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Dry Riverbed Creates A Futból Opportunity

rio grande
Courtesy of Steven Bunting
The U11 Vipers soccer team practiced in the dry riverbed of the Rio Grande in Las Cruces on Saturday.

We know New Mexico is experiencing the nation's worst drought conditions. We know the drought is  affecting farmers and ranchers in an unprecedented way. 

But sometimes photographs explain the story in a way that reports and charts just can't.

The photo above was taken Saturday morning in Las Cruces, N.M. It's a youth soccer team holding practice in the completely dried-out riverbed of the Rio Grande, just steps from the popular La Llorona Park.

This section of the river has been completely dry for about a month, and the team's coaches disguised strength training as scrimmage by practicing in the soft sand.

The legend of  La Llorona is the story of a woman who drowned her children in the river, and now haunts the banks looking for them. Had there been no water in the river at the time, the tale may have never been told.

Tracy Greer was a digital editor and managing editor at KJZZ from 2011 to 2017.