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Washington Post
4 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
In Uganda, an affordable alternative to dirt floors is a big boost to human health
JINJA, Uganda — Simon Tigawalana dreamed for years of doing something about the dirt floors in his small house, blaming them for making his family sick. But in a rural area in one of the world's poorest countries, making them over with concrete was simply out of reach. Then a company called EarthEnable approached him to offer an alternative: a clay-based earthen floor that could give him a durable, sealed floor for less than half the cost of concrete. Tigawalana now has the new floor in two rooms and hopes to add it soon in the last room. 'I'm happy that we now have a decent home and can also comfortably host visitors,' said Tigawalana, a 56-year-old father of 16. 'Ever since we got a clay floor my kids no longer get cough and flu that used to come from the dust raised while sweeping the dirt floors.' EarthEnable, which seeks to upgrade housing across Africa, has been promoting and installing the clay-based floors in Uganda since 2017. Besides eliminating dust that can irritate breathing, they're credited with reducing infestations of jiggers — a parasitic flea that can burrow into the skin and lead to pain, itching and infection. Uganda's health ministry says poor hygiene due to dirt floors contributes to such infestations. 'Our floors help to prevent pathogens and other illnesses linked to dust floors, since most of these families can't afford hospital care,' said Noeline Mutesi, a sales and marketing manager for EarthEnable. The first step in building the floor is digging and leveling the surface. Then murram — local red soil rich in iron and aluminum oxides — is mixed with sand and water and then compacted. After two weeks of drying time, masons use wooden floats to smooth and further compact the surface. Next is pasting: applying a fine clay screed to further smooth the surface and prepare it for a final sealant, a flaxseed-based varnish that hardens into a durable plastic-like resin. A typical floor costs around 240,000 Uganda shillings (about $65), which Earth Enable says is about 70% cheaper than concrete. Buyers can pay in installments. EarthEnable, a U.S.-based nonprofit, operates for-profit subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, and says any profits are invested into startup costs in new markets as well as research and development. EarthEnable said it's installed about 5,000 floors in Uganda, more than 39,000 in Rwanda and more than 100 in Kenya. The company also does wall plastering to help reduce dust, moisture and insect infestations common in mud homes. In Jinja, the company's program employs more than 100 masons from within the community. Many are disadvantaged boys who have dropped out of school because they can't afford fees, said Alex Wanda, a construction officer at the company. 'We focus on employing these young village boys that we train in skills to build these earthen floors, thus creating for them employment opportunities,' Wanda said in an interview. About 42% of Ugandans live in extreme poverty. Its Bureau of Statistics says the country has a housing deficit of 2.6 million units, and it's growing. The country needs to add 300,000 housing units per year to make up the deficit, mainly in rural areas, where many Ugandans live and where housing quality and availability remain pressing concerns. The company also touts the clay floors as a more sustainable alternative to concrete, which besides being more expensive generates major carbon emissions in production. The cement industry is one of Uganda's biggest contributors to carbon emissions, accounting for about 628,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, its highest recorded level. More broadly, building and construction accounts for 37% of global emissions , according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Uganda, like much of the rest of the world, has seen a rise in extreme weather events made more likely by climate change, including flooding and prolonged drought. 'Initiatives like this are crucial in the global effort to decarbonize the construction sector,' said Penina Atwine, a program officer at the Uganda-based organization Environmental Alert. 'Such innovative local solutions that address both climate change and social needs like EarthEnable's model could inspire similar approaches across the globe.' In the village of Budima, Rehema Namukose spent most of her family's savings to build a house. She couldn't afford a cleaner floor until she worked through EarthEnable to pay for a clay floor in installments. She lives there with her three children and credits the new floor for improving the health of a sickly daughter. 'This is affordable for my family and will help us maintain hygiene,' she says 'We are now living a better life.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
In Uganda, an affordable alternative to dirt floors is a big boost to human health
