• We launch the Weekly Alibi Music Awards (WAMmies), and Bovine plays the awards ceremony. Future Publisher Carl Petersen wins the Best Songwriter WAMmy for his work with the Ant Farmers. The first-ever Readers’ Choice Restaurant Poll hits stands. We buy La Cocinita, a food magazine started by Sergio Salvador. An article appears titled “Who Polices the Police?” about 25 police killings going before grand juries without resulting in a single indictment of an officer. Another story about 30 fatal officer-involved shootings within 10 years comes out in December.• A group of protesters organized by Vecinos United demands an independent citizen review board to handle complaints about APD.• Boxer Johnny Tapia defeats Danny Romero in a highly anticipated championship bout in Las Vegas, Nev.• Congressional Rep. Bill Richardson resigns his post to take on duties as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. • Albuquerque’s largest multiplex theater, the Century Rio 24, opens. It sits on the former site of the Albuquerque 6 Drive-In, which was closed and demolished in 1996.• Gianni Versace and Princess Diana are tragically killed, and 87-year-old Mother Theresa perishes of natural causes.• A struggling online auction house called AuctionWeb rebrands itself as eBay, allowing anyone to buy and sell just about anything. According to legend, one of the first items sold is a broken laser pointer for $14.83.• Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson makes a movie star out of former rapper “Marky Mark” Wahlberg with the porn industry drama Boogie Nights.• The popular University-area dive bar Fat Chance Bar and Grill shutters its doors. Countless Albuquerque bands got their start at the venerable venue.
1997
Alibi
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2 min read
