New Publisher: Lydia Garcia

September 12, 2009

Those who closely read last month’s cover story might have discerned some fatigue in the pesky insect’s meandering allusions—a hint of change among the emerging colors of the fall foliage. As of Sept. 15, los politicos in Taos can sleep more easily at night. Horse Fly has been sold to a new owner and publisher-editor, Lydia Garcia, a Mexicana-Chicana-Tejana. She’s not the artist from Talpa, but she is a social activist from Texas. She reminds me of what I’ve read about attorney Sonia Sotamayor and our own Helen Lopez up in Llano San Juan in a down-to-earth way. She’s a firecracker.

Who knew legendary business broker Marc Rossman could find the perfect buyer for La Mosca? He could sell a smudge stick to a vendor at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Lydia’s keeping the staff and the contributors, but she’s wide open for doing business with those who avoid the pesky pundit’s polemics against the pusillanimous. She will retain the Horse Fly offices at 100 S. Plaza, high above McCarthy Plaza in downtown Taos.

Ms. Lydia Garcia grew up primarily in south Texas. Her family roots go back 13 generations to Juan Bautista Chapa. Chapa chronicled the Alonso de Leon exploration of northern Mexico and south Texas, circa 1580. So Lydia comes from that border area along the Nueces River. The daughter of a career military officer, she spent the majority of her childhood moving throughout the United States and France. She was married to a cop and says she has worked as an activist since her early adulthood.

Before moving to New Mexico in 2007, Lydia’s last position in Texas was as co-editor and graphic artist for a monthly magazine publication with worldwide distribution, called “The Word Today.� She edited the publication on behalf of the Sisters of Charity at the Incarnate Word’s General offices. She developed websites and marketing materials for non-profit organizations for eight years in the San Antonio area, and since arriving in New Mexico spent 18 months as research director for the New Mexico Business Weekly in Albuquerque.

Lydia has a grown son living in Phoenix, Arizona, along with her two grandchildren. In her off-time, she enjoys the outdoors, reading, and spending time with her rescue cat Zia and her long-time, four-legged K9 friend, Dixie, a Papillion dog.

Horse Fly legman Flavio says the Disappeared Barber has offered Mr. Whaley a sabbatical in the Witness Protection Program— compensation for the epic bio and movie deal that made Juma Khalid Rachman-Archuleta famous. “For the sake of my sanity, I may take him up on his offer,� said the vanishing point.

According to Flavio, the pesky one has a book project in the works for this fall and some teaching in mind for the spring at UNM Upper Division. “Horse Fly provided me with unique opportunities to meet the movida makers of Taos,� he said. “The epic story of El Norte has comic-tragic overtones. Now it’s time for me to study the findings of fact and write up the conclusions of literature.�

“I want to thank some of those who made Horse Fly possible: backers at crucial moments in the beginning, like my late mother, Fred Flight Risk, the Anonymous Jane, the Basque Princess, and emergency underwriters like Trudy and Ed. At the beginning, Sally Howell and Rena Rosequist encouraged and guided me. Community activists like Las Brujas and the members of RISE, inspired me. Incumbent officials who work within the system on behalf of the public good and set a good example for all of us in the community: Stella Gallegos, Gene Sanchez, Arsenio Córdova, Lorraine Coca-Ruiz, Luisa Mylet, Virgil Martinez, and Mayor Darren Córdova—not to mention the three muses of county government. And one should never forget the energizer bunny, Luis “The Rabbit� Reyes—if you can find him. Those who kept all of us at Horse Fly from making egregious rhetorical errors were our editors like Chris Milord, Dory Hulbert, Catherine Naylor, Sandy Penny, Jane Engel, and, now, Mona Frastaci. Longtime contributors like Linda Fair, John Farr, Taylor Streit, Nora Anthony, and today’s Dienke Nauta elevate the prose and illustrations. Longtime advertisers and supporters like Wiz, Cid, Dave and Renzi, Larry Bell, Steve Parks, Carlos Cisneros, Gary Storch, and Mattress Mary all deserve a shout-out. My best and most loyal supporters include my long-suffering wife, Deb, business manager and ad rep Suzanne de Silva, and Horse Fly’s most consistent of designers, Kelly Pasholk. Thanks to my own personal ACLU, attorney Alan Maestas, I have been free to keep fighting against a bevy of First Amendment critics. Special thanks to HFI supporters Georgia, Bill, Jeff, Rich, and Butchie.

Only in Taos could such a wild enterprise succeed among La Gente et al.

Et al means you, dear reader, advertiser, and contributor. We’ve had a grand time looking under the rug for old-fashioned villains and behind the door for secret deals, malicious prosecutors, and criminal actors. More often than not, we found incompetence and movida-making or fear and greed at the heart of conspiracy among Los Politicos. To the victims of homicide and assault—especially those victims treated unjustly—I can only say I wish I could have done more. This time ’round as an entrepreneur, I didn’t lose as much money as in the past—but I had a way better time. Thank you.

—Bill Whaley