YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “QUÉ CASA?,” KATRINA LEIBEE, JULY 28 NO PLA CE LIKE HOME What happened to the Auraria neighbor- hood fi fty years was an outrage. Thank you for shining a light on what happened there, and the efforts for those who were displaced to fi nd a home for their history. Julia Vigil Denver “GOODBYE, HELLO,” MOLLY MARTIN, JULY 21 RE AL FINDS One of the cool things about dining out is the discovery of new places and new chefs banging out great food. I always look at discovering new places as an opportunity to become that “regular,” which makes your favorite places mainstays for years. Trends come, trends wane. But the simple luxury of fi nding a place that feels like yours is why we dine out in the fi rst place. Dave Schuck Denver Plain and simple, there are no good din- ers anymore. Everything has gotten so fancy and overpriced. I understand everything has gone up in price. But a good classic diner? Simple menu, good food, boom. Daniel Laplante Denver “HOW DENVER CAN GET ITS MOJO BACK,” JULY 21 STILL MO’ MO JO Denver still has lots of goodness. No alterna- tive that’s better, in my opinion. Theresa Rice Littleton I have to say, if you watch any of the Denver mainstream news channels, you’d think it’s one big happy city. Hardly a word is ever spoken about the escaping crime (in any detail) or the lack of the mayor’s offi ce to combat it. Local news is like a thirty-minute long “infomercial” on why Denver is so great. How awesome that despite the possibility of tarnishing the idea that Denver is A-okay, I love Denver. James William Denver Editor’s note: That’s the end of the responses to our mojo package...for now. If you have suggestions for how Denver can get its mojo back, send them to [email protected]. you and your journalists tell it like it is. No, I don’t always agree with your take or opinion, but I respect the fact that you’re out there in the streets and trying to sound many alarms on what is becoming an issue many would like buried. Please keep up the great work of keeping those of us who love our city informed! Paulie Keener Denver Legal weed brought a bunch of red-state refugees, fl eeing the persecution of GOP op- pression...we added 300,000 people to metro Denver in the course of two years. That kind of infl ux is always going to alter the culture, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. For comparison, when I was a little kid, there was almost nothing south of DryCreek. Highlands Ranch wasn’t even a thing yet. Andy Hidahl Denver Maybe we would all love living here more if we weren’t getting absolutely gouged for rent. Has anyone considered that? Janice Stoilas Denver Having lived here for over twenty years, I realized yesterday that I wouldn’t tell people this is a great place to live anymore. Made me sad and want to leave. Shelby Zonker Hood Denver Let it get worse. Let all the yuppies who have fi xed up our neighborhoods leave. We move back in; thanks for the upgrade. All this rooftop mimosa BS needs to go. Give the city back to the people who loved her before she was “cool.” Robert Aranda Jr. Denver 7 THE TAKEOVER The battle over a town’s name — and its future — signals an emerging culture war in the San Luis Valley. BY ALAN PRENDERGAST 16 ROOTED IN PROGRESS RedLine Contemporary Art Center showcases Indigenous pride and ancestry. BY KATRINA LEIBEE 19 GOING GREEN One Colorado native is on a mission to eat chile every day for a year. BY MOLLY MARTIN 26 EMBRACING BY JUSTIN CRIADO 16 Culture 19 Cafe 26 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 30 36 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 36 ASK A STONER ......................................... 38 STRAIN GANG .......................................... 40 Don’t miss a word! 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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 ® EDIT ORIAL Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. 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 AUGUST 11-17, 2022 WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | westword.com SOUTHPARK.CC.COM/WESTWORD PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
