The second edition of BuffTreks took place September 26-28 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Faculty leaders were Dr. Anne Macy and Dr. Nick Gerlich, with four students in attendance (Tory Trahern, Maylee Wertz, and Gizelle Borunda, all BBA students, and Josue Banda, an MSFE student). The Engler College of Business plans to expand on this offering in the coming months, as an effort to foster student engagement at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The purpose of the trip was to explore the roles that Route 66 heritage and the film industry play in the local economy, from tourism to jobs and economic impact. The roster of activities included a motor tour along Central Avenue (Route 66) with Dr. Gerlich narrating, and a second motor tour of Breaking Bad filming locations. Both of these are significant tourism drivers.
Other highlights of the weekend included shopping at The Breaking Bad Store, where Marq Smith-Candelaria and Edward Candelaria demonstrate the economic power of fandom. Their shop and museum attract a steady stream of customers, even 12 years after the show aired its final episode. Marq gave a private talk about the influence of the show, and how it motivated them to open the store in 2020.
Another memorable event was an afternoon visit with Carlos Garcia at Glorieta Station. Carlos is co-owner, with his brother Ed, of Garcia Automotive Group, and has a private collection of vintage roadside neon signals, antique tractors, cars, Unser family memorabilia and Indy race cars, and more. He gave the group the run of his museum, which truly is the ultimate man cave. Carlos is highly connected at city and state levels, and serves on numerous boards. He and his brother also own more than 80 commercial properties. It was enlightening for the students to hear him speak of the challenges and opportunities presented by the New Mexico economy, as well as hear stories about some of his most prized possessions.
Sometimes serendipity plays a role regardless of how much time went into planning the itinerary. The group had lunch one day at Java Joe’s, a coffee shop a few blocks west of Downtown. A familiar Breaking Bad scene was filmed on the second floor, the one where Walter threw a packet of mercury fulminate on Tuco’s desk, causing an explosion. Following lunch, the group noticed the separate entrance leading upstairs was unlocked. A resale shop is there that features vintage t-shirts and vinyl records, and the owner treated the BuffTreks entourage to an impromptu lesson on his line of work, as well as the uniqueness of occupying a popular filming location
And of course he had to show the tiny room where that explosion took place.
One of the more interesting encounters–actually, a near-encounter–came when the group was driving across town to visit “The White House,” the real-life house where Walter and Skyler White “lived” in Breaking Bad. Upon nearing the housing development, cars were parked everywhere, and police had closed off numerous streets. After finding a back door to the area and parking their vehicle, the BuffTrekers were intercepted by a policeman while on foot. He made them pause a few minutes because he said “some influencer named @ishowspeed” was doing a livestream from in front of that house. Come to find out the influencer, a 20-year-old, has more than 40 million followers. Once he left, the area was cleared for pedestrians and motorists, but it was too late to catch a glimpse, although many others who were ahead of the police were able to be spectators.
All told, BuffTrekers visited more than 25 sites, listened to three speakers, ate authentic New Mexican cuisine, dined at a vintage Route 66 diner, lunched at a Breaking Bad filming location, and celebrated the weekend with a PVECOB-sponsored special dinner at a brewpub on the Mother Road.
It was a long weekend to remember, and a prototype of more to come.