Story

Bringing Back the Turquoise: 1999-2002

In 1999 members of what is now PAC505 commenced a humble campaign to bring turquoise trim back to the uniforms of the Lobos Men’s basketball team (the team wore turquoise during the 60s and 70s). The Lobos are a huge part of Albuquerque’s identity, and its colors, “cherry and silver” (i.e., red and white and a touch of grey and black) do nothing to distinguish UNM or Albuquerque from the myriad of other NCAA teams who wear red and white.

We had talked and talked about our belief that New Mexico’s character should be reflected in the Lobos’ uniforms, but it wasn’t until 1999 that we organized and took action to try to bring back the turquoise. While simultaneously embracing the absurdity of the campaign, members of what is now PAC505 made our presence and purpose known at the Pit, and earnestly lobbied Coach Fraschilla.

In 2002, Coach Fraschilla added turquoise trim back to the Lobo uniforms. The glory was short-lived, as turquoise was removed the next season, but the episode provided a salient example of what can happen when talk is converted to action.

Political Action: 2004-2006

During the course of PAC505’s campaign to bring back the turquoise, George Bush had ascended to power. Between 2000 and 2004, the sorry state of national politics was a constant subject of conversation between and among PAC505 members. Eventually, however, we realized that if we continued complaining about politics without doing anything to effect change, we were part of the problem. So, with minimal expectations, we resolved to take some form of action.

In 2004, PAC505 broadcast the Republican National Convention live on a makeshift screen at Mary Fox park. The images and sounds of the convention were mixed with music and other images provided by local filmographers. The Counter-Convention drew attention from local news media.

Shortly thereafter, PAC505 engaged in a more ambitious enterprise.

The PAC rented out four hotel rooms at the Hilton adjacent to I-40 during the 2004 general election, and assembled this banner during the morning rush hour. The event garnered local media (and police) attention with Tom Joles solemnly announcing on the evening news that hotel management was contemplating criminal charges.

Since then, PAC505 has engaged in a sprawling experiment in political and cultural action, culminating with a series of events during the 2006 midterm election. The PAC screened pertinent films at a local movie house and organized a protest, featuring hundreds of black balloons, of Bush’s fundraising appearance in Albuquerque in support of Republican congressional incumbent Heather Wilson (The Black Balloon Fiesta).

Shortly before the November 2006 election, PAC505 hosted an optimistically-titled Despidida for Heather Wilson. We screened Robert Greenwald’s “Iraq for Sale” at the Lobo, a historic theater that had been converted to an evangelical church. Following the screening the PAC hosted an open discussion between the leftwingers who were drawn by the film and the evangelicals who populated the church. The result was a contentious, provocative, and constructive exchange that in many ways portended the present-day alliances that are rumored to be forming between democrats and evangelicals.

During the 2006 election, PAC505 made the mistake of registering with the FEC as a political action committee. The reporting forms were onerous, and ultimately unnecessary. We found that we were spending the money we raised on the tools we needed to host community events and mobilize others (movie theaters, local bands, psychics, and lots and lots of helium) rather than on directly supporting or opposing specific candidates. Now freed from the constraints of FEC registration, we are looking forward to fostering new forms of political action.

Powered by Bookmarkify™