Montecristo Magazine

01/31/2025

As we enter Black History Month, multidisciplinary artist Ruby Smith Díaz explores the often-fraught experience of being Black in Canada even as we celebrate and canonize Black figures such as Serafim "Joe" Fortes in a thorny process of mythmaking.

As we enter Black History Month, multidisciplinary artist Ruby Smith Díaz explores the often-fraught experience of being Black in a Canada still entrenched in its racist ways, even as we celebrate and canonize Black figures like Serafim Fortes in a thorny process of mythmaking.

01/29/2025

Just two and a half degrees south of the Arctic Circle, you’ll find apple orchards, tomato vines, fresh cheese, and a hardy community of local farmers, ranchers, and foragers who supply the most remarkable little restaurant in Dawson City.

In the frigid Yukon, a community of hardy farmers, ranchers, and foragers make local food possible.

01/28/2025

What happens to a serval, tiger, or jaguar when it becomes a commodity? We look at the long and complicated history of humans claiming ownership over wild animals.

The long and storied history of humans claiming ownership over wild animals.

01/27/2025

When Vancouver weekly the Westender put out a call for locals to meet up with crew members from visiting navy ships, the response was overwhelming. Sisters Monica and Morena Morlin were among the many Vancouverites who answered the call, acting as tour guides and ambassadors for their beloved hometown.

When Vancouver weekly the Westender put out a call for locals to meet up with crew members from visiting navy ships, the response was overwhelming. Sisters Monica and Morena Morlin were among the many Vancouverites who answered the call, acting as tour guides and ambassadors for their beloved hometo...

01/25/2025

"In the West, jerky may be associated with rough-and-ready cowboy fare, but in Chinese tradition around the new year, preserved meats have a special place as a gift, delicacy, and symbol of plenty."

At shops like BKH Jerky in Vancouver, sweet and smoky jerky is a Singaporean new year tradition.

01/24/2025

A trip to Montreal offers a glimpse of a city’s efforts to highlight and share Indigenous cultural expression for tourists and locals alike.

01/23/2025

The first national park in the world, Yellowstone was signed into existence by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. Among many other things, the park has been home to major conservation efforts to halt the rapid decline of bison populations in the U.S.

Ancient denizens.

01/22/2025

Vancouver punk mainstays Black Halos are remastering and reissuing their two first albums as they prepare to perform their sophomore album The Violent Years, start to finish, at the Rickshaw Theatre on January 25—including songs that have never been played live before. Billy Hopeless takes a walk down memory lane with legendary U.S. punk Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves.

Vancouver punk mainstays Black Halos are remastering and reissuing their two first albums as they prepare to perform their sophomore album The Violent Years live, start to finish—including songs that have never been played live before. Billy Hopeless takes a walk down memory lane with legendary U....

01/20/2025

“It’s not about the individual sports. It’s about seeing people get to the start line.”

01/17/2025

Everyone at the Table offers a unique way to experience Puglia, through a celebration of food and good company. This photo essay captures the beauty and elegance of the culinary school and includes a recipe from a new cookbook by its founders.

01/13/2025

A staple of the mythology of Prohibition, Canadian Rye is more than a footnote in whisky’s long history. Connoisseurs are increasingly championing the spirit and moving it off the bottom shelf, discussing it alongside more celebrated bourbon and scotch labels.

Read all about it as we mark the beginning of Canadian Whisky Week.

A staple of the mythology of Prohibition, Canadian Rye is more than a footnote in whisky’s long history. Connoisseurs are increasingly championing the spirit and moving it off the bottom shelf, discussing it alongside more celebrated bourbon and scotch labels.

01/10/2025

“It’s kind of my style to find the common thread between uncommon things.” Grammy-winning musician, vocalist, and composer Arooj Aftab connects with her increasingly broad audiences by drawing on everything from jazz to Urdu ghazals to modern city blues. The creatively restless artist reflects on how traveling the world in her life and career has shaped her relationship with different places and the fans she finds along the way.

She will be playing the Hollywood Theatre in Vancouver on January 20.

“It’s kind of my style to find the common thread between uncommon things.” Grammy-winning musician, vocalist, and composer Arooj Aftab connects with her increasingly broad audiences by drawing on everything from jazz to Urdu ghazals to modern city blues. The creatively restless artist reflects...

01/08/2025

There are many new books from B.C. authors to look forward to in 2025. A biography of a Black history icon, a Vancouver-set detective novel, subversive poems, and a gorgeous illustrated children’s story are just a few of MONTECRISTO’s most anticipated books of the year.

01/07/2025

A devastating fire destroyed the Whale Interpretive Centre in Telegraph Cove over the holidays. Skeleton articulator Mike deRoos constructed several specimens there in his early career, as he explained in our last issue. The destruction of the museum represents a tremendous loss.

There’s more to skeleton articulation than putting the pieces back together. After extensive research, Mike deRoos uncovers details about the lives and deaths of his subjects.

01/06/2025

Congratulations to Shōgun on winning four Golden Globes, including for best drama series.

While much of the prosthetic makeup in the FX period drama goes unnoticed, that’s actually the point. It helps achieve the kind of realism the narrative demands, explains Emmy-winning makeup artist Suzie Klimack, who worked on the Port Moody-shot series.

While much of the prosthetic makeup in the FX period drama Shōgun goes unnoticed, that’s actually the point. It helps achieve the kind of realism the narrative demands, explains Emmy-winning makeup artist Suzie Klimack, who worked on the Port Moody-shot series.

01/03/2025

Famously change-averse, Point Grey will soon see the development of highrises and an influx of residents. While known as a tame, affluent neighbourhood, the area has a rich history of trade and commerce as well as a military presence in the Second World War, all before it became a destination for beachgoers and the upper crust.

Famously change-averse, Point Grey will soon see the development of highrises and an influx of residents. While known as a tame, affluent neighbourhood, the area has a rich history of trade and commerce as well as a military presence in the Second World War, all before it became a destination for be...

12/30/2024

One of the best-known films ever shot in B.C., First Blood was plagued by production delays. Among these was a robbery that saw the original Rambo outing’s prop weapons cache raided, with nearly 50 guns going missing overnight, as per the official count.

12/27/2024

Yasuko Takahashi wasn’t a student of tea ceremony until she moved to Vancouver from Japan. Now she celebrates how the Way of Tea reflects Japanese culture and philosophy, operating the Hakuhoan Tea Academy out of her home in North Van.