JINJA, Uganda (AP) — Simon Tigawalana dreamed for years of doing something about the dirt floors in his small house, blaming them for making his family sick. But in a rural area in one of the world's poorest countries, making them over with concrete was simply out of reach. Then a company called EarthEnable approached him to offer an alternative: a clay-based earthen floor that could give him a durable, sealed floor for less than half the cost of concrete. Tigawalana now has the new floor in two rooms and hopes to add it soon in the last room. 'I'm happy that we now have a decent home and can also comfortably host visitors,' said Tigawalana, a 56-year-old father of 16. 'Ever since we got a clay floor my kids no longer get cough and flu that used to come from the dust raised while sweeping the dirt floors.' EarthEnable, which seeks to upgrade housing across Africa, has been promoting and installing the clay-based floors in Uganda since 2017. Besides eliminating dust that can irritate breathing, they're credited with reducing infestations of jiggers — a parasitic flea that can burrow into the skin and lead to pain, itching and infection. Uganda's health ministry says poor hygiene due to dirt floors contributes to such infestations. 'Our floors help to prevent pathogens and other illnesses linked to dust floors, since most of these families can't afford hospital care,' said Noeline Mutesi, a sales and marketing manager for EarthEnable. How the floors are built The first step in building the floor is digging and leveling the surface. Then murram — local red soil rich in iron and aluminum oxides — is mixed with sand and water and then compacted. After two weeks of drying time, masons use wooden floats to smooth and further compact the surface. Next is pasting: applying a fine clay screed to further smooth the surface and prepare it for a final sealant, a flaxseed-based varnish that hardens into a durable plastic-like resin. A typical floor costs around 240,000 Uganda shillings (about $65), which Earth Enable says is about 70% cheaper than concrete. Buyers can pay in installments. EarthEnable, a U.S.-based nonprofit, operates for-profit subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, and says any profits are invested into startup costs in new markets as well as research and development. EarthEnable said it's installed about 5,000 floors in Uganda, more than 39,000 in Rwanda and more than 100 in Kenya. The company also does wall plastering to help reduce dust, moisture and insect infestations common in mud homes. In Jinja, the company's program employs more than 100 masons from within the community. Many are disadvantaged boys who have dropped out of school because they can't afford fees, said Alex Wanda, a construction officer at the company. 'We focus on employing these young village boys that we train in skills to build these earthen floors, thus creating for them employment opportunities,' Wanda said in an interview. About 42% of Ugandans live in extreme poverty. Its Bureau of Statistics says the country has a housing deficit of 2.6 million units, and it's growing. The country needs to add 300,000 housing units per year to make up the deficit, mainly in rural areas, where many Ugandans live and where housing quality and availability remain pressing concerns. A more sustainable floor than concreteThe company also touts the clay floors as a more sustainable alternative to concrete, which besides being more expensive generates major carbon emissions in production. The cement industry is one of Uganda's biggest contributors to carbon emissions, accounting for about 628,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, its highest recorded level. More broadly, building and construction accounts for 37% of global emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Uganda, like much of the rest of the world, has seen a rise in extreme weather events made more likely by climate change, including flooding and prolonged drought. 'Initiatives like this are crucial in the global effort to decarbonize the construction sector,' said Penina Atwine, a program officer at the Uganda-based organization Environmental Alert. 'Such innovative local solutions that address both climate change and social needs like EarthEnable's model could inspire similar approaches across the globe.' 'Living a better life' with a cleaner floor In the village of Budima, Rehema Namukose spent most of her family's savings to build a house. She couldn't afford a cleaner floor until she worked through EarthEnable to pay for a clay floor in installments. She lives there with her three children and credits the new floor for improving the health of a sickly daughter. 'This is affordable for my family and will help us maintain hygiene,' she says 'We are now living a better life.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
In Uganda, an affordable alternative to dirt floors is a big boost to human health
