The Magic City of the Southwest

11/07/2024

We are excited to announce this event: a collaboration between The Magic City and the public radio storytelling project Native Braids

Kirbie Bennett and Adam Burke will be live-performing a podcast episode this Friday at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. The story of trailblazing speed skier and US record-holder Ross Anderson

Ross grew up in Durango, and earlier this year, he became the first Native American to be inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.

This performance explores one Indigenous athlete’s journey to break into pro skiing and push the sport to be more inclusive.

If you came to our live podcast event at in September, you’re going to love this event.

Ross Anderson himself will be there for a Q&A following the performance.

Please join us!

09/13/2024

Join us! As we perform stories live and in-person about the lost communities of Navajo Lake. We’ll have sources from these communities with us for a q&a too. Hope to see you there ✨✨ Monday, September 16 at 6pm Maria's Bookshop

09/12/2024

We’re going live! Come hear us perform stories live at Maria's Bookshop and get a sneak preview of upcoming podcast episodes. We’ll also have a few special guests in tow for a q&a. We’re so excited to share a magical evening of history and storytelling.

02/08/2024

We want to celebrate the work of Durango artist Linda Geer, who designed the Snowdown Durango 1992 poster. Linda passed away last Spring, but her clowns live on. Apparently, her husband Jon is the model for one of the clowns in this poster. Thanks to Oscars Cafe of Durango for sharing a photo of the poster! (They have a collection of the many, and various festival posters over the years).
And if you missed our story about what might have been the edgiest Snowdowns in festival history, you can listen on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. ✨🤡

02/02/2024

thanks, KSUT!

A winter festival that started as a counter-culture "cabin fever reliever" 45 years ago has become a tourist draw for city boosters and local businesses. But in the early 1990s, organizers may have inadvertently sent a few pedestrians running for the hills.

10/16/2023

Durango loves to promote its western frontier town image. It's easy to envision the bustling boardwalks in the late 1800s and imagine an incorporated town sprouting from the strength and will of those early settlers.

But in episode 2 of The Magic City we take a look at the real story behind the facade. Now live wherever you get podcasts! Or listen at themagiccity.org
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Thanks to historians Robert McDaniel and Thomas Andrews for their help and guidance on this story.

Hosted by Kirbie Bennett and Adam Burke.

10/13/2023

What is the story of Durango’s genesis? Who is William Bell? And why are we so spellbound by the train? In episode 2, we’ll explore what we know and what we might not ever know about the founding of this city.

Tune in on Sunday, October 15th at 2pm on KSUT Public Radio

09/16/2023

Our 1st episode has a new cover image!

If you haven't had a chance to listen yet, visit themagiccity.org to listen or you can check it out wherever you get your podcasts. And let us know what you think!

If you have already listened, please share this with someone who might love the story.

💓✨️ from the Magic City!

In 2022, mobile home park residents in Durango, Colorado, fought to keep their community from being purchased by an out-of-state corporate owner. The Westside Mobile Home Park had been Alejandra Chavez's home since she arrived from Mexico at 12 years old. In the fight to help her community, Chavez was caught between an instinct to keep a low profile and the need for her leadership.

In this episode of The Magic City of the Southwest, we tell the story of one immigrant neighborhood's struggle to belong in a city with diminishing housing options for working-class people. Along the way, we go down the rabbit hole of mobile home park investment and explore the psychic landscape of manufactured housing.

Hosted by Kirbie Bennett & Jamie Wanzek

Produced by Magic City Studios (Adam Burke, Kirbie Bennett & Jamie Wanzek)

Original score by Adam Burke.

09/08/2023

Two years ago, Alejandra Chavez was an everyday working mom and a community member of Durango’s Westside Mobile Home Park. But when the park went up for sale in 2021 Chavez found her voice as a leader and organizer.

You can listen to Alejandra’s story today on KSUT Public Radio.

To hear the full, feature-length story about Alejandra and Westside Mobile Home Park, tune in on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. on KSUT Public Radio.

Two years ago, Alejandra Chavez was an everyday working mom and a community member of Durango’s Westside Mobile Home Park. But when the park went up for sale, Chavez found her voice as a leader and organizer.

09/08/2023

Greetings from The Magic City of the Southwest!

Our first podcast episode will premiere this Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2 PM on KSUT Public Radio. In the meantime, here’s a vital story that ties into our first episode: Colorado’s ongoing efforts to protect mobile home parks.

Since 2019, Colorado lawmakers have been strengthening protections for residents of mobile home communities, including laws to increase the number of resident-owned parks in the state. There are less than a dozen in Colorado. Why so few?

In our upcoming first episode, we’ll unpack more history on mobile home parks: how society sees them, why investors find them attractive and how mobile home residents look out for their communities.

You can visit themagiccity.org to subscribe to our podcast and learn more.

Since 2019, Colorado lawmakers have been strengthening protections for residents of mobile home communities, including laws to increase the number of resident-owned parks in the state. There are less than a dozen in Colorado. Why so few?