With financial assistance from the state government, small cities and towns across New Mexico are putting their historic movie theaters, many of which were abandoned for years, back into operation. Since 2013, New MexicoMainStreet's Historic Movie Houses Initiative has supplied funds to renovate the theaters' unique architectural details and to install updated projection and sound equipment.
The Initiative was created by New Mexico's Secretary of Economic Development, Jon Barela, who says the program has had a profound effect on the downtown areas of these rural communities.
In this more complete version of the interview, Secretary Barela discusses where the funding for the Historic Movie Houses Initiative comes from and how downtown movie theaters have over the years become a big part of how rural communities define themselves.