JINJA, Uganda (AP) — Simon Tigawalana dreamed for years of doing something about the dirt floors in his small house, blaming them for making his family sick. But in a rural area in one of the world's poorest countries, making them over with concrete was simply out of reach. Then a company called EarthEnable approached him to offer an alternative: a clay-based earthen floor that could give him a durable, sealed floor for less than half the cost of concrete. Tigawalana now has the new floor in two rooms and hopes to add it soon in the last room. 'I'm happy that we now have a decent home and can also comfortably host visitors," said Tigawalana, a 56-year-old father of 16. "Ever since we got a clay floor my kids no longer get cough and flu that used to come from the dust raised while sweeping the dirt floors.' EarthEnable, which seeks to upgrade housing across Africa, has been promoting and installing the clay-based floors in Uganda since 2017. Besides eliminating dust that can irritate breathing, they're credited with reducing infestations of jiggers — a parasitic flea that can burrow into the skin and lead to pain, itching and infection. Uganda's health ministry says poor hygiene due to dirt floors contributes to such infestations. 'Our floors help to prevent pathogens and other illnesses linked to dust floors, since most of these families can't afford hospital care,' said Noeline Mutesi, a sales and marketing manager for EarthEnable. How the floors are built The first step in building the floor is digging and leveling the surface. Then murram — local red soil rich in iron and aluminum oxides — is mixed with sand and water and then compacted. After two weeks of drying time, masons use wooden floats to smooth and further compact the surface. Next is pasting: applying a fine clay screed to further smooth the surface and prepare it for a final sealant, a flaxseed-based varnish that hardens into a durable plastic-like resin. A typical floor costs around 240,000 Uganda shillings (about $65), which Earth Enable says is about 70% cheaper than concrete. Buyers can pay in installments. EarthEnable, a U.S.-based nonprofit, operates for-profit subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, and says any profits are invested into startup costs in new markets as well as research and development. EarthEnable said it's installed about 5,000 floors in Uganda, more than 39,000 in Rwanda and more than 100 in Kenya. The company also does wall plastering to help reduce dust, moisture and insect infestations common in mud homes. In Jinja, the company's program employs more than 100 masons from within the community. Many are disadvantaged boys who have dropped out of school because they can't afford fees, said Alex Wanda, a construction officer at the company. 'We focus on employing these young village boys that we train in skills to build these earthen floors, thus creating for them employment opportunities,' Wanda said in an interview. About 42% of Ugandans live in extreme poverty. Its Bureau of Statistics says the country has a housing deficit of 2.6 million units, and it's growing. The country needs to add 300,000 housing units per year to make up the deficit, mainly in rural areas, where many Ugandans live and where housing quality and availability remain pressing concerns. A more sustainable floor than concrete The company also touts the clay floors as a more sustainable alternative to concrete, which besides being more expensive generates major carbon emissions in production. The cement industry is one of Uganda's biggest contributors to carbon emissions, accounting for about 628,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023, its highest recorded level. More broadly, building and construction accounts for 37% of global emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Uganda, like much of the rest of the world, has seen a rise in extreme weather events made more likely by climate change, including flooding and prolonged drought. 'Initiatives like this are crucial in the global effort to decarbonize the construction sector,' said Penina Atwine, a program officer at the Uganda-based organization Environmental Alert. 'Such innovative local solutions that address both climate change and social needs like EarthEnable's model could inspire similar approaches across the globe." 'Living a better life' with a cleaner floor In the village of Budima, Rehema Namukose spent most of her family's savings to build a house. She couldn't afford a cleaner floor until she worked through EarthEnable to pay for a clay floor in installments. She lives there with her three children and credits the new floor for improving the health of a sickly daughter. 'This is affordable for my family and will help us maintain hygiene,' she says 'We are now living a better life.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
USA Today
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Tough guy, everyman. Gene Hackman pursued anonymity and a private artist life in Santa Fe
