A KiMo Love Story

The Legacy of the Bachechi and Puccini Family

Once upon a time, in a burgeoning railroad town in the high desert, two Italian families crossed unlikely paths in downtown Albuquerque. The story began with a man and his dream to build a picture palace that reflected the majesty of the Southwest. That gentleman, Oreste Bachechi, peddled goods on the platform of the rail depot. A prolific entrepreneur, Oreste built up a lucrative grocery business, but his heart was in the cinema. His American dream came true in 1927 with the construction of Oreste’s KiMo Theatre.

KiMo Theatre (1927)

The KiMo Theatre, ca. 1927, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John Airy. PA1982.180.718.

His daughter, Iole, shared his love for theater. When the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini was rumored to be on a tour of the American West after the success of his opera “La Fanciulla del West” (“The Girl of the Golden West,”) Iole was elated. She waited at the train station for the composer, but much to her surprise she met the other Puccini. The composer’s cousin, a young man from New York named Luigi Puccini, had arrived. It was the wrong person at the right time. According to legend, it was love at first sight.

Luigi and Iole married soon after. Puccini joined the Bachechi family business and was determined to establish his own theater. In 1941, Puccini unveiled the El Rey Theater down the road. El Rey showed box office Hollywood hits and Spanish language films throughout its life. Today, you can experience the magic of the Bachechi-Puccini love story on a breezy walk through downtown Albuquerque, as the neon lights sizzle in the night.

Inside Kimo Theater

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A KiMo Love Story

The Legacy of the Bachechi and Puccini Family

the National Kickoff Event