New Mexico Magazine
Something In The Water
March, 2014
Eclectic art, memorable meals, and forget-the-world hot springs attract pilgrims to this singular town on the Río Grande.
“To me, it is per capita the most creative little town in the United States,” says my friend Susan Martin, who lives in northern New Mexico and works as an art publicist for clients in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris. No, she’s not talking about Santa Fe, Taos, Silver City, or any of the state’s myriad other art centers. She’s talking about Truth or Consequences. “Everyone there is making art,” she continues, “but they have an ironic point of view, and it’s outside the norm of the art world.”
Yes, T or C boasts numerous galleries and crafty boutiques, and its own an art pedigree—the stars in its firmament including Delmas Howe and the late Harold Joe Waldrum. But it’s also becoming a destination food town, as the bliss-inducing Italian trattoria Cafe Bella Luca has recently been joined by the lively Asian fusion joint Latitude 33, and the mobbed-at-breakfast Passion Pie Cafe.
The town of 6,400 souls was established as Hot Springs in 1916; people have been coming to take the waters ever since. You could come to T or C for the weekend, never have a soak, and have a great time. However, the hot springs are still a thriving attraction, and relaxing in the extreme. Odorless, high in soothing lithium and magnesium, 98 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, with a neutral pH of 7, the waters are available via various venues in the bathhouse district, with both drop-in and lodging options. As with other attractions in T or C, when it comes to soaking, you can go swanky-spa, kitschy-cute, or bare-bones.
Click here to read the full article on the New Mexico Magazine website.