Tough guy, everyman. Gene Hackman pursued anonymity and a private artist life in Santa Fe Gene Hackman's Santa Fe would yield flashes with the genius artist all over town. Then the reluctant movie star would fade into the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. SANTA FE, N.M. ― It's just a wall, Gene. Doug Lanham, restaurateur and co-owner of the Jinja Bar & Bistro, pointed to a 15-foot-wide empty wall in the back of his Asian-Tropical-themed restaurant. He wanted Gene Hackman – co-investor in the restaurant, amateur painter, Hollywood icon – to paint a mural there. 'Can't do it,' Hackman told Lanham and another partner, Tom Allin, during the 2003 exchange. 'Too big.' A round of beers at the bar later, Lanham teased Hackman. How was it that he'd been in more than 80 movies yet couldn't fill a single wall with one of his paintings? Hackman stood and jabbed a finger at the two men. 'I knew I shouldn't have sat down with you guys,' he told them. 'I'll see you in three weeks.' Three weeks later – to the day – Hackman called them to his studio. Inside, tropical flora – red canna, alocasia, birds of paradise – hung from hooks attached to the ceiling. Just beyond, a triptych stretched 15 feet across a wall. In it, brown-skinned women sit languidly on a beach and gaze across a blue-green sea as an ocean liner steams in the distance, an explosion of scarlet, bright orange, sea greens and yellows. Gauguin meets Matisse in the American Southwest. 'It was spectacular,' Lanham remembered. Gene Hackman's quiet impact: a legacy beyond the screen In Santa Fe, Gene Hackman's lesser known legacy of humility, artistry and an undeniable fingerprint on his community. The mural was framed and mounted on the wall at the Jinja, where it hangs today. It took weeks for Lanham to coax Hackman into the eatery to see it. Hackman also gifted a dozen smaller paintings to the restaurant. None are signed or dated by him. He was as squeamish about his paintings as he was about watching movies he starred in: He evaded the finished products at all costs. 'Once the work was done,' Lanham said, 'it seemed he was satisfied and ready to move on.' Police on Sunday were still trying to untangle the details and causes behind the deaths of Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64. The pair were discovered in separate rooms in their Santa Fe estate with signs of advanced decomposition, probably from being dead for over a week. One of their dogs was also found dead in the home. In some ways, his mysterious but quiet death was the final chapter for a man for whom acting had seemed a distant reality, and shyness part of his demeanor. So did following orders of any kind. (Brawls and an aversion to authority led to Hackman being demoted from corporal three times as a young soldier. He also had run-ins later in life.) On Sunday, Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner, was rememberd by his friend and co-star Morgan Freeman at the Academy Awards. 'Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him,' Freeman said, 'I learned he was a generous performer whose gifts elevated everyone's work.' Freeman said that Hackman said: 'I don't think about legacy, I just hope people remembered me as someone who tried to do good work.' He ended his tribute with: 'Gene, you'll be remembered for that and so much more. Rest in peace my friend.' For the past four decades, Santa Fe had become the ideal backdrop for a reluctant movie star to melt away into the community. Hackman would delve into art and literature, writing most mornings by longhand and never past two o'clock in the afternoon, by his own admission, or else the writing would keep him up all night. It's fitting the search for Gene Hackman's Santa Fe yields brushes with the Hollywood star all over town ― then his presence vanishes into the rust-colored adobe homes along the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. More: Oscars 2025 live updates: Will 'Conclave' or 'Anora' win best picture? More: Gene Hackman death: Sheriff says timeline may be a 'challenge' as investigation continues But his fingerprints are everywhere. Like the mural at the Jinja Bar & Bistro. Or framed pictures with locals. Or the time Hackman bought a painting from an aspiring artist. Or tricked a friend into dressing up as a cowboy at a country club. Or slipped $100 bill to one homeless resident – and slapped another one for insulting his wife. Hackman's time in Santa Fe was as varied and unexpected as his movie roles, which ranged from Lex Luthor in "Superman" to the convincing Rev. Frank Scott in 'The Poseidon Adventure.' Or the eccentric patriarch Royal Tenenbaum in 'The Royal Tenenbaums," who wrote his own epitaph prior to suffering a fatal heart attack: "Died tragically rescuing his family from the wreckage of a destroyed sinking battleship." But in Santa Fe, Hackman was exactly who he'd always wanted to be: a regular guy. 'He's a global superstar and a part of Santa Fe's local community. He's a horrible villain and a really decent human being,' Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber said. 'I think that's why … the response to his death is so strong, because he connects across these different boundaries, and not everybody can do that." From doorman to film actor Hackman was born in early 1931 in San Bernardino, California, just east of the star-studded town where he would much later make his name. His father, who worked the presses for newspapers, uprooted the family not long after, taking them to Illinois before abandoning his wife and children altogether when Hackman was 13. After a few years with the Marines, Hackman used the GI Bill to enroll in the journalism program at the University of Illinois, but a few months later abruptly decamped for New York to study radio announcing. Barely into his 20s, Hackman found odd jobs as a doorman and truck driver while pursuing his fledgling career in the arts, which included taking classes in painting, a passion he would pursue much later in retirement. Small roles in plays on both coasts eventually led to minor roles in films. Success seemed elusive. In fact, he and a young Dustin Hoffman, who both worked for the Pasadena Playhouse, were once voted "least likely to succeed.' Hackman reflected on that dishonor during a 1988 conversation with Film Comment. More: How to watch 12 iconic Gene Hackman movies 'Neither Dustin nor myself looked like the leading men of that era, especially Dusty because he wasn't tall,' he said. 'We were constantly told by acting teachers and casting directors that we were 'character' actors. The world 'character' denotes something less than attractive. This was drummed into us. I accepted the limitation, of always being the third or fourth guy down, and my goals were tiny. But I still wanted to be an actor.' His persistence paid off. In 1967, he appeared in the revolutionary movie 'Bonnie and Clyde' as the outgoing brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty), and earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor in the process. The rest is movie history, with Hackman eventually amassing an endless stream of fabled movies to his credit, from 'The French Connection' to 'Unforgiven' ― the two movies that won him Best Actor Academy Awards. Returning to the essence of art But Hackman never had much taste for the Hollywood life. He began spending time in Santa Fe years before moving there full-time in the 1980s, as his acting roles deliberately took a back seat around the turn of the millennium. Other passions competed for his time, including stock-car racing, stunt flying, deep-sea diving and painting. In Santa Fe, which for generations has drawn artists and art enthusiasts, Hackman's art flourished. He took art classes in local workshops and painted prolifically, cranking out human model drawings, nudes and paintings. He gifted many of his paintings or gave them away to charity. Only his charitable contributions were signed and dated, said Lanham, his business partner. He served as a board member of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in the 1990s and gave remarks when the museum opened its doors in 1997, according to The New Mexican. He also began writing. A love of scuba diving led to a friendship with underwater archaeologist Daniel Lenihan. That bond would lead to a jointly written high-seas adventure novel, 'Wake of the Perdido Star,' the first of five Hackman would pen. In a 2008 interview, Hackman told Reuters he missed acting but was happy without the stress of the business and returning to the essence of art. "The compromises that you have to make in films are just part of the beast," he said at the time, "and it had gotten to a point where I just didn't feel like I wanted to do it anymore.' On writing, he added: 'I like the loneliness of it, actually. It's similar in some ways to acting, but it's more private and I feel like I have more control over what I'm trying to say and do.' More: Gene Hackman dies at 95 alongside his wife: See the Oscar-winning actor's career A movie star embraces anonymity On Saturday morning, a group of locals clutched lattes and, despite the morning's biting chill, sat in the sun-drenched patio of the Downtown Subscription coffee shop in Santa Fe, which Hackman and Arakawa frequented. One of the coffee-goers, Paula Hutchison, joined a group playing doubles tennis at El Gancho Fitness, Swim & Racquet Club in the late 1990s. Hackman was among the players. Nobody bothered him, she said. 'It was just a group and he was part of the group,' Hutchison, 83, said. 'That was all there was to it.' Sitting next to her in the café patio, Elizabeth Pettus said a number of celebrities have called Santa Fe home – from Robert Redford to Shirley MacLaine to author George R. R. Martin – and they're rarely acknowledged, much less accosted. 'They can walk down the street and people don't crowd them,' said Pettis, who was friends with Arakawa. 'There are people who are celebrities who have moved here and then moved away because they didn't have enough nightlife and enough attention. But if you don't want that kind of attention, this is a great place to be.' Other New Mexican Hackman sightings, all dating back a decade or more, included reports of the actor and his wife enjoying breakfast at Tesuque Village Market or lunching at Harry's Roadhouse. Hackman relished the anonymity Santa Fe offered, Lanham said. He would play golf with him and Allin at The Club at Las Campanas. Or, if they weren't available, he would play a round with the club's workers. Once, as they drove away from the club after a round of golf, Hackman ordered Lanham to stop the car. He jumped out, peeled off a $100 bill and handed it to a homeless man walking nearby. Then, jumped back in the car. In 2012, however, another homeless man approached him and his wife aggressively asking for money and called his wife a derogatory name on the street when they refused. Hackman slapped the man, according to an account in the Associated Press. 'Reach for the stars!' Hackman also had a prankster side. Lanham said he'd be shopping at Whole Foods and suddenly feel a stiff poke in the back. 'Reach for the stars!' a voice boomed behind him. 'Give me all your money!' Lanham, startled, raised his hands and slowly turned to see Hackman hurrying away, smirking. Once, Hackman invited Lanham to a Fourth of July event at the country club and convinced him that everyone would be dressed in Western-themed costumes. Lanham showed up in an elaborate cowboy outfit. Everyone else was in shorts and T-shirts. Hackman couldn't stop laughing. 'He thought that was funny as hell,' Lanham said. Hackman enjoyed his relative anonymity in Santa Fe to the point of amusement. In an interview with Time magazine, he related the time he drove up on a film crew on the side of a road and asked the young assistant director if they were hiring extras. "No," she answered, "I'm very sorry, sir." Lanham hadn't seen or heard from Hackman in more than five years. Last week, he received a text message from Allin with news of their friends' deaths. 'Brought me to my knees,' Lanham said, his eyes glistening. 'None of it made sense … Still doesn't make sense.' Shy, sweetheart of a guy Maurice Burns was a Santa Fe artist who, in 2004, still struggled to make ends meet. So, he readily agreed when a friend offered him a week-long job at a home in the foothills just outside Santa Fe, staining the home's beams and making them look vintage. He quickly realized the client was Gene Hackman. They got to work. The next morning, Burns arrived early. He and Hackman began chatting. Burns told him he was an artist and Hackman asked to see his work. Burns ran to the car and retrieved a sleeve of slides of his paintings he kept there. One of them caught the eye of both Hackman and Arakawa: A large acrylic painting of a Black man in a dark pinstripe suit and tie sitting in front of a barber shop, right leg hooked over left knee. He named it 'Jack's Place.' A few hours later, Burns called his gallery to alert them that Gene Hackman may be coming over to look at the painting. 'He's already been here,' the gallery owner informed him. 'He bought it.' Later that week, Burns showed up to work at the Hackman home. The movie icon called him over and pointed to a wall: 'Jack's Place' was hanging among his other paintings and next to an Isamu Noguchi sculpture. Burns thanked him and gave him a hug. 'At first, it was intimidating,' Burns said. 'You see that face and you remember all those heavy roles. But he was nothing like that. He was a shy, sweetheart of a guy.' Stephen Jules Rubin first met Hackman and Arakawa while working at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe. Arakawa would come early in the day and buy tickets to a jazz show or other performance then ask Rubin if he would escort them into the show after it started, so that Hackman's presence wouldn't draw attention away from the performance. Rubin did this repeatedly for the couple and got to know them, selling them tickets and quietly escorting them into shows ranging from Branford Marsalis to other known jazz groups. Once, he made them a jazz CD, which Hackman gratefully accepted. 'Gene was really into jazz, and they're both into music,' he said. 'They trusted me and would come to me to get tickets.' Later, when Rubin became program director at the Santa Fe Film Festival, he approached Hackman to ask him if he would consider getting involved in the event. Hackman politely declined, explaining that attaching his name to the film festival would only shine a light on his Hollywood credentials – and detract from his ability to be a genuine part of the community. Fame pursued him. But his ethos was always to return to basics, to "separate the wheat from the chaff," as Hackman described it, to know what's important and what wasn't. That's what he channeled into his writings, paintings and acting roles. "You cannot play a lie," he said once. "You must play some kind of truth, and if you make the right choice, the audience will read it right." Ever the tough guy. Ever the everyman. Follow Jervis on X: @MrRJervis.
