YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “HOW DENVER CAN GET ITS MOJO BACK,” JULY 21 MO JO TO GO Denver did not lose its mojo; it was stolen. Denver’s mojo was drugged out, camped out, pushed out and priced out. It was not lost. It was stolen. Naomi Wolinsky Denver We don’t want it back. Everybody out. Party is over. Jack Gormley Denver Good luck, Denver. I’ve missed what you used to be. Martin Reetz Littleton Between the crime in LoDo, outrageously awful traffi c, expensive parking and light rail (that doesn’t even go to the southwest tail of Denver proper), $1,600 for coffi n apartments and $25 salads with chicken, plus massive tent cities — many artists moved to south- west Denver, Lakewood and other suburbs because it’s more affordable. Cindy Reise Denver Gentrifi cation ruined it. Can’t get it back. Corinne Montoya Albuquerque Mojo comes from the working class, which has been displaced by real estate investors. There’s your answer. Nathan Todd Albuquerque Do something about rent prices. Rell Johnson Denver Get the people who won’t shut up about Cali out of here, fi rst of all. They love it so much, they can go back home. Melissa Zambrano Denver Writing as someone who has lived here for 38 of the last 50 years, in my opinion you were on the money on why we should love Denver now. However, does anyone re- ally believe that providing group marijuana venues and better-managed sports teams and more hours for drinkers will “bring our mojo back”? What about clean air, and an RTD that is designed for maximum and reasonably priced availability. While we’re at it, a mayor who actually has ideas of how to improve the city rather than simply ap- plaud growth? From a cultural standpoint, actually reviewing books and fi nding music writers who know as much about music as they do about lyrics? I’m with you on the housing issue. As for the rest of it, sad to say Westword is part of the problem. Dick Weissman Denver It’s no coincidence that the demise of the city of Denver coincides with the mayoral debacle named Michael Hancock. The only thing he’s done better than his predecessors is waste hard-working taxpayers’ dollars: one billion for the airport redo, and at least half of that not even spent on the project — which is not done yet. Now up to $240 million for the homeless problem. How is that going? The mayor and council pass a resolution requiring Denver homeowners to pay through the nose for trash services. The very same people who diligently recycle may not now. Most Denver hotels don’t, spewing millions of tons of trash into the landfi ll. Councilman Kevin Flynn, who voted against the measure, said: “I can’t ask you to dig into your pockets and pay a fee for a service that right now isn’t being provided on a consistent basis.” There’s plenty more....but further examination would take up this entire edition. You get the picture. It’s gonna take a while to fi x Denver’s mojo. But when Hancock and most of this city council is gone, it will be a good start. Rod Elisha Denver This is literally what happens when “jour- nalists” are complicit in allowing offi cials to go unaccountable, pointing blame every- where except at their own incompetence. Nick Smith Broomfi eld VOLUME 45 NUMBER 48 JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2022 W AR T Art Director Jay Vollmar PR ODUC TI ON Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Chris Arneson, Tori Bohling, Danielle East 9 ¿QUÉ CASA? Fifty years after it was displaced by the Auraria campus, a community fi nds its way back home. BY KATRINA LEIBEE 14 CHRONICLES OF EXPERIENCE The Mimesis Documentary Festival showcases non-traditional documentaries. BY CLAIRE DUNCOMBE 17 BREAKING BREAD The ten best sandwich shops in Denver. BY MOLLY MARTIN 23 ALMOST FAMOUS Schama Noel is paving his way with genre-bending hip-hop. 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Le Culture Editor Emily Ferguson Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Michael Roberts Senior Contributor Alan Prendergast Contributors Amy Antonation, Dustin Bailey, Nathalie Baret, John Bear, Staci Berry, Alex Berryhill, Teague Bohlen, Jake Browne, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Linnea Covington, Justin Criado, Nate Day, Claire Duncombe, Susan Froyd, Tom Hellauer, Nick Hutchinson, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Cleo Mirza, Ryan Pachmayer, Michael Paglia, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Jon Solomon, Kastle Waserman, Juliet Wittman Editorial Fellow Katrina Leibee Editorial Intern Ana Ortega ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH OF CASA MAYAN BY EVAN SEMÓN JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2022 WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | westword.com ART BY GETTY IMAGES/WESTWORD PHOTO ILLUSTRATION