Dennis Hopper’s arrival in Taos during the making of his explosive indie cult film Easy Rider, coincided with the height of the commune movement in northern New Mexico. The “back-to-the land” hippie movement, easy access to drugs, manners and mores that violated local Hispano cultural norms, and the presence of radical Chicano activists all created a cultural and social upheaval that was fascinating, frightening, and still resonant.
