2010 March » Light matters

photos used in NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams report on Lorainne Melgosa, featuring Shiprock military widow Charlene Westbrook

Posted by Xavier Mascareñas on March 21, 2010 at 4:47 pm

Mar 212010

this is a moving piece on a woman from Colorado, Lorainne Melgosa, who uses her horse-drawn carriage to transport the caskets for some military funerals in the area — and she was at Sgt. Kenneth Westbrook’s burial in Shiprock. NBC asked the paper a week ago to use photos from that day, and i sent them six to choose from. i’m glad they were able to use a couple. the whole “Making a Difference” profile is beautifully done (definitely inspires me to do more video). the segment with Charlene Westbrook, Sgt. Westbrook’s widow, starts at about 1:20. Charlene is one of the nicest people i’ve met, especially considering the circumstances, and it’s touching to see her thanking Lorainne Melgosa for the work she does.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

sports and politics (and a dog, for good measure)

Posted by Xavier Mascareñas on March 8, 2010 at 4:20 am

Mar 082010

it’s been quite a week here in Farmington. spring is upon us. i’m posting a few photos from last week before my Monday begins. oh, Happy Birthday Sofia! (as if my sister reads my blog .

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Piedra Vista's long-jump team was beat out by competitors from Cortez High School and Farmington during Saturday's Early Bird Track Meet at FHS.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Ty Murphy, the second runner for Piedra Vista's 4x200 boys' relay race, center, hands the baton off to Marcus Fodor while competing Saturday during the FHS Early Bird Track Meet.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Farmington High School leadoff runner for the girls’ 4x200 relay, Mattie Pacheco, looks up to the sky during a quiet moment before her race Saturday at the FHS Early Bird Track Meet.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Farmington Mayor Tommy Roberts hugs his wife, Cindy Roberts, as the crowd thins after his victory announcement at an election day party at Best Western Tuesday night.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Donna Bingham checks a list to see if she is at the correct polling station Tuesday at City Hall. She was not on the list to vote at the City Hall polls, so left immediately to find her appropriate location.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Members of the Bloomfield softball team go through hitting drills during the Lady Bobcats’ practice Tuesday in Bloomfield.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Bronco guard Channing Jim, right, struggles to keep possession away from St. Pius’ Nick Myers, who reaches in his face, long enough to pass to Bronco teammate Damian Charley during Saturday’s loss for KCHS at home.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Kirtland Central assistant coach Tom Adair, center, shows frustration as the team huddles during a timeout in the first half of Saturday’s state playoff game against St. Pius X at Bronco Arena.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Herald and Debbie Sherlock’s “chug” Sassie, a Chihuahua and pug mix, peers at strangers from a safe stronghold behind Herald’s legs Sunday while taking a break from running free at Westland Dog Park.

here’s a few photos from an interesting story i was working on in college

Posted by Xavier Mascareñas on March 5, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Mar 052010

below i’ve posted a few photos from a story i was working on in Albuquerque in late 07. “Mariachi Orgullo,” which is Spanish for “Pride Mariachi,” was Albuquerque’s only gay and lesbian mariachi group…and the first of their kind, according to band leader Adan Branchal. around the time i was leaving for Austin after graduation, they were breaking up…or fizzling out to be more accurate, Branchal said (lack of continued interest and paying work). but while it lasted, it was an interesting interaction between traditional Mexican culture colliding with modern, non-traditional culture — and actually working pretty well — these folks sounded great. actually, aside from the member’s work with Mariachi Orgullo, many of them played in larger groups regularly, under renowned mariachi directors. i haven’t been able to do anything i’m really happy with, regarding an edit of these photos, but some of them are kind of fun images so i thought i’d post them here. if not a blog, then where!?enjoy

Xavier Mascareñas; Mariachi Orgullo is a gay and lesbian mariachi group based out of Albuquerque, N.M. They are led by Adan Branchal, Mr. Pride 2006 for the Albuquerque Gay Pride Pageant, who also played with the New Mexico Highlands University Mariachi band in Las Vegas, N.M. His father, Nick Branchal, started New Mexico's first high school mariachi group in 1981 at Taos High School, and their family has always been involved with performing. In this photo, Anthony Ortiz, a violinist with the group, gets ready to practice at Adan Branchal's house in Albuquerque. Branchal's partner, Joseph Gutierrez, applies makeup in the background for his on-stage personality, "Anastasia," before performing at a local bar for the Kamikaze Drag Queen competition.

Xavier Mascareñas; "Anastasia" is tipped during a performance at the Albuquerque Social Club on Sept. 22, 2007.

Xavier Mascareñas; Adan Branchal, left, and Joseph Gutierrez relax shortly after Branchal sang a love song in English to help raise money during a fundraiser on Feb. 4, 2007. Before performing, Branchal said "I'm shaking. I get more nervous before shows like this than I do before performing for a whole lot more people. The smaller the crowd, the more personal it is, and the more I worry about what people are going to think of me. It's not easy for me to do this."

Xavier Mascareñas; Adan Branchal's partner, Joseph "Anastasia" Gutierrez, left, and Anthony Ortiz prepare for their own types of performances in Branchal's Albuquerque Westgate home Jan. 21, 2007.

Xavier Mascareñas; The Martinez family listen to Mariachi Orgullo perform in their home.

