Let’s Talk New Mexico 3/30 8am: Acequias were created and maintained by Native Americans before the Spanish settlers arrived. These man-made channels were so successful at moving the water that sustained people that they were expanded upon by Europeans to reach more of the arid lands we now call home. Centuries later, acequias remain a common conveyance for water all around our state in the face of an unpredictable climate and constant water rights battles.
In a new documentary film Acequias: the Legacy Lives On, director Aracely Chapa brings attention to the canals through the eyes of farmers, advocates, scholars, lawmakers, journalists and members of the community, highlighting the past, present, and future of acequias and how important they are to farming and local and regional economies.
On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll highlight a new film showing how climate change is impacting the health of our acequias and agriculture, and, we'll check in with acequia users and legal experts. Should we be doing more to protect acequias? Do you live near an acequia or count on one for water? Would your community be able to sustain your way of life if they were to go dry? Email LetsTalk@kunm.org or call in live, Thursday morning at 8 on KUNM.
The film will screen April 4-6 at The Guild Cinema in Albuquerque
GUESTS:
- Don Bustos, Santa Cruz Farm and Greenhouses
- Aracely Chapa, Producer and Director, Acequias - The Legacy Lives On
- Paula Garcia, Executive Director, New Mexico Acequia Association
- Adrian Oglesby, Director, Utton Transboundary Resources Center, University of New Mexico