New York Times
01-03-2025
- New York Times
Mystery of Gene Hackman's Death Brings Grief and Bewilderment to Santa Fe
Settling in for a drink the other night at Jinja, the restaurant in Santa Fe, N.M., that Gene Hackman and his wife dined at and had invested in, a group of patrons decided to honor the couple by ordering a round of 'Gene's Mai-Tais' off the menu. But in the days since Mr. Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead on the floor of their home, the toasts and tributes have been freighted with a sense of bewilderment over the circumstances of their deaths. Mr. Hackman was found dead near his cane in the mud room of their secluded home just outside the city, and Ms. Arakawa was found on the bathroom floor, next to a counter with pills scattered about. One dog was found dead in a nearby closet, while two others were roaming on the property, and data from Mr. Hackman's pacemaker indicates he died nine days before the couple was discovered. Now, Santa Fe, a city of 89,000 people that has drawn artists and cultural figures for decades, is grappling with a macabre mystery: How did two of their most famous residents die, and how could no one have known for so long? 'You can't help feeling guilty that you didn't call him,' said Stuart Ashman, a friend of Mr. Hackman's who met him on a committee of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe in the late 1990s. 'You sort of take for granted that your friends are where they are and everything is status quo.' Among both those who knew Mr. Hackman and those who had never once seen him around town, theories about what might have happened were piling up. But it could take weeks or longer for investigators to piece together a timeline, as they interview the couple's contacts and wait for toxicology results and autopsy reports. Even then, it remains possible that some details may never be known. The sheriff of Santa Fe County, whose office is investigating the deaths, said there was no note found at the home. And the decomposition of the bodies can make pathologists' work more difficult. 'It will be important to see the toxicology results, and the toxicology results aren't going to be as good as if they were performed fresh, post-mortem,' said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, a professor of forensic pathology at the University of Florida. The police have come close to ruling out several theories, saying that there were no signs of external trauma, nothing to suggest 'foul play,' no indications of a gas leak and no traces of carbon monoxide in either of the bodies. That has left Santa Feans to wonder and worry, as they also grieve the city's loss. 'Everybody is scratching their heads trying to figure it out,' said Susan Contreras, a Santa Fe artist who knew the couple. 'There are so many different versions of what could have happened.' She said Mr. Hackman, an enthusiastic painter, and her late husband, the artist Elias Rivera, would talk for hours about 'capturing the essence of a character' in portraits. 'A lot of artists are going to be missing him,' she said. Mr. Ashman said Mr. Hackman grew more reclusive starting around the Covid-19 pandemic because of fears about his health. Before 2020, Mr. Ashman would see Mr. Hackman frequently when their private Pilates sessions were scheduled back to back. Mr. Ashman would give his friend eggs from his chickens, and, once, Mr. Hackman gave him one of his paintings. It was an oil painting of the sun reflecting on a stream in winter, with snow-covered land jutting out into the water. Once the pandemic began, Mr. Ashman never saw Mr. Hackman again. The same was true of employees of Cafe Catron, a restaurant in downtown Santa Fe that Mr. Hackman and his wife ate at when it was known as New York Deli. 'We rebranded five years ago, and no one recalls them coming in since before Covid,' said Lynne Vanderhider, one of the owners, who said one dishwashing employee recalled taking a picture with Mr. Hackman years ago. Rodney Hatfield, a friend of Mr. Hackman, who met him at a printmaking workshop many years ago, said he believed part of the allure of Santa Fe for the retired actor was its relative privacy, compared with other cultural hubs. 'I think he really enjoyed being able to walk around and not be bothered for being Gene Hackman,' Mr. Hatfield said. Mr. Hatfield recalled the story Mr. Hackman told about his first encounter with Ms. Arakawa. It was the 1980s, and she was working part time at a fitness center in California when he came in to exercise, having forgotten his membership card. Sticking to the rules, Ms. Arakawa declined to let him in, Mr. Hatfield said. As the story goes, Mr. Hackman was impressed that she did not give him a pass as a movie star. 'She just treated him like a regular person, which I think is something he always wanted to be,' he said. At Jinja, the Asian fusion restaurant Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa had invested in, Doug Lanham, a founder, said he had not seen the couple in roughly five years, though he had been close with Mr. Hackman. The retired actor's paintings adorn the walls, and diners were discussing the actor's death and looking at his canvases one afternoon this week. Mr. Lanham said friends had been calling him in recent days, posing their own theories about the deaths, but that he was urging them to 'just wait' for the facts. Standing at the restaurant's bar this week, he recalled Mr. Hackman's playfulness. In one particularly memorable instance, Mr. Hackman, whom he knew to be a frequent prankster, owed Mr. Lanham a small amount of money over some golf bets. After some pestering, Mr. Hackman finally paid them — with a five-gallon jug filled with pennies. He wrote out a note, with torn edges, describing his completion of the bet. And, indulging his friends' nickname for him, he signed it above a skull and crossbones: 'Capt. Hollywood.'