Xavier Mascareñas; Timoteo Serna plays a trumpet solo Jan. 21, 2007, during Mariachi Orgullo's performance for about 20 people gathered in a small living-room. The group performs at a wide range of events, from AIDS benefits and drag shows to religious events and family celebrations.

six Monday photos

Posted by Xavier Mascareñas on March 2, 2010 at 5:43 pm

Mar 022010

yesterday was a productive Monday, despite the early appointment with the dentist (ouch). enjoy

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Juan Jimenez, 24, left, and Carlos Mascote, 19, workers with Copper Creek Landscape, of Farmington, work on the construction of brick-lined planters in front of Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Monday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Tegan Clarke, a Piedra Vista High School senior who helped organize the Knowledge Bowl at San Juan College, analyzes competition results before the final round Monday with assistance from Piedra Vista community mentor Cathy Pope.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Trevr (CQ) Fernald, 15, right, is impressed at the time it takes his Piedra Vista Knowledge Bowl teammate Kevin Reed, 16, left, to solve a Rubik's Cube, while waiting for the final round of the Piedra Vista High School Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by BP America, to begin at San Juan College on Monday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Farmington Knowledge Bowl competitor Aaron Gomez, 17, shows his frustration after incorrectly answering a final-round question Monday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Donald Frank, who plays center and forward for the Kirtland Central High School Broncos, poses for a portrait in Bronco Arena on Monday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; A Farmington Animal Control Ranger vehicle drives past a cluster of city-election signs Monday at the intersection of Piñon Hills and East Main Street.

here’s a few photos from the last week

Posted by Xavier Mascareñas on March 1, 2010 at 2:56 am

Mar 012010

i had a great time shooting Shiprock HS against Kirtland Central HS on Saturday…two district championships! i was pretty excited about it because i haven’t shot much basketball this season, and i was not let down. those Shiprock and Kirtland fans are passionate about their teams, and although the both games were pretty scrappy, there was a sense of great sportsmanship throughout. and the boy’s game at Chieftain Pit in Shiprock was PACKED. i didn’t get out of the parking lot for about an hour after the game was done — i’m really glad i took my laptop to send photos. enjoy

-also, check out the galleries on The Daily Times’ Website for more photos:

http://daily-times.mycapture.com/mycapture/category.asp

photos from the boy’s game in Shiprock

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Shiprock High School super-fan Malan Jones, 19, races around the court to spark the crowd's excitement during the second half of Saturday's district championship game between the Shiprock Chieftains and the Kirtland Central Broncos. KCHS beat SHS 63-56 at the Chieftain Pit.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Shiprock’s Colby Nahkai tries to brings in an offensive rebound Saturday night against Kirtland Central’s Damian Charley at The Chieftain Pit.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Fans sitting on the Shiprock High School fan side cheer and reflect on the first half of play Saturday while the teams head into the locker rooms halftime.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Kirtland Central’s Damian Charley, left, snags a defensive rebound during the second quarter Saturday at The Chieftain Pit.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Shiprock’s Jeff Tsosie walks off the court as the Kirtland Central boys basketball team celebrates at the end of the Broncos’ 63-56 win Saturday night at The Chieftain Pit.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; James Gilbert assists John Kendall on Monday with cleanup of the accident site in Kendall's bedroom in Aztec.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Butch Ozbun shows off a half-stock fowler in his collection Feb. 22 in his workshop.

photos from the funeral for Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Lt. Col. Mike Callanan, with the Marines out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., holds his white barracks cover, or dress uniform hat, at his side while he watches a slideshow of pictures of Marine Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie set to music during the memorial service for Yazzie on Friday at the Farmington Civic Center. According to the Department of Defense, Yazzie died Feb. 16 while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Calvert Owen, left, hugs Geraldine Jones on Friday while Owen waits outside the Farmington Civic Center to participate in the flag line during the funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie, 23, of Rock Point, Ariz. Owen, also of Rock Point, is Lance Cpl. Yazzie’s cousin. According to the Department of Defense, Yazzie died Feb. 16 while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Lamar Roberts, a student at San Juan College, sits on the the dock by the pond at Riverside Park on Friday, fishing. Roberts went fishing a group of friends from Aztec, who were all out enjoying the seasonably warmer weather.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Jaylen Jeffries, 3, shakes a noisemaker while parading through the halls with his mother, Jalea Steen, at San Juan College’s Child and Family Development Center on Thursday for the center’s 20th anniversary.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Children at the Child and Family Development Center at San Juan College, like the babies pictured here riding a red wagon, parade though the halls of the center Thursday for the center’s 20th anniversary.

this little guy was having fun time, spinning around in his ‘super-hero’ cape.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Todd Robinson, 2, spins around in circles while wearing a cape after a parade Thursday in his Toddler Two class. The class, along with the rest of the classes at San Juan College’s Child and Family Development Center, participated in the celebration of the center’s 20th anniversary by marching through the classroom halls.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Kirtland Central High School forward Amanda Kerr goes up for two points against Shiprock High School during the district championship game at KCHS. Kirtland took the first place title, with a 46-27 win over Shiprock.

…and the Kirtland Central girls took the district title

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Kirtland Central’s girls basketball team celebrates and hold its District 1-4A championship trophy while the home crowd cheers Saturday after the Lady Broncos’ 46-27 win over Shiprock at Bronco Arena.

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