that music plays a huge part in community evolution. I know Mr. Garcia, Mr. Martinez and Mr. Alire would agree that these men were key because they were beloved members of this community. They helped clean up the park from drugs as well as integrate the swim- ming pool and advocate for the present-day rec center, which once was a small building. I feel that Bennito Kelty could have done a lot more research on this story. Ms. Marti- nez de Luna should be educated about their contribution as well, because she is from the younger generation. Susanna deLeon Denver ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SEMÓN LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SEMÓN